CAUGHT RED-HANDED

Whilst in our garden in Firs Chase on Friday 4th, I heard a distinctive knock coming from our nearby cedar tree. I recognised this sound as being the lid on our squirrel feeder dropping back down. When I looked up, sure enough there was a red squirrel who had been feeding on the peanuts in the feeder before I spooked him. I'd caught him red-handed with his head in the feeder!

He thought about fleeing up the tree but luckily he stayed put whilst I retreated back indoors and he returned to carry on feeding for several minutes. He stayed around long enough for a few pictures to be taken. After his snack of nuts, he then scampered up the tree, ran along a cedar branch which helped him cross high over the Firs Chase road into the tall trees of the The Firs driveway.

The special squirrel feeder has been fixed eight feet up the cedar tree for a year now, close to the spot where one had been seen last November. The feeder didn't look as if anything had visited it for the last year. A fortnight ago following another sighting, the feeder was refreshed with the locally purchased nut-mix of hazelnuts, sweetcorn, sunflower seeds which I topped up with more monkey-nuts and peanuts.
We also have a second squirrel feeder in our garden beside our patio also topped up with nuts waiting to be discovered by our Tufty friends.

Plenty of sunshine for a change for the walk along the Strood seawall in the morning of Friday 4th. There was the usual variety of waders along the mud with 500 golden plover being the biggest gathering while 300 teal were also resting on the mud.

A female marsh harrier flew up channel scattering a few birds as it went by. In the channel were fourteen little grebes among the boat moorings.

Recent rains have left one of the Strood fields looking very waterlogged. At least one green sandpiper was flying around a lot calling, maybe a second bird was present too. Four little egrets were standing along the ditches.

Small birds noted on the fields included 6 yellowhammers, 4 reed buntings, 20+ skylarks, 30+ linnets, 10+meadow pipits and a rock pipit. A fieldfare was feeding in an apple tree near the caravan site.