Wild October : Day 25

I was up before the rest of the family today and decided to head out without them and wander down to the red squirrel hide. It was a damp and misty morning but with a hint that the sun would eventually break through.

There was a lot of bird activity around the hide - mostly chaffinches, coal tits, great tits and blue tits but there was also a nut hatch and one red squirrel!

The birds are clearly used to visitors - this one came into the hide and hopped around on the floor before flying out again!

Walking away from the hide a little later, I found more fungus and heard a green woodpecker.

I ended up walking back to the hide in the middle of the day as the rest of the family wanted to walk down to it. The sun was out by then but there weren't so many birds on the feeders.

Later, we drove around the lake to the Elf Kirk viewpoint...

and then walked up to Falstone Moss, a Wildlife Trust reserve, where I met this toad.

There isn't a lot to see at Falstone Moss at this time of year but I expect it will be great in summer and I would like to revisit at some point.

I did also visit the Kielder Bird of Prey Centre on day 25. I wasn't terribly keen on it (I don't like birds shut in cages or tied to posts in little sheds and I wasn't entirely satisfied with the conditions these birds were kept in) but the flying display was good.

Merlin

Ashy faced owl

Black Kite