Well what a brilliant end to 2014! Opening up the bird hides at Parndon Wood Nature Reserve (Harlow) has been a truly magical experience recently, mainly due to the thick frosts which have occurred. There is nothing quite like walking through a frozen forest first thing in the morning and hearing the leaves crunch under your feet. Yes, you're probably making your presence known to every living animal in the area as you crunch along the paths, but at the same time, it's amazing how amplified the rustling sounds become too!
The cold weather has also made it much easier to spot favorite feathered friends who spend lots of time at the numerous bird feeders located around the reserve. Robins are generally quite easy to spot in the reserve anyway, but there's something quite lovely about seeing one look back at you from a frozen tree as you open a hide up! It also does wonders for getting you into the 'festive feeling' for Christmas! (Which, lets be honest, can sometimes be a bit of a struggle, especially when there's a Santa's Grotto to organise!)
Robins are obviously the poster bird for this time of year, beautifully demonstrated by the chap above. For such a seemingly small and innocent bird it's quite startling just how vicious they can be to each other. Males hold their territories all year round, choosing visible 'lookout posts' to be able to check on their neighbours and to defend their territories. I've once been told that if you find a dead Robin outside, it's likely to have been killed by another bird! Although being highly territorial is bad if you're another Robin, it's nice to see them when so many other birds are missing this time of year.
Robins are still beautiful birds to see and the flash of their red breasts makes a welcome splash of colour this time of year. Now that Christmas is nearly upon us, it shouldn't be too long before we see the return of migrants and hear the songs of other birds within the reserve. I hope all our visitors and readers have a wonderful time over Christmas and New Year and I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring to the reserve!
