Rats, squirrels (and the occasional bird)

Yesterday saw an RPS field trip to Wicken Fen to photograph landscapes and birds.  I spent the morning in the Roger Clarke hide helping people who were new to nature photography, as the location was suitable for those with relatively short lenses.  We didn't realise how short, though, as there was a feeder less than 2 metres away from the hide which was visited regularly by a brown rat!

The final picture is typical of several I managed to capture during the morning's session.  Those rats can't half move...

There wasn't much bird life around, but one of the other feeders attracted squirrels.

There were a few birds in view - mainly chaffinches and blue tits - but, as here, the odd blackbird, great tit and greenfinch.

We were also visited for a short period by a great spotted woodpecker.

The day ended with us standing by the visitors' centre in the gathering gloom waiting for the harriers to come in.  We saw three marsh harriers, along with the highlight of the day: a male hen harrier.  Too dark for a decent picture, but who cares with such a magnificent bird?