Foulshaw Moss with redpoll, siskin, tree sparrow, reed bunting, and water rail

Male redpoll with red forecrown and breast

In spring and summer I hear and glimpse redpoll in flight  whenever  I walk on Scout Scar. Groups of them flit amongst the scrub and small trees, rarely settling.
To study them, I come to Foulshaw Moss and immerse myself in the experience.  We settle into the hide and wait quietly.  A great spotted woodpecker calls,  a brood has left the nest this morning.  One appears on the far side of a feeder, only the tip of his head and tail visible.  Redpoll feed, heads dipped into the feeders and backs toward us.  

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The hide looks out onto a glade encircled with trees and shrubs, shelter for the birds we hear calling.  They approach the feeders with care, arriving in flurries,  in family groups,  tussling for position with birds already feeding. It's a dynamic picture, such rapid change-overs  I may not have the bird I thought to photograph if something else pops up in its place.  The handsome male redpoll I present  first was almost the last to show and the most resplendent,  with red forecrown and crimson breast.   They shift stance as they feed and the light is constantly changing.  Juveniles and females are similar.  Redpoll feed on seeds of willow, birch, alder and spruce all of which are seen at Foulshaw. They also take invertebrates.   Redpoll and siskin often appear together, as they do today.
There are tree sparrows on the feeders and a smart male reed bunting feeds on seed on the ground.  A shy water rail emerges and feeds, briefly. The patterns on his plumage and his colours are bold and beautiful.
Listening to birdsong, I'm mindful of birds that don't show, either on feeders or on the seed spread on the earth, like willow warbler and wren. 

When the sun shone on the feeders there came a flurry of birds, great spotted woodpecker, gold finch, tree sparrow,  reed bunting, greenfinch, redpoll and a juvenile siskin, a hint of yellow in the tail feathers and a streaked breast.  The adult male siskin is distinctive with  a black crown and bib and a stronger contrasts of black and greenish-yellow.  It's harder to distinguish juveniles from females. 
Siskin feed on tree seeds, especially alder, birch, spruce and pine.  In summer, they'll take insects.  There are conifers out on Foulshaw Moss and birch a plenty. 

The morning was cold for June and sunlight gave way to cloud so there were few butterflies on the wing.  Someone had come here seeking large heath which he found and shared with us.  We glimpsed its flight  over bog myrtle, over heather and away.  Another visitor peered into ponds looking for dragonflies and damselflies and he pointed out an azure damselfly.  He was hoping for the white-faced darter but could not find one.  I remember a trip to a moss in north Cumbria where we knelt  on the edges of a bog pool in pouring rain, counting  exuviae on a project to introduce the white-faced darter to Foulshaw.  Later in the week temperatures are set to soar so there should be dragonflies and damselflies basking on the rim of the boardwalk and on foliage. And butterflies and lizards. 
A telescope was set-up to view the osprey nest platform but the light was poor so we did not stay.  I'm still high on my recent osprey sightings at Threave Castle, Solway, in bright sunlight. 
Thanks to Val for a warm welcome to Foulshaw Moss and to Cumbria Wildlife Trust for working hard to create  habitat for diverse species.  And for feeding all the birds so well presented at the different feeding stations.