Cranberry Rough (our deep south)

I visited Cranberry Rough on an afternoon when bright sunny conditions prevailed, it was a pleasure to have brighter conditions following a prolonged period of dull cloudy weather.
Cranberry Rough is a small Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve which is virtually inaccessable throughout much of the year due to the very swampy and tangled woodland, a site that could be likened to the swampy habitats found in the deep southern states of the USA.

I decided to sit for an hour on an old stump and watch the damp woodland ahead of me. 

High above in the canopy of the Alders, many Siskins were silently feeding upon the cones. Most of these small Finches will be visitors from Northern Europe where they breed.  Small numbers do breed in Breckland, however, the majority will be winter visitors.

Lower down in the woodland, several Treecreepers and Nuthatches worked the larger limbs of the trees. Treecreepers, including this photographed bird, were watched searching the cracks and fissures of the tree bark for spiders and other small invertebrates to feed on.
Nuthatches were both seen and heard, this uncluded one bird seen close to chisseling with its dagger-like bill into softer wood for food.
Also seen around this part of the reserve was Marsh Tit, Great Tit, Robin, and Wren.