One of the most magical parts of spending time in the lodge is watching the wildlife from the deck or through the windows. Early evenings in particular are when you need to keep your eyes peeled.
One of our regular visitors is a young fawn, who I’ve (obviously) christened as Bambi. He/ she often pays a visit in the early evening, and rummages through the undergrowth in search of food. At the slightest disturbance, Bambi emits a sound like a squeaky toy and is gone in a split second. Nobody else has seen her though, so I am beginning to wonder whether if the fawn is some kind of spirit guardian.
I often work in the twin bedroom that overlooks the coach house. It’s quite therapeutic to watch bunnies and squirrels racing around while on Zoom calls. But recently my attention was drawn to an unfamiliar plump brown bird with a long beak, very well camoflauged amongst the grass and leaves. It spent at least a couple of hours patiently rooting for insects, and was not at all bothered by rabbits playing just a couple of feet away.
I’ve since deduced it was most likely a woodcock, and certainly this blog on the RSPB website mentions similar behaviours to those I observed.
And finally, after hearing rumours of barn owls, I’ve now had a couple of sightings. Most recently I watched a big white owl descend from one of the oak trees next to our cabin and onto the decking rail of a neighbouring lodge. While it didn’t hang around for long I was pleased to be able to say I’d finally spotted an owl at Fritton in the wild (rather than at the owl sanctuary).
We’ve left a pair of binoculars and a birdspotting book in the lodge. I look forward to hearing from our guests what birds and animals they have spotted – I have installed a log book.