NY6393 : Bird feeder by the Squirrel Hut, Kielder Castle
taken 12 years ago, near to Kielder, Northumberland, England
Bird feeder by the Squirrel Hut, Kielder Castle
The Squirrel Hut in the grounds of Kielder Castle gives the opportunity for bird watching and if you are lucky you may see a red squirrel. We spent half an hour there and didn't see squirrels. We did see blue tits, coal tits, long tailed tits, nuthatches and greater spotted woodpeckers. There is a large feeder hanging immediately outside one of the windows, which were unfortunately grubby so my closeups of blue tits and nuthatches are disappointing and I haven't submitted any here. There are 2 or 3 hatches which open (one used for this photo), but with noisy children coming and going the birds were scared off when the hatches were open.
Kielder Castle is a visitor centre for Kielder Forest. The building includes an information centre, cafe and exhibition space.
The castle was built as a hunting lodge for the Duke of Northumberland between 1771 and 1775. It features fake "shot marks" in the walls, but has never been used as a castle or been involved in conflicts. When it was built, it was surrounded by open fells, with scrub woodland by the streams. Small woods were planted to shelter game for hunting. Much of the woodland seen today results from planting in the 20th century by the Forestry Commission.
Wikipedia article Link
Visitor Centre website Link