Following lots of promising bird reports on the SOS message board, I thought it was time to pay a visit to the Hankridge Farm reserve.  This is a small but rich reserve just behind the shopping complex built on the original Hankridge Farm in Taunton.  It includes a lake which takes its water from the River Tone, the river itself and an area of trees, shrubs and grassland.  There are platforms reaching out into the lake for people to feed the ducks and dog walkers patrol the banks.  Despite the disturbance, the margins seem to be rich in birdlife and the trees around the reserve are full of small birds, thrushes and magpies.  A good place to park is by the 'Mandarin House restaurant shown in the centre of this map.

Today I had been hoping to target bullfinches, a species that I have not managed to photograph at all well in the past.  In addition, a possible Northern Bullfinch had been reported giving an extra incentive to get a picture.   I arrived at about 2.20pm in bright sunshine.  The lake was about 50% frozen over and the river was running fast.

The first bird to catch my eye was a grey wagtail trying to feed from the edge of the ice.  It made for  a splash of colour against the whites and greys as it fluttered about and did fortunately seem to be finding the occasional morcel on the surface.  This is a hard time of year for the birds and the freeze has been going on for over a week already.

I knew that one of the SOS members had been feeding the birds in the area behind Sainsbury's so I made my way down and eventually found what I assumed to be the right spot.  The aea under trees and shrubs was heaving with blackbirds, chaffinches, dunnock and in nearby trees were greenfinch and various tit species.  However, the star for me in this spot was a treecreeper which spent about 20 minutes very visible on two or three of the larger trees by this feeding area.  I managed to get my best shots to date of this intriguing little bird.

Time and light were running out and there was still no sign or sound of a bullfinch.  However, my luck changed as I neared the lake again and I had a few minutes in which I was able to get some mediocre shots in poor light.  They are still better than anything I've managed before so I count the little trip today as a success!