Country diary: A perilous feast for the voles and birds | Phil Gates

Deerness valley, County Durham: Thanks to a local 'Phantom Feeder', there are easy pickings for the wildlife on this walking route - but this also means dicing with deathWe had walked this route many times before meeting the mysterious figure we'd dubbed the Phantom Feeder, scatterer of birdseed along the former railway line. He's been out early this morning; there's fresh seed on a boulder halfway down the hill, attracting an appreciative flock of blue tits, great tits, dunnocks, chaffinches and a robin.There's no shortage of wild seeds and berries yet, but the instinct to lay down body fat before winter has drawn them to these deluxe easy pickings. It's risky, though: kestrels hunt here. Only the coal tits seem cautious, flitting in to pick up seed then retreating into a hawthorn, too quick for my camera to capture, before returning for more. Continue reading...