Needing to stay local and contactable we decided this morning to go back to Wicken. The last few days have finally seen some much-needed rain. Probably not enough but at least the ground has dampened down and everything looks green and new.
The sound of the cuckoo welcomed us as we walked towards Burwell Fen. The water was fairly quiet, just a few Lapwings circling and some indistinguisable water fowl with their heads still tucked in. In the distance a Marsh harrier.
A single swan glided towards us down Monk's Lode with its wings up in the classic heart shape. Alone?
The Little owl was on his perch, grumpily watching us before flying off into a back tree. Disappearing now amongst the leaves. We spoke to somebody later on who said he had once seen four Little owls at one time here so I hope there is a breeding pair.
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| Little owl |
Over the bridge and no sign of either Barn or Short-eared owls but lots of goldfinches dashed backwards and forwards across the pathway and Skylarks sat atop the scrub bushes. The Marsh harrier was never far away the entire way round, sometimes joined by another, both sending up protesting Lapwings.
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| Skylark |
At the far bridge, although I didn't see it, a stoat disappeared into the long grass. I hung around and spotted a Whitethroat on the bridge and a brave vole attempting to venture out before spying me and wisely retreating back into the undergrowth. The stoat didn't reappear.
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| Whitethroat |
We sat for a while and watched a kestrel perched on a pylon and still the Marsh harriers hunted low over the water birds.
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| Kestrel |
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| Marsh harrier |
The Short-eared owls were nowhere to be seen but back over the lode two photographers with tripods signalled the possibility of the Barn owl and sure enough as we walked down past its hunting field it swooped down onto a far post before finally taking off and flying right past us as it returned to the barn.
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| Barn owl |
As we made our way back the cuckoo called closely and I photographed what I thought might be it, but then as I checked the back of the camera thought it was probably a pigeon. Once home and able to zoom in I am pretty sure there are bars on the tail indicating it was the cuckoo after all. Two Marsh harriers sent up a pair of large birds. I didn't catch them but Nick thought they might have been cranes. A Grey heron was perched in a tree nearby though.
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| Cuckoo |
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