Wicken Fen Bank Holiday Walk

Wicken Fen, Burwell Fen, 7 May 2019, 7am-10am, cloudy, breezy, cold (5-7 deg)

It's a big year for Wicken Fen as this week it celebrated its 120th anniversary of becoming the National Trust's first reserve and also 20 years of its Vision Plan.

As we walked from the car park towards Baker's Fen a cuckoo called out over Adventurer's Fen. It was really quite cold as we walked along the lode. Lapwings with their blunt wings and high calls took off from the lake and we spotted a wader which checking later I think was a Greenshank (a new spot). A Marsh harrier was being buzzed by two crows in the very distance.

Greenshank

Turning to cross Baker's Fen all seemed fairly quiet. Goldfinches and Reed buntings skimmed the bushes and fence posts and the skylarks called out from the long grass, invisible to the eye as none rose up this morning. Four young Konik ponies played, the breeze in their manes as their trotting accelerated to a full throttle gallop, free and as a passer by noted 'because they can', they arced behind us and crossed though the meadow to a far field.

The Little owl was absent, we scanned favourite perches but only saw a lone Roe deer in the field. The Barn owl was away on a very distant post.

We crossed the bridge and followed the path around Burwell Fen, watching out for any Short-eared owls hunting. Deep calls came across the meadow, deer barking we wondered but as we got closer it was a couple of Highland cattle calling to each other across a marsh, aggression or passion we weren't sure! A Greylag looked up from feeding in the long grass and watched us pass.

Greylag goose

A Meadow pipit sat on a fence post until we got quite close and a Brown hare turned tail as a cyclist approached ahead. As we came towards the end of the path a Short-eared owl took off from the grass. Us almost upon it before it gave the game away and flew back towards the old barn area.

Meadow pipit

Crossing through the middle of Burwell Fen we respectfully passed cattle and calves and swans and cygnets and watched three Brown hares scuttle around the grass tufts before spotting the Short-eared owl hunting just beyond the old barn area and coming to rest on a post. It watched us approaching, we slowed as a Roe deer came alongside before the owl took off hunting alongside the bank.

Cygnets

Brown hares

As we walked towards the bank the owl flew across in front of us and dropped to the ground. We could just spot it with the binoculars and zoom lens, sitting in the grass. We sheltered near a tree and waited for it to rise up again but eventually lost sight and never did see it fly off!

Short-eared owl, Roe deer

The Barn owl was still hunting though as we crossed back over the bridge and walked alongside Baker's Fen, stopping briefly in Charlie's Hide to see some Canada goslings and a Little Grebe.

Barn owl

Canada goose and gosling

The Beast From the East Brings Snow and Visitors

It's been a while hasn't it! I've been busy with building a new business whilst still working, grandma duties and general life! But I've still been walking and definitely still been watching nature go through her seasonal manoeuvres. One curve ball was thrown at us last week when an icy blast of weather came our way bringing windchill and snow. In Cambridgeshire we got off very lightly with a few centimetres of snow on and off for a few days whilst other areas had drifts of 10 and even 20 feet.

Weather watchers soon nicknamed this front The Beast From the East although towards the end of the week it had also combined with a European storm called Emma - much less fierce sounding but the one that hit us with the most snow.

One advantage of the freezing temperatures and the ground being covered was some new visitors to the gardens. Photos appeared everywhere of people seeing fieldfares and redwings for the first time. And where the little birds feed the bigger birds follow with sparrow hawks and buzzards being seen brazenly sitting on fences and sheds.

I made a point of putting out more food each day, topping it up and keeping the water from freezing.

Watching the birds it was interesting to see their behaviour change. The robin who would normally see off any other robin reserved its energy - at one point we had three in the garden - the blackbirds stopped chasing each other for a few days too. But bring in a few outsiders and the dynamics changed again. The robin took exception to a male blackcap who appeared one afternoon, the jackdaws saw off a stray gull and the blackbirds and a fieldfare fought it out over an apple - the fieldfare arrived on the second day of snow and having found some apple stood guard over it for the next few days.

As the snow eventually thawed and the visitors disappeared back to the woods and the fields the garden became calm again and the regular birds went back to the job in hand - spring!

30 Days Wild - Day 27 - Snail Trail

And then the rain came!  After our heatwave of last week where I couldn't move for sweating today the drips are coming from the skies!

Some people may not enjoy the rain but my garden is crying out for it! My water butt is on empty and the grass is curling at the edges. So welcome the rain! It is forecast to continue for a couple of days, which it needs to soak through - the initial downpours just running off the hard earth.

Today in the office, we saw the lightning light up the dark oppressive sky and we jumped as the crack of thunder came immediately behind. The gutter leaked under the deluge with a waterfall outside the door.

Then the snails came out. Outside one of the office windows the foliage has not been cut back for a while and is covering the glass. Three snails made their way across the windowsill to the tender shoots on the other side. My 30 Days Wild act for today was to encourage my colleagues to put down their pens and stop looking at their screens for a few minutes and come to the window to see the snails. They may have thought I was mad but they came and we watched and we chatted about the rain and the snails and how not a ripple could be seen as they slid over the glass.

A nature break without leaving the office.

30 Days Wild - Day 24 & 25 - A Wasp Saves the Day & Other Wildlife

 

I've linked Day 24 of 30 Days Wild in with today (Day 25) purely because I was at a wedding all day yesterday and had no time, nor the correct clothing on, for anything random or wild! However, whilst sitting outside the venue in the sunshine we got 'attacked' by the first wasp I have seen this season! No photo sadly but I promise you it was there!

Today, after a week of no walking due to the heat and well other bits of life that needed attention, I really wanted to get a few miles in first thing and if possible to take the new lens. So off we went to Wicken only to find when we got there that I had forgotten my socks!! My husband was all for turning around and going home but my walking shoes are well worn in so I reckoned I would be ok for at least a couple of miles. I promised I would speak up at the first sign of any blisters so we had chance to walk back to the car before I damaged my feet too much!

The lens was great - it is heavier than anything I've had before so I have to get used to that but actually it wasn't as cumbersome as I thought it would be.

We watched some Konig foals tussling and playing and saw a hare. I would never have got the photos I did on the other lens - the hare was a good way off and between us was a double gateway. I decided not to get too close to start with and knelt down to shoot through the fence. Our scent was carrying on the strong breeze though so after just one shot it was off down the track.

In the end, as we were visiting one of the hides about half way round, my husband insisted we swap and I wear his socks. That's love that is right there! :)

30 Days Wild - Day 18 - It's A Bug's Life

Hot! Hot! Hot! I really wanted to get out for a walk this morning and find some butterflies but even early it was too warm and sticky for me so, as we are busy this afternoon, once again I took the camera out in the garden for 30 Days Wild.

All was still amongst the plants except the odd movement of tiny wings. The birds were oddly quiet too as I topped up the water in the bird bowl and the bee watering station. Then I sat under the umbrella's shade with my early morning coffee and silently wished my dad a Happy Fathers Day.

The deep purple salvias and lavender I bought at the garden centre a few weeks ago had come into flower and were welcoming their pollen hunting visitors.

No sound of lawn mowers, no smell of bar-be-ques but they will surely come later. Just me, the insects and my memories.

30 Days Wild - Day 15 - Trail Cam Take Two

Well I put the trail cam out again last night, moved it back a bit so it wasn't so bright on the feeding dish.  I knew the neighbouring cat had been in the garden as he left me a delightful present of vomit on the lawn. He actually threw up right in front of the camera but I'll spare you that for 30 Days Wild!





Anyhow, check out the video and watch out behind the cat in the corner of the lawn!

We do have a hedgehog :) - so pleased to see it and that the cat decided it wasn't worth hassling!

30 Days Wild - Day 14 - Trail Cam

Last year for my birthday my husband bought me a trail cam. Nothing too fancy, we just wanted to see what was coming into the garden at night as we had been feeding what we hoped were hedgehogs. I had also won a hedgehog house from Waitrose and we wanted to see if it was being used.

Since then I have captured a few little videos of hedgehogs and mice.

For today's 30 Days Wild act I thought I'd get the trail cam out again so last night we put the food out as usual - a mixture of crushed peanuts and mealworms - once it was nearly dark otherwise the wood pigeon just takes it all before anyone else gets a look in! I haven't seen a hedgehog in the garden for a few months and the house which was used in the winter doesn't look like it has been disturbed recently. I also haven't seen any hedgehog droppings in the garden for a while. I am hoping that us putting a gate on the garden to keep the granddaughter in hasn't deterred them - we made sure to leave a big enough gap at the bottom.

So this morning I brought the camera in and downloaded the files. As I expected, although with the neighbour's cat staked out most nights I wasn't 100% sure, a mouse visited the food approximate every 5 minutes of the first hour or so and then at regular intervals through the night. The film was very bright though so I need to sort that out. Then at 4:23am the blackbirds I photographed the other day arrived with the mother feeding the baby from the food dish.

No hedgehogs!

I will put the trail cam out again tonight and maybe for the next few nights and move it round the garden a bit. Watch this space!

30 Days Wild - Day 12 - A New Toy

I've been a hobbiest photographer for quite a while but more seriously over the past few years and I especially love wildlife photography, as you can see from this blog.  I have found though that it is not a pastime regularly associated with middle-aged (ahem!) women, even generally photography it is often depicted in adverts and articles as a male interest. Possibly now, with A level and degree courses available, younger women are taking it up but I've certainly not come across many 52 year old females. I'm not saying they aren't out there enjoying the art but I don't come across them out on their own, in the early morning, in the middle of a nature reserve. And this isn't surprising really. It should be but it's not. I often take my husband anyway as we enjoy walking. He is a great 'spotter' but doesn't like to sit still for too long! It sadly, and I accept it is mostly unjustified, feels a bit intimidating sitting in a hide with big men and their big lenses!

This brings me on to my new toy! My birthday is next week and my husband has bought me a new lens. A longer one for the birds and beasties. I had a 300mm but this is 600mm - and it's massive! I am sure there is always going to be an issue to a certain extent with longer lenses and weight, but I wonder how much this is researched and looked into, and if more could be done to loose the lbs? I'm all for equality but there will also men out there, not into weight training, that would struggle carrying some of these around for any length of time!

Then there's the strap - firstly the best ones are shaped and are meant to be worn on the left shoulder with the camera on the right hip. I'm left-handed so that's a disadvantage to start with. There are a few straps for lefties but not much choice. Secondly that choice disappears completely if you happen to be a left-handed woman! There are one or two straps with the shaping designed to sit round our curves but I've yet to find a left-handed version. Perhaps I'm being fussy and there really aren't many women photographers out there who are going to use these heavy lenses. Perhaps there are even less left-handed ones. In the meantime I am seeing the positive and relishing in the exercise my bingo-wings are going to get!

For my 30 Day Wild act today I had a practise with the new lens in the garden after work. Of course when you want a bird to fly in they are conspicuous by their absence, but eventually one or two popped by, along with a beautiful Hummingbird-Hawk Moth. This tested my ability to manoeuvre the lens quickly as it skimmed around the honeysuckle, but the real test was holding the camera up to the sky as a group of Starlings flew over.  Weight aside though I'm really pleased with my present, if I only manage to take it out locally while I build up the strength, and courage to take it to a hide, it should enable me to get some closer images without worrying about disturbing the wildlife. PS - it is irritating me intently that I chopped the tail off the baby Blackbird in the last shot - but they were getting too close for this lens. I know - never satisfied!!

30 Days Wild - Day 3 - Mini Bio Blitz

I had decided on a mini bio blitz of the garden for Day 3 of 30 Days Wild. It’s a lovely day here with light cloud and sunny but with a gentle warm breeze. We only have a very small garden, but I am cramming it with as many plants as I can. We have a raised pond and a tree. Maybe later in the month I will do a full blitz, lifting stones and dipping in the pond but today I thought I would just take an hour to sit in the garden and see what came to visit.

Hover Fly

Since our new neighbourhood cat came to live next door there has been a definite decline in the birds and rodents in the garden. I haven’t seen a mouse or vole for ages and I’m pretty certain there aren’t any birds nesting actually in the garden, although they are around on the feeders. I always know when the cat is out and about as the Blackbirds make their discontentment known with a high-pitch shrill warning.

Wood pigeon

Thankfully for the time I was outside today my feline foe was absent and I was thrilled to have two young Great Tits perch above me in the tree. Although I could hear a parent protesting behind me, they were young enough not to be too bothered that I was sitting underneath. They hovered first out of sight on the top branches before flitting down to the peanut feeder. A few near misses later and a bit of wing flapping and they had figured out how to cling on and feed at the same time!

Juvenile Great Tit

I also had a pair of Dunnocks on the grass cloaca-pecking. I hadn’t seen this before so had to look it up! The male pecks the female’s rear end before mating to remove any competitor’s sperm that may be present.  This behaviour by Dunnocks is apparently unique in our garden birds.

Dunnocks

So my mini bio blitz produced:

Dunnock

Great tit

Sparrow

Blackbird

Wood pigeon

Jackdaw

Buff-tailed bumble bee

Early bumblebee

Honey bee

Garden ant

Robin

Starling

Collared dove

Hover fly

Wood louse

House fly
A spider that moved too quick to be identified

Garden Ant

The garden is alive!

After a few dismal days and lots of rain - it was needed I know - today the sun is out and the garden it quite literally buzzing. The ceanothus is ladened with blue flowers now and the bees are heavy with pollen sacs. Hover flies are in the air and I am just waiting for the butterflies to warm up and take off to join them. Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day 😃