Back to the Fen

Wicken & Burwell Fens, 12th May 2019, 7.15am-10.15am, Bright, dry, calm, 4-10 degrees

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kestrel

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.

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.

Cuckoo

Spotted: Brown hare, Cuckoo, ? Warbler, Goldfinches, Marsh harriers, Skylarks, Reed bunting, Stoat, Vole, Roe deer, Kestrel, Barn owl, Pied wagtail, Swans, Greylag geese, Canada geese, Shoveler, Lapwing, Sheldrakes, Swallows, Whitethroat, Buzzard, Grey heron, Pipit (prob Meadow), Crows, Magpies, Egrets, Terns,

Morning walk in the woods

Rampton wood and meadow, 7th May 2019, 8.30-9.30am, partial cloud, bright, calm, 7-8 deg

A grey squirrel scurried up the oak tree in the churchyard as I passed by and a pair of Dunnocks flew along the fence. Today I opted to first cross the meadow where buttercups, dandelions and grasses swayed very gently and a bird (unidentified) called with a high pitched single note.

The crops in the next field are beginning to show now and the ditch has a little water. Magpies and wood pigeons called out from the trees.

I stopped to have a look up The Cut and noticed two very small warblers in the reeds on the bend. Having taken a quick photo and checking at home I think they were Whitethroats.

Whitethroat

Back into the woods and the cow parsley is now around shoulder height. The woods are green and dense and it is difficult to make out the birds and yet it is noisy with calls - blackbirds, thrushes, great tits. The undergrowth rustles as I approach - blackbirds or rabbits - and flies appear as I brush the grass.

A tiny Chiffchaff's big voice fills the canopy as I come to the large oak trees with their leaves bright and new, unfurling fully now. The undergrowth is encroaching the pathway, nettles, sticky weed and cow parsley the greens interspersed every now and then with a touch of hot pink from the Red campion.

Red campion

Out of the wood and along the path towards the church a small tree is covered in tiny bees enjoying the yellow flowers and two Long-tailed tits hand from the branches. A woodpecker (probably Green) calls across from the fields beyond the hedge.

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

30 Days Wild - Day 19 - Evening Viewing

As the heat is still rising and the coolest place is my office I haven't even been out for my regular lunchtime walk, or been inclined to go outdoors at all. However, it looked like it might be a nice sunset and by 9pm it was comfortable enough to sit in the garden, so I took my camera and phone out and waited for the sky to colour up for my 30 Days Wild act.

While I was waiting I thought I'd tick off another random act of wildness and check out some webcams and as it was for 30 Days I looked up the Wildlife Trust to see what they had.

How great it is to be able to turn on and watch wildlife that was previously unaccessible. How many people just a few years ago could say they had seen inside a Peregrine nest? Amazing privilege.

Osprey nest at Rutland Water with two chicks.

A barn owl nest at Blue House Farm nature reserve in Essex.

Peregrines on Buckinghamshire County Council's County Hall in Aylesbury.

And the sunset? By now the sky had become streaked with clouds and vapour trails and a strip of orange hung on the horizon. Not a spectacular sunset in the end but such a pretty sky.

30 Days Wild - Day 4 - A Walk to Check on the Nest

A few days ago I went for a walk in our local woods and found a blackbird’s nest left vulnerable after the pathway edges had been cut back.  For my 30 Days Wild act today I thought I would go back and check on the nest.

The walk goes through our churchyard which has a piece of land attached. Last year planning permission went up for a house to be built and someone cleared the area of all the brambles. Nothing has happened so far and the land has once again become overgrown, except this time the brambles have been replaced with Oxeye Daisies. In disturbing the soil conditions must have been favourable for these to germinate and thrive.

We walk on through a meadow. Often cows are put in here to graze but as of yet none have arrived. The meadow still has a few buttercups but is now waist height in places with grasses swaying and whispering in the light breeze.  On into the next field which this year is set with some kind of broad bean. These seem to have grown at least a foot in the sunshine and showers we have had over the last few days.

And then into the wood, the canopy so knitted now it could be any time of day. The cow parsley which a few weeks ago stood over my head with creamy flowers is now collapsing down on itself. The air is alive with bird song but try as we might we can’t spot the singers amongst the dense foliage. A few mushrooms have emerged from the dark damp soil.

As we walk through, with the remnants of cut nettles and brambles shrivelled now on the edges of the path, I look for the nest and its bright – too bright - blue eggs.

It is empty.

Just three feet from the ground, with only one or two leaves between its precious contents and the other woodland wildlife all fighting to survive, it was probably inevitable but my heart still felt a little heavier as we walked home.

Exposed!

I haven't walked through my local woods for a few weeks and was expecting a bit of a battle through the spent cow parsley, nettles and brambles that encroach on an ever narrowing pathway during the summer. However, it appeared that over the last few days either the parish or county council have been and cut back the undergrowth. Great for walking and not getting stung but not so good for the wildlife! I spotted this nest just at the edge of the path. When it was built it would have been a good foot inside the brambles and almost completely hidden. Now it is scarily exposed and with the brilliance of the blue eggs was quite easily seen.  I looked and listened for any obvious signs of blackbird parents but they were not close by so at first I assumed it had been abandoned but gently laying the back of my hand on the eggs I could feel some warmth so fingers crossed they might hatch and the undergrowth grows back quickly!

Blackbird Nest, Cambridgeshire

Dunnock in the spotlight

Nine times out of ten when I look out into the garden there will be a dunnock scuttling around the pots and plants. The sparrows arrive, and leave, the garden as one tight group but the dunnock rarely seems to take flight, preferring to wait out whatever has spooked the other birds tucked behind some greenery. This small unobtrusive bird spends most of the day clearing up underneath the feeders with the occasionally forage in the flower beds.

This afternoon, when I looked out and watched, it was competing for the spare seed with a particularly large wood pigeon who bullied until the dunnock hopped up onto a perch lit by the last afternoon rays. For a few minutes it sat taking up the fading warmth, and I like to think it relished its moment to be the one to shine.

Dunnock

Honey bee nest

After a morning of data crunching I took myself off for a lunchtime walk to refresh my tired brain - just a mile or so around the woods in the sunshine - just what was needed. Brimstones on the wing, birds singing and bees buzzing - spring definitely feels like it has arrived today. The bees in question were both bumble bees and honey bees and the honey bees had a nest! At the edge of the meadow just past the church is an old tree. It looks a bit past its best with numerous boughs missing, splits in the bark and woodpecker holes but on close inspection it is full of life. Today amongst the blue tits and great tits flew the bees. I heard them first, scanning the tree before seeing them congregate around an opening about half way up the tree. The photos are on my longest zoom, for obvious reasons, so not the best quality, but you can still make out some of the worker bees with their golden cache of pollen as they make their way into the nest.

How many sparrows?

Despite their recent decline in some areas, our garden sees lots of house sparrows. They flit in large groups from a tall hedge which borders our driveway and across the back gardens. Often they stop in our honeysuckle for a rest and to regroup. One or two may take up position first and then a few more will follow and gradually the numbers rise. There always seems to be one or two birds on the top tendrils on look out duty and then suddenly one will spook and they all depart back to the safety of the hedge. We also have them roosting and nesting in an old clematis at the front of the house and the neighbours over the other side of the road have put a communal nesting box up as the birds also roost in their ivy.

Generally ground feeders, the sparrows that visit our garden have learnt to take from the feeders hanging in the tree. They can hang on for quite a while feasting on the seeds, nuts and fat balls.

These little brown birds can get a bit overlooked sometimes in the hope that something slightly more exotic might land but when you watch how they interact with the others in their gang and how they chatter almost continuously I think they deserve a bit more attention.

Female House Sparrow

Male House Sparrow

Stop over on the honeysuckle

A mouse in the house (actually the shed)

We had to move a sack of bird food in the shed the other day and behind it was a mouse nest. It was built mostly of grass, although there was a chewed up plastic seedling pot in there too, and it was attached to the inside of an upturned wooden crate.  The bird food had been infiltrated and the nest was surrounded by seeds. I set the trail cam up in the shed overnight to see if the nest was still being used or if we had disturbed it too much.

The mouse (not sure which sort) didn't appear to be in the nest at the time as he/she turned up about an hour or so later. The trail cam was set off numerous times overnight where the mouse kept returning to the nest to remove food and take it elsewhere. I watched carefully to see if any young might have been moved but pretty sure there weren't. Eventually the nest collapsed from all the burrowing! We felt bad at having disturbed it but it does appear to have just been a food store. When moving its food the mouse was only gone for a few seconds so I assume it has found another corner in the shed to use. The footage below is when the mouse first came back to the now exposed nest. It does look rather confused!

Hedgehog Diary

As posted a while ago we now have a hedgehog house in the garden. I've been feeding what I thought was a hedgehog for a few months in the hope it might find the house too. At the same time my husband bought me a trail cam for my birthday so we could watch whatever comes into the garden at night. It turns out I am feeding at least two hedgehogs - one much bigger than the other - and a cat! Whilst I'm not keen on feeding the neighbouring cats this one did look suspiciously like one that had gone missing from a few streets away so I contacted the owners and they took a look at the footage. It turned out it was theirs and after some calling and treat shaking they found it dozing under a nearby hedge. I've stopped putting cat food out for a while to discourage the cat from coming back as it means it is having to cross a main road. So far I've not seen either hog venture into the house but I've just bought a bag of hay which I'll pop in there as the nights start to cool down and hope it attracts one or other. Meanwhile lots of food for the little one to feast on and pile on the pounds!

A new first for the garden

July was quiet in the garden, we were away for a bit and the nesting birds slowly disappeared. I thought we had seen the last of this year's fledglings but just happened to glance out of the window the other morning to see a male green woodpecker and a young one feeding off the ants in the grass. I have to admit I looked twice, I've never seen a green woodpecker around the gardens or in the scrubland at the back. The parents split up when the young leave the nest and share the duties. This youngster was having a go at catching the ants but dad was still feeding. They stopped for a few minutes and I was able to grab some shots (laying on the kitchen floor and shooting through the conservatory door!) before they took flight. I haven't seen them since but fantastic to know they must have been nesting nearby.

The friendly robin

The robins nested again somewhere outside of the garden but still came for food. The hand-feeding became such that I only had to open the door to go outside and I would be aware of a fluttering of wings nearby. This lasted until he disappeared for a week or so to moult. He has been back the last few weeks but was reluctant to come to my hand. We have been tempting him with the suet which he loves and once again as soon as we appear in the garden he turns up, often taking bits from right by us, and today he took from my hand. These photos are from earlier, he was looking a little tired and bedraggled at this point although still better than his mate who was nearly bald.

Collared dove baby

Collared dove babies aren't beautiful, they aren't particularly cute but I'm sure its mother thinks it's the prettiest bird in the garden!

Great-Crested Grebes

We saw a little great-crested grebe family on the lake at a local country park over the weekend. One parent had gone out into the middle of the lake and the other and baby were left in the reeds. Despite having one parent nearby the baby was calling over and over for the other. They are my favourite water bird and I am longing to see the famous courtship dance so I have ear-marked this lake for an earlier visit next year.