Chiffchaff

Walking in the woods as spring gets hold there is one visiting bird who dominates the airwaves. Easily confused with other warblers by sight but unmistakable when it calls, the chiffchaff insistently two-tones across the tops of the trees. I think I read it has to be a certain height before it sings but I haven't checked that although the ones I have heard, and subsequently seen, have been on boughs demanding neck ache! Once you have heard one in the wood, and realised who the call belongs to, it is impossible to tune out and only maybe the high pitched sharp cry of the wren competes.

Chiffchaff, Cambridgeshire

Chiffchaff, Cambridgeshire

Barn owl

Along with the short-eared owls at Wicken we have been lucky to see a barn owl or two hunting. They are quite obvious as they fly low above the fen with the early morning light catching their white wings. On one of our first visits, before we were aware of one particular owls hunting area, it came out of some trees and flew straight at us before we even knew it was around.  The last visit we made a few weeks ago we saw presumably this same owl in the same area, but it flew over the bank of a lode before we had chance to take any photos. However, when we started walking along that lode it popped up from the undergrowth and began to hunt in front of us.  We stood for a few minutes as it hovered over a ditch, moving every so often a few feet either way, its eyes never leaving the ground. One failed dive and it rested on a post for a few seconds before trying again. Eventually it went down again, this time stopping out of sight for a while before finally flying off with its prey, disappearing back over the lode. A beautiful 5 minutes with a stunning bird.

Short-eared owl

Along with some stunning sunrises the other highlight of our walks at Wicken has been the owls. It is well known locally for spotting Short-eared owls over the winter months. They feed during the day and attract lots of birders and photographers.  We did spot one in the distance on one of our visits. We walked slowly towards it as it hunted across the scrub and then stopped for the shot below as it rested on a post (it was still a long way off so I was at the dodgy end of the zoom!) before creeping a bit further on. Sadly a family came along the bank above the owl and it flew off but it was my first sighting and next year we will know where to look.

Wicken landscapes

Wicken Fen has become one of our regular walks over the winter and early spring as there is always something to see. This watery reserve catches the low early sun and mists giving warm reflections and frosted reeds. The large expanses of fenland are criss crossed with straight lodes and furrowed fields giving a variety of environments for the thousands of different species that live or visit there. I'm not sure we shall visit quite so often now the weather is warming as being a wetland it is often alive with gnats and mosquitoes who seem to find my husband the tastiest dish on their menu! These are a few photos of the landscape taken over the winter.

Stormy sunset

We had some glorious skies the other evening. The clouds bubbled up into a heavy threatening mass but as the sun went down it caught the outer edges and we had a glorious fiery sunset, all topped off by a sliver of crescent moon.

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

Blossom blossom everywhere

The temperatures in Cambridgeshire have been edging towards mild (for the time of year of course) and the blossom is bursting out almost before our eyes. The almond tree in the garden just a week ago was in tight bud but over the past few days as the sun has shone for longer they have opened out in a froth of candy floss pink attracting the early insects. Against the blue skies they look pale but as the evening light moves round and lower the tree catches the last rays and the colours deepen and take on the hues of the sunset.