I've worked in various parts of the UK in my time with the RSPB, and got to know lots of people this way. It is always a pleasure to meet up with them, and show them around Fen Drayton Lakes.
Yesterday, several members of the RSPB York Local Group called in, on their way to a long weekend in Suffolk. I first met some of these volunteers back in 1999, and have worked with them on a number of occasions since then. So, as well as just being nice to see them, it was also good to be able to show them around, a small thanks for their help for me in the past.
Naturally, they’re keen to see as many different species as possible over the weekend, but they also want good views. Fen Drayton Lakes got them off to a flying start.
Before leaving the car park, we’d seen marsh harriers and a hobby. There were several different warblers in the hedge by the lane, and although it was a bit cool and blowy as we walked alongside the river, we still managed to find a grasshopper warbler.
Out over Ferry Lagoon, some black terns were flying with common terns, while a dunlin and ringed plover were sheltering on a sand bar. Later, a Cetti’s warbler tried to deafen us as we concentrated on the differences between reed and sedge warbler songs. Soon afterwards, we heard a lesser whitethroat – like hobbies, these birds are uncommon as far north as York.
We were onto our second route before we found any robins. These were quickly followed by a song thrush then a nightingale. These birds don’t breed as far north as York, and this was a new bird for one of the group. Further on, we saw lapwings on an island, but couldn’t see the newly hatched chicks.
By the time the group set off for the Suffolk coast, they had at least 63 bird species on their list. A good afternoon’s birding, but they ought to be well over a hundred by the time they get home on Sunday.