Spring shots

The early spring this year has meant lots of wildlife to see out and about at Fen Drayton lately, and decent weather for enjoying it! Here's a round-up of some great moments captured on camera - thank you Guy and Steve for sharing these on the reserve photos page.

Sunrise over the lakes by Guy Goodrick

Such an early start isn't for everyone, but what if there was a bacon butty involved…? The Cambridge Local Group will be running a dawn chorus walk followed by breakfast at RSPB Fowlmere nature reserve, just out of Cambridge, on Saturday 3 May. A spring dawn chorus is something to remember, well worth the 5 am meeting time. Follow the link for booking contact details or to offer/request life sharing. You won't regret it.

Common lizard by Steve Dobromylski

As we bask in more and more of these warm spring days ourselves, look out for others doing the same thing - the logs around the Discovery Zone, south of Ferry Lagoon, are a good spot to see these common lizards sunning themselves. Approach quietly; if you don't see anything at first it is worth waiting for a few minutes, as lizards may reappear once they think you're gone. If you have binoculars you could try scanning the logs from distance as well.

Weasel by Steve Dobromylski

A beautiful photo of a creature you don't often get such a good view of! A frequently asked question is how to tell the difference between a weasel and a stoat if you do catch a glimpse. One thing to look out for is whether there's a black tip to the tail - in which case it's a stoat - but the BBC Nature pages linked to have some good videos.

Smew by Steve Dobromylski

A drake smew is still paddling around Ferry Lagoon at the moment. More on these beautiful winter visitors in a previous post here.

Finally, although I don't have a photo, there's currently a drake Baikal teal to be seen on Moore Lake. As the linked Arkive webpage explains, this spectacular duck breeds in eastern Siberia, Russia, and journeys through Mongolia and North Korea to winter in Japan, South Korea and mainland China. So our visitor is either well off course or an escapee from a collection - the jury's out on that one. Beautiful to see either way.