The freezing conditions have returned and many of the lakes are completely frozen over. What little open water remains is crammed full of waterfowl, jostling for position in what can only be described as a scrum!
Not too many reports from Saturday; perhaps the lure of Christmas shopping was too great. A peregrine was seen over Ferry Lagoon, and later at Mare Fen, there were two smew on Swavesey Lake and 6 goosanders were seen at Drayton Lagoon. Most interesting was a bittern which dropped into a small area of reeds beside the river. We have always suspected that the bitterns feed along the river when the lakes freeze over, but haven't been able to proove it before now.
Sunday was the monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) count. The increased coverage, plus the keen eyes of volunteers and visitor led to some nice sightings. The smew numbers were up to 15, with 2 drakes and 13 redheads on Swavesey Lake early on before the dispersed around the site. 7 goosanders dropped in briefly onto the Trout Pond before heading off towards the river. There were 3 bittern sightings, two from Holywell Lake and one from Far Fen Lake. There were 8 Bewick's swans on Drayton Lagoon and a pink-footed goose amongst the greylags at Ferry Lagoon.
Some of the best sightings came from the water rails. As well as a calling bird at Ferry Lagoon and a brief sighting at Far Fen Lake, there were at least 5 in the Oxholme Drain. The movement of the water through the drain keeps it relatively clear of ice and this encourages the water rails to move from the lake shores as they search for food.
Predatory birds are also searching hard for food. There were two sightings of peregrines on Sunday and it's possible 2 birds were involved. A barn owl was out in daylight hours, quartering over Elney Lake.