Occasionally people ask why I don't blog more often. One reason is that I spend time writing something (as I have been for the last hour), and then it all disappears when I click on the 'publish' button. Frustrating or what!? I must speak to the IS people (and save my work more frequently).
No matter, here's my second attempt to tell you about a pleasant evening on the reserve yesterday. Most people seem to visit during the middle of the day when birds are least active, and then wonder why they have seen/heard very little. Of course, there are exceptions - butterflies and dragonflies are most active in the heat of the day, and hobbies are often hunting then, but most birds are active shortly after dawn and before dusk, so those are the best times to see/hear them. Yesterday was clear and calm, so after I'd made a brief visit to Drewer Hide (where I saw and heard a turtle dove, and heard a water rail + chicks and a lesser whitethroat), I went to Reedbed Hide. This is the best place to spend the last couple of hours of the day.
All the usual suspects were there - reed warblers singing and chasing each other in the reeds in front of the hide; a sedge warbler collecting flies where the reeds emerge from the water and taking them back to its nest in the nettles; reed buntings wheezing from the tops of bushes; a pair of gadwall (here since 18th May) feeding on the mere among several families of mallards; coots feeding their black and red chicks; a heron creeping through the reeds around the mere; swifts and swallows flitting over the scrub and reeds or swooping down to drink; song thrushes belting out their songs from the tree tops; a great tit bringing food to its family under the hide every minute or so. However, such a place also attracts birds that are less frequently seen, that just come and go; presenting these in notebook format seems a sensible way to do it.
19.50 Starling 10 swooped over the reeds, presumably looking for somewhere to roost before shooting off19.51 Kestrel one of the pair that is nesting near the car park flew over the reedbed, prompting every reed warbler to burst into urgent song as it passed over 20.00 Marsh harrier female flew from the north to the reedbed; initially I thought it would be the regular male that has been here for several weeks, but as it banked I could see that the underwings were more brown and less contrasting than 'our' bird; would it stay to roost?20.05 The distinctive calls of a green sandpiper had the three observers in the hide looking here, there and everywhere until it was spotted on the mud at the edge of the mere. It stood there for a couple of minutes before departed southwards without feeding on the flies around it20.20 Kingfisher male flew to the perch by the mere that had been provided for him, then to the fence at the back of the mere, then to the ditch on the eastern edge of the reserve20.25 Marsh harrier female flew off northwards20.34 Barn owl male appeared to the right of the hide, hunting along the edge of the reedbed around to Drewer Hide before leaving the reserve20.38 Pied wagtail small flock of five (3 males, 1 female, 1 juvenile) flew to the fence at the back of the mere, then fed and chased each other before disappearing; did they roost in the reeds?20.40 Barn owl male returned with prey, flying past the hide on his way to the nestbox where three chicks had been seen earlier20.42 Marsh harrier 2CY male (second calendar year = fledged last year) suddenly appeared, hunting over the reedbed before dropping into the reeds near Drewer Hide20.45 Fading light and hunger sent us home!
Dare I say this was a typical evening at Fowlmere in late May - lots of activity from the breeding birds, plus something a little unexpected. The presence of the less common species is not guaranteed, but in the last couple of weeks we have also seen shelduck, little egret, common tern, peregrine (two different birds) and otter (up to three). What a nice place to spend a couple of hours.