This is basically a friendly word of warning to those people who don't know the reserve very well - please wear appropriate footwear when you visit during the current wet weather. Thankfully the public paths are not flooded, unlike some other sites, but some of them are still rather muddy.
In common with many other reserves, we have spent a lot of time and money on improving the paths at Fowlmere to make the reserve more accessible. In the summer it is not unusual to see visitors in sandals, and even convoys of young mothers with prams and pushchairs walking round. However, as I walked round the reserve yesterday, I was reminded that 2012 was the wettest year on record in England, but not everyone seems to realise it. You will enjoy a walk in the countryside much more if you don't have to spend all your time watching where you put your feet.
The reserve can seem quiet during this windy weather, when most of the birds are keeping warm and dry under cover, but even now there is still something to be seen. A duck that many people don't recognise is gadwall, and a fine male is often on the mere, together with varying numbers of teal. Several common snipe have been less visible at the edge of the reeds, but can usually be spotted if you look carefully enough.
I am trying to run some water off, partly to provide shallow feeding areas for such birds as snipe and teal, but also because we need to start the annual activity of cutting reeds. Will it stop raining long enough for us to do it?