At 6pm this evening I saw about 500 starlings gathering to roost. This is not a particularly large number, but they made quite a spectacle against a magnificent sunset. I'll post a photo if I've got a decent image.

Yesterday I mentioned that the field opposite the reserve entrance is worth a look. I checked it as I left the reserve at 6pm and counted 509 lapwings and 14 golden plovers, although the latter were distant and difficult to see. There were also three coveys of grey partridge totalling 25 birds. South Cambridgeshire is one of the best places in Britain for this declining species.

It was such a nice day today that I decided to spend an hour on the reserve, at Spring and Reedbed Hides and the barn owl viewpoint. I haven't spent much time outdoors lately and some recent visitors have reported seeing 'nothing', but I needn't have worried - there were birds everywhere.

A photographer in Spring Hide reported seeing a tit flock move through the scrub between the pool and the field, mainly…

We have not been able to run many events this year, so we will be holding a pond dipping event on Sunday 4^th October 2015 between 10am and 4pm. Entry is free, although we would appreciate donations towards the upkeep of the reserve. Children MUST be accompanied by a responsible adult.

As we approach the end of the bird breeding season, I thought I should point out what can be seen at the moment.

The highlight of this year has been the marsh harriers, fledging four lively youngsters that have been entertaining us for more than a month. There were still two of them left a couple of days ago, although they are unlikely to stay here much longer.

Turtle doves have also been fledging recently. There were…

We have been following the barn owls as keenly as ever, especially as we know this is a poor year nationally. A couple of weeks ago I saw two young birds, but recently I have seen only one. It is possible we have missed the fledging of the oldest, but at 7.40pm on Saturday I saw the remaining bird fly from the box to a branch nearby. Was this its first flight?

The young marsh harriers continue to entertain us as they…

A fourth young marsh harrier appeared this morning! As the usual clutch size is 4-5 eggs, this isn't surprising, but females can lay as many as 8 eggs, so how many more are there?

The timing of their appearance is interesting - 21st, 23rd, 28th, 30th. This five-day interval between the second and third fledglings suggests that the third chick died, and we are seeing numbers 1, 2, 4, 5.

Watch this space...

Fowlmere continues to live up to its developing reputation as one of the best places in Britain to see turtle doves. The distinctive purring of the males (and to a lesser extent the females also) is not being heard as often as it was earlier in the season, but you would still be very unlucky not to hear one if you visited in the morning or the evening. Matt Mellor has posted a short video clip of one on YouTube: https…

Which is more exciting - a rare passage wader or a rare bird breeding success? In chronological order...

Yesterday evening one of the local birders found an adult pectoral sandpiper by the mere. This is the second record for the reserve, the first being a juvenile on 12th September 2009. We started to make the edge of the mere more attractive to waders in the spring that year, and were really pleased with the results…

Just a brief report to keep you informed.

Marsh harrier: male and female bringing food; when will we see a fledgling?

Barn owl: large chick visible in nest box.

Turtle dove: at least four males singing, possibly as many as six; first juvenile seen on 4th July.

Spotted flycatcher: one along the track on the eastern side of the reserve, seen twice; is there a pair? If you see one, please try to follow it and find a…

We have hardly heard a grasshopper warbler at Fowlmere since they last bred in 2011, but this week one has been singing strongly near the boardwalk. I suspect it is a new arrival, because although most of the local birders tend to visit the reserve in the mornings rather than the evenings, it should have been heard before now if it had been present. The best place to stand is on the mound that overlooks the reed bed a few…

It's always a special day when I see an otter at Fowlmere. There have been about a dozen sightings a year since the first record in 1997, so the chances of being in the right place at the right time are slim, but it does happen occasionally.

I was in Reedbed Hide at about 8pm last night, listening to a couple of visitors enthusing about what they had seen - as well as the predictable barn owl in the box and turtle dove in…

It has taken some time to confirm that our male and female marsh harriers are actually a pair and have nested. As they have cunningly chosen a site out of view of the hides in an inaccessible part of the reed bed, the early stages of their season have been largely unobserved. The female has adopted a very low profile, flying only a few meters to come off her nest and receive food from the male, and no aerial food passes were…

As I mentioned in my last blog, we have started to see adult barn owls bringing food to the nest box, so it was no surprise when a visitor reported seeing a fluffy chick there yesterday.

Apologies for the long delay in reporting on our breeding birds.

Fowlmere continues to be one of the best places in Britain to see turtle doves, with at least 4, possibly 5 singing birds, and 2 pairs seen mating. The most visible individual has been in the dead tree just south of the barn owl nestbox, but the bird near Drewer Hide has also been posing well.

Our barn owls have been visible in their box for some time…

We have been waiting a long time for our car park and drive to be covered with a long-lasting surface, and at last today's the day. This has been made possible by some significant donations from local members.

It has not been possible to warn visitors in advance, mainly because the contractor's date had to be changed at short notice. Even today, someone stole the 'road closed' sign at our entrance between 7am and…

This weather seems to be holding the migrants back. There are a few chiffchaffs singing bravely and I saw 4 sand martins beating their way across the reserve on Sunday 29th, but that's about it. Usually I would have seen my first blackcaps and swallows by now, but I guess it's going to be hard work for them against the sort of weather we look forward to when sea-watching in Cornwall in September!

Thankfully there…

I've just been told that work will start on the drive and car park tomorrow (Tuesday). This is the first stage - filling potholes and leveling - so people should still be able to drive in and out most of the time.

I will post the date of the second stage when I know what it will be. Access will be significantly reduced on that day.

The cold wind has suppressed much of the bird song over the last couple of days, with one notable exception - yesterday afternoon a couple of visitors heard an unfamiliar song, and then found themselves looking at a male Dartford warbler! If their report and description are accepted, I think this will be the third county record.

In fact, such a sighting is not as unlikely as it may seem at first. Dartford warblers have…

As is normal during the winter, the potholes on the approach to our car park have gradually got worse, so here's some good news - work will start on repairs next week. At the moment I can't be more specific regarding the date or the extent of closure, but I will post those details when I have them.

A few migrants have been evident in recent days. One or two chiffchaffs have been seen, if not heard (too cold?), flocks…

Some people will disagree, but it has by my personal criteria - I heard the first chiffchaff singing on the reserve yesterday. In fact, we seem to have had one overwintering, but this is just the right time for a migrant to arrive, so that's how I'm viewing it.

Of course, everyone knows that our resident songbirds have been in full voice for weeks, at least when the wind drops. My impression is that strong wind…

It is unfortunate that we have had to start cutting reeds at weekends, but we have almost run out of time before the lapwings and water rails start nesting.

I can't remember ever doing this job at weekends before. Usually it is done on weekdays by a local contractor and our weekly volunteers, but the contractor isn't available and the midweek volunteers are fully committed on other habitat management tasks. Last Saturday…

I went down to the reserve at dusk to check tomorrow's work site, and it was a real pleasure to be there on such a calm evening. Lots of birds were singing, including water rail, and there was a pair of shelduck on the mere. I can't remember seeing shelduck on the reserve before; they are pretty infrequent here. Then at 6pm a barn owl floated past, and several snipe flew up from the reeds and rushes as darkness fell…

Just a brief update to warn our visitors that a group of scouts will be working in the reed bed on Saturday 28th February. We have to get the work done before the lapwings and water rails get down to nesting in the second half of March.

The bittern is hopefully still with us, having been seen last weekend.

There are at least 20 common snipe, although they can be hard to see among the reeds and rushes. Hopefully tomorrow…

Today one of the regular bird watchers told me he has seen a barn owl hunting on every occasion that he has visited in the last fortnight. It has been over the field where we graze cattle in the summer, after 3.30pm.