Sometimes a winter visit to Fowlmere NR can be unproductive, but not at the moment.

Star of the show is the female hen harrier that has been coming in to roost every afternoon since 23rd January. Today it appeared briefly at 4.30pm, went off, and returned at 5pm to treat us to a wonderful flying display as it hunted over the reedbeds. It then perched in full view for 10 minutes before going to roost. We saw it well from…

When I went to the reserve at 8.50am, the roads were clear. Fine powdery snow started falling while I was there, and by the time I left at 9.20am the snow was settling on the single track road between Fowlmere and Melbourn.

If you're tempted to visit today, please be aware that road conditions are deteriorating, and the forecast is for a significant fall of show today.

 

My plan for the next weekly work party was to continue the willow coppicing next to the Mere, but the cold weather may prevent us from doing it this week. We don't mind working in the cold, but we can only get to this particular location by wading across the waist-deep water of the Mere, and I don't want to risk damaging expensive waders (or priceless volunteers) if the Mere is covered with ice.

It will be annoying…

While searching for something else this morning, I happened on some superb photos on the Cambridgeshire Bird Club website that were taken at Fowlmere yesterday, of a kingfisher and a grey partridge. The kingfisher looks as if it is perched on one of the branches I've put in front of Reedbed Hide, and the partridge was probably by the track between the road and the car park; I've seen up to five there recently.

…

I've decided to write a blog post weekly during the habitat management season to warn visitors that they are likely to see volunteers rather than birds in some parts of the reserve if they come on the days we are working. This would normally be a Thursday, which has been our weekly work party day for at least 16 years.

Generally we would not work near more than one hide at a time, but there is only a narrow window of…

The weather forecast was correct – clear and sunny with a touch of early frost. What a good day to do a count of birds around the reserve! The foundation of the list below was one visitor’s tally of 43 species, supplemented by additional observations by various observers. 

Little grebe

1

Common gull (over)

5

Goldcrest

2

Cormorant (over)

2

Lesser b-b gull…

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…

I thought I would post a short summary of what has been seen recently, in case anyone wants to brave the wind and rain and venture out to Fowlmere during Christmas week.

Tuesday 18th was a red-letter day for photographer Geoff Harries, and just reward for the many hundreds of hours he spends here. Taking up his customary position in Reedbed Hide, Geoff was rewarded with close views of two otters, one of which came out…

Do you remember the female hen harrier that stayed at Fowlmere for a couple of months last winter? It was often seen well from Reedbed Hide, but views from Drewer Hide, although close, were frustratingly brief.

See photo here http://www.birdguides.com/webzine/article.asp?a=3567 in Birdguides article about bird of prey persecution.

Recently we have been coppicing and pollarding the willows in front of Drewer Hide, which…

At Fowlmere, as at other reserves, facilities such as hides and paths need maintaining, and habitats need to be managed. Sometimes, striking the balance between providing facilities for our visitors and allowing people to enjoy those facilities is difficult to get right. However, we recognise that occasionally such work can temporarily interfere with our visitors' enjoyment of the reserve, so in future I will try to 

…

There are waxwings everywhere this year! They are being reported from towns and villages all over the country, including South Cambridgeshire. There were three or four in Fowlmere village at the end of last week, and currently there is a flock in Hauxton.

My impression is that they seem to prefer berries of ornamental trees such as Sorbus, rather than the haws on our indigenous hawthorns. Haws are preferred by redwings…

Sunday was too nice a day to spend indoors, so in the afternoon I wrapped up warm and walked round the reserve. Lots of other people had the same idea and the car park was almost full, but the advantage of the circular trail is that you don't see many people as long as you all walk in the same direction at the same pace.

The hawthorn bushes were alive with redwings, but they seemed very nervous and flighty. The reason…

Just a reminder that we are having a day of activities for children and their families next Sunday - scroll down to my post of 21 days ago for the details. Sadly the owl pellet experts are otherwise engaged, but we should have all the other activities that were available in July, including live moths caught the previous night.

I hope to see you there.

Doug

A decent-sized group of people gathered on the hill overlooking the reserve at 10am yesterday for two hours, to take part in the Cambridgeshire Bird Club's coordinated Raptor Watch. It was a great pleasure to welcome both the Club's Chairman (Peter Herkenrath) and the County Bird Recorder (Mike Foley) among the crowd. Mike kept a tally of our sightings, and I've copied his post from Cambirds below:-

Thanks to…

While I was away last weekend, one of our regular visitors phoned me with the news that two barn owl chicks had been seen in our triangular nestbox. GR8!

I had a look at midday today, and I could see two heart-shaped faces looking out, so you probably won't have to brave the midges and mosquitos at dusk to see them. They can be seen easily with binoculars, but of course a telescope would be even better.

Enjoy!

 

I always find it a bit odd when visitors tell me they have seen nothing after a walk round the reserve, because I can't remember an occasion when there was nothing here (i.e. no birds, no dragonflies, no mammals, no fish, etc). Only last weekend, some visitors told me that the reserve has a reputation for being a pretty place where one doesn't see anything. Mind you, the same visitors had just seen an otter catch a…

Our volunteers enjoyed our last Fun Day so much that they have asked to run another one, which will take place on Sunday 30th September (10am - 4pm).

Entry will be free, although we ask for a donation for a couple of the activites to cover the costs of materials (e.g. badge making).

As before, activities will be aimed at families so that children and adults can participate together. At the moment the activities will include…

I suspect that Fowlmere reserve is still one of the best places in the country to see turtle doves. We don't seem to have the showy individual that sang next to Reedbed Hide almost every day last year, but they are still around. I've had a reliable report of four (including one juvenile) on Sunday evening (19th).

Doug

 

... and a few years either side.

We are having a couple of Fun Days at Fowlmere reserve this coming weekend 14/15th July (10am - 5pm). Entry is free, although we ask for a donation for a couple of the activites to cover the costs of materials (e.g. badge making).

Activies each day will include making a dragonfly, face painting, badge making, colouring and art, owl pellet dissection. There will also be a spotter in Reedbed…

I've just received a phone call from one of our regular observers in Reedbed Hide who is watching a female tufted duck with 6 gorgeous little ducklings on the mere. I was 99% sure TUs had bred this year, having watched the female make her way into the reeds after feeding on/in the mere, and it is great to have absolute proof without getting the boat out. This is the second time tufted ducks have bred on the reserve; 

…

 A Cetti's warbler held a territory at Fowlmere in 2010 and there were two last year, but we have never been able to prove that they have attracted mates and bred - until now! Yesterday I saw four juveniles that had obviously just left their nest next to the path between Drewer Hide and the River Shep. Their presence was betrayed by their loud, sharp calls, and I was able to see that their tails were only half grown. This…

The first lapwing to fledge on the reserve!

A few pairs of lapwings have nested in the arable farmland around the reserve for many years, with varying degrees of success. On farmland, lapwings prefer crops that have been sown in the spring, because they don’t like to nest among tall plants. Some young birds have fledged in years when the crops are not too high in spring, but sometimes the habitat has been unsuitable…

The last week has seen a nice selection (for us) of waders and wildfowl passing through the reserve. On Tuesday 13th the reserve's first avocet was reported, and spent half a day feeding in the shallow margins of the mere. Unfortunately none of the observers realised the rarity of such a bird here, so only one of the regular observers got to see it. The next day a redshank and a dunlin were seen, and then on Friday 16th…

Being in the right place at the right time is important for many things, but it is particularly applicable if you want to see some of the scarcer wildlife at Fowlmere Nature Reserve.

Highlight of the last two months has been a female hen harrier that has roosted in the reedbed every evening since 14^th December. It has been spending much of the day hunting over the neighbouring fields, where there is a plentiful supply…

Fowlmere reserve attracts quite a few photographers, especially if we get a long-staying scarcity such as the hen harrier that is here at the moment, but one of the locals, Gary Thornton, comes here frequently to photograph whatever he can see through his lens. Gary has just won the 'Picture of the month' for December with his perfectly poised kestrel - link here http://www.cambridgebirdclub.org.uk/

Doug