Our website has been having technical problems with photos, so those I attached to the last blog post failed to appear. I have now uploaded them into the Fowlmere gallery. They are snapshots hastily taken by Geoff Harries, who also takes some first class photos - I'll try to post some of his later.

Despite the low quality, the photos are very instructive if you are interested in learning more about moult as an aid…

Marsh harriers have always passed through Fowlmere on spring and autumn migration, but we have seen them more frequently as the national breeding population has increased. Assessing the age of juveniles (born this year) in autumn is relatively easy - they are very dark brown, usually with a golden crown, and a full set of wing feathers - but older birds can be more difficult.

Last week a marsh harrier arrived that most people…

Our barn owl chicks have stepped out of the security of their nest box at last. We have been watching them peering out of the entrance for a while, and on Sunday 10^th July they ventured out for the first time.

The photo was taken from the nature trail at 6.30pm. The chicks went back into the box shortly afterwards, but we can expect them to be seen more frequently as they get older.

The nest box was put up in 2006…

Yesterday we mowed the area to the west of Reedbed Hide, to enable people to see some of our reedbed birds better. During our well-earned lunch in the hide, we were able to enjoy the fruits of our labours - a pair of water rails with a small chick feeding in the shallow water that we had just exposed. There were also lots of reed warblers feeding in the same area.

Today one of our regular visitors reported seeing three…

Sadly the lapwing chicks that I wrote about last time didn't make it to fledging, but there are lots of other young birds (=juveniles) around the reserve. Mixed flocks of blue, great and long-tailed tits have been making their way through the woods and scrub, together with the usual assortment of hangers-on such as treecreepers, chiffchaffs, and other warblers. Many people are surprised to learn that one of the best places…

Apologies to anyone who has checked the blog this year and has been disappointed that my last post was about a bittern on 7th December - I've simply been too busy to write anything.

The main news for this breeding season is that lapwings have nested on the reserve for the first time. We cut several acres of reeds and rushes last winter prior to introducing cattle to part of the reedbed/fen (to be the subject of another…

Last Saturday (4th Dec) I was coppicing with some vols when I received a phone call from Eric, one of our regular visitors - he was watching a bittern from Reedbed Hide! We couldn't go immediately, but an hour later we crept into the hide and it was still there, on the bank about 20m away. We watched it for ages and I took a few photos, before it walked into the reeds by the mere.

I haven't worked out how to post…