There are blue skies -  the paths are muddy and slippery (so bring your wellies or walking boots)   but ....

visitors have reported seeing and hearing chiffchaff (but not with the full call, yet) along the bridleway and silt pool stretch, .... the river corridor by Fishers Mill Lake and .... along the edges of  Fishers Mill meadow (north of  the cow meadow).

Also, look out for  water rail under the feeders, reed bunting in…

.... so here are a few pictures from the recent trip to Wicken Fen. Thanks to Stefan Bodnar, our warden, for these pictures.

All photos were taken at Wicken Fen.

If you have been watching the herons here at Middleton Lakes, I'm sure you have noticed the neck.

When flying, the bird needs to look small (safer at a distance) and tucks the neck into the shoulders. 

As it nears the nesting area it has to look larger (one of the home-protectors is coming home) and so the necks unfurls.

When at the heronry, the neck is fully stretched - full and proud to be a parent.

Thanks to…

Our ever-keen, dedicated, hardy volunteer WeBS (Winter Wetland Bird Surveys) watchers battled snow storms and icy tracks, to bring us these mid-month wetland counts, after agreement with the contractors.

These will be the last of this winter's counts.

So for your interest ......

Fishers Mill / New Reedbed – Black-headed Gull (200), Canada Goose (4), Coot (27), Great Crested Grebe (2), Little Egret (5), Little…

Our stargazing volunteer, Bob, suggests  ..... using a ‘Planisphere’ this month.  

Looking West to South and then to East, try to find in the night sky,  the Astronomical horoscope signs of ...

(from the West) Taurus (the star Aldebaran), Gemini (the stars Castor and Pollux), the star group Cancer  (slightly fainter than the previous constellations), and Leo rising in the East with its bright star of Regulus

One of our volunteers was lucky with these pictures of a mooching and prancing fox, seen in the play meadow.  

This is a fox at play ... it's springtime.  It's a scarce sight – foxes will hide when humans pass by.

Thanks to Eugene Butterworth for these images.

The mooch ...

The jump....

....  look, look, I'm flying .....

One of the contractor road vehicles was driving up the westside wetland track this afternoon, with staff aboard,  and flushed a bittern mooching in reedbeds in the grassland area.

It flew off towards the river and one of the staff said " It was so close – I've never seen one that near before. It was huge."

Thanks to Cornwall Birdwatching (cbwps), taken at RSPB Marazion Marsh, for this picture.

Our visitors and volunteer wardens have reported the following recently:

Around the car park and along the bridleway: buzzard, herons with nesting material, goosander (on the silt pool, with a nearby heron),  grey wagtail,  jay, kingfisher (in a play meadow pool), redwing, teal (in the horse grazing field pool), peregrine (in the horse grazing field), song thrush (calling), treecreeper.  Large flocks of woodpigeons.

Fishers…

Pan-STARRS comet, having moved through the southern hemisphere is now being seen in our night skies.

During this month,  using your binoculars, look low towards the west. Later in the month it should rise higher.

But as comet watchers say – comets are like cats. They both have tails, but they just do what they want.

There's also a chance to hear late night calling of blackbirds and robins.

Remember - be safe…

This is a monthly summary, so if you want more recent nature sightings, please click on the recent sightings tag on the RSPB Middleton Lakes web page.

The month started with blue skies and clouds, herons were active but the nights were cold. Then there were cloudy-sunny days with temperatures of 9C +. Following were cold nights and warm days (10-12C). Then cold days with a northern wind and ending with blue skies and…

Thanks to Sam Gratrix  for these pictures....

Blue tit

Great tit

House sparrow

Great pictures of waiting birds.

There's been plenty of activity around the feeding station, with the blue skies.

Here are some birds waiting for  a spare feeding port....

Thanks to Sam Gratrix for these pictures.

Chaffinch (male)

Goldfinch (note the red face)

Lesser redpoll (note the red head)

Spring is just around the corner.

By the feeders – dunnock, goldfinch-greenfinch flocks, lesser redpoll (on the nyjer feeder), reed bunting, robin, water rail (in ditches or under the feeders).

Grey heron are keeping their heads down in their nests - a few flying about.

Along the bridleway and hedgerows – bullfinch,  little egret (by the silt pool), sparrowhawk, treecreeper (pair).

At the northend – green sandpiper, kestrel, oystercatcher…

Our warden, Stefan Bodnar and a group of volunteers have been to Wicken Fen again to look at our 'soon-to-be-at- Middleton'  konik ponies.  These we hope to be here during this spring.

Konik is the Polish word for 'little horse'.

 So keep an eye open for news stories and on this blog for more details.

Here are some pictures from Wicken Fen. Thanks to Stefan Bodnar  for these.

.............…

Water rail under the feeders and later (not together) a coot.    Redpoll on the feeders.

Peregrine, buzzard (pair), kestrel flying over the carpark or the woods.

Heron (10+ active nests) with birds flying to and fro,  sometimes with nesting material.

Cetti's warbler was heard at the bridleweay silt pool. Song thrush was singing.

There were green woodpecker and great spotted woodpecker calling or drumming along the…

A pair of great cresties were on the new reed bed pool recently practising their water courtship routine. This is for this new season's pairing and territory ownership.

Unfortunately we have no film to show you. However, there are some available on the YouTube and BBC websites, so have a search. But we would like your own films.

The ritual should continue for a month or so. Film them, put the results on a memory stick…

Have you seen a heron up close ? Perhaps just over the heronry hedge by the car park. They do look so very big.

So how do the families fit into a nest, so high up in the trees ?  Heron nest building is about weaving the next twig into the nest walls.

It's one of nature's mysteries.

.........

Thanks to Ladybeedee for this picture.

Our all-terrain, hardy, keen-eyed, dedicated volunteer WeBS (Winter Wetland Bird Surveys) watchers, tackled frosty and icy tracks, and after agreement with the contractors to permit a mid-month count in the wetland area counted these birds.

...and  for your interest ......

Fishers Mill / New Reedbed – Coot (36), Cormorant (1), Gadwall (2), Grey Heron (1), Mallard (14),Moorhen (1), Mute Swan (2), Pochard (12), Shoveler…

One of our keen-eyed naturalists, John Harris, has asked us to look out for the day-flying Marsh Pug moth. 

This, he says, is a scarce species and the only day-flying Pug moth. It has been seen along the Tame Valley area.

Their food source and egg-laying site  is the Common Mouse-ear – the plant in the picture.

If you do see it, take a photo, perhaps with your telephone camera, and contact the Middleton Lakes…

This grey heron heard the news through the local heron news and had to dash off quickly to reserve a place at the heronry :-))

Thanks to Ken Rogers for this image

Not everyone sees these very shy birds as they mooch about near dropped bird seed. You have to be lucky or very patient.

We promised you some photos of a water rail, which has moved out from the reeds and ventured into the open. This one is truly bravehearted.

Ken Rogers has sent us these pictures. Thanks Ken.

This week we welcomed a further two Old English Longhorn cows to our reserve. At the moment we've put them in to a separate field from the others whilst we let them acclimatise to Middleton.

Their names are Jolly & Eve. I'm sure the other 5 cows all have names, I shall have to make enquiries - or we could run a 'Name that cow' competition.

The new 'girls' will be introduced to their companions in…

Guest blog by Andy Waters - Communications Officer, Banbury

The land  where ancient man once walked has been unearthed during the Lifeline for Lapwings project, generously funded by Viridor Credits Environmental Company.

The RSPB project team are really pleased with the new look of the area, which will be a haven for lapwings, waders and mammals.

We are really seeing the reserve changing. You can now visualise how this…

Great tits and blue tits are calling, blackbirds are chattering,  great spotted woodpeckers are drumming, and still finding time for chasing and pairing up.

It's that time of year when birds need to choose their territories and pair up, before the  newcomers arrive.

Grey herons have been seen with nesting material, feeding others and staying until it was just too cold to stay over night. But now the numbers are building…

A visitor and volunteer told us recently how volunteering has improved his life and made him fitter and happier.

He said he had read about a recent health report which showed that there were five simple approaches to life  which could improve the way people think and feel. These were known as the five ways to wellbeing - connect, be active, take notice, keep learning, give.

He explained how he applied them to his volunteering…