Cambridge Local Group Newsletter - The RSPB · 2015. 5. 29. · Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No...

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654

“The RSPB is the Country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give

nature a home.”

Cambridge Local Group Newsletter Issue No: 110 May 2015

Contents

Page 2 Editor’s notes Brenda Smith 2 Group Leader’s Notes Melvyn Smith Field Trip Reports

3 Rye Meads Brenda & Melvyn 4 Frampton Marsh & Freiston Shore Rachel Lowly 6 Paxton Pits & Grafham Water Ed King 6 WWT Barnes West London Brenda Field 8 East Wretham Heath and Wayland Wood Brenda & Melvyn

10 Dawn Chorus Alex Andrews

11 Birding in Cambridge & London Jill Aldred 13 Eclipse Rachel & Alex 14 Thriplow Daffodil Weekend Melvyn Smith

News from Local Reserves

14 Lakenheath Katherine Puttick 16 Fen Drayton Lakes Tim Fisher 18 Ouse Fen Barry O’Dowd

Events

19 Field Trips Andrew Camps 21 Group Indoor Meetings 21 Cambridgeshire Bird Club Meetings

Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 110 May 2015

2 The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654

Editor’s Notes

Welcome to our May edition of the newsletter with the usual trip reports and news from the

some of the local reserves. Also an article comparing birding in London and Cambridge,

which I hope you enjoy reading.

We have had another cold spring this year, with

northerly winds at times, which have held up

some of our migrants. But now spring is in full

belt with warblers singing from the bushes and

cuckoo and swifts having been seen. I love this

exciting time of the year as you never know what

might turn up! It has also been a very dry April

which may have been the reason that, in our

garden, we have had a visit from a badger,

eating the food put out for “our” resident

hedgehog. It was coming in under

the gate which we have now stopped-up but now it comes from our neighbour’s garden by

making holes under the fence which we have also blocked up! It is still finding its way in so,

the battle continues!

If you have been on any interesting nature trips which you would like to share with the group,

I will be happy to include them in the newsletters. I am looking for ideas such as a query

section, where you send in a question about nature and members can send in answers, or a

nature quiz. I am also looking for photos to accompany the articles, or even a photo for ‘what

is that bird?’ The deadline date for any ideas, articles and photos is 13 August 2015.

Thanks - Brenda

Group Leader’s Notes – May 2015

Whilst writing these notes, I am reflecting on another great “Group birding weekend”, having

just returned, with thirteen other members, from South Devon. Discounting travel time, we

experienced three days’ excellent birding in a wide variety of habitats which accounted for

more than eighty species, one of which we would never have dreamed of coming across – a

Squacco Heron! Full details of our exploits will be included in a Field Trip report soon to be

included on the Group’s website and once again, thanks must go to Andrew Camps for

organizing yet another brilliant weekend.

The “weekend birding trip” is one of many “jobs” carried out on behalf of the Group and, as I

am now standing down as Group Leader, I would like to thank all those members who have

helped and are still helping in the smooth running of the Group. We have now found a new

Group Leader, subject to ratification at the forthcoming AGM and I would urge as many of

you as possible to give a hand in whatever way possible to help with the future organisation

of the Group.

I will continue to take an active role and look forward to seeing you at future meetings and

events.

Melvyn

Badger via Bushnell camera



Field Trip Reports RSPB Rye Meads and Amwell Nature Reserve 10 January

Five of the group braved the weather and decided that it would be better to give Hatfield

Forest a miss and go straight to RSPB Rye Meads reserve, the logic being that with the

strong wind and the likelihood of rain showers, we would be able to shelter in one of the

hides at the reserve.

Making our way from the visitor centre and along a broad walk to the first hide, we stopped

by a brook to see if we could find the water vole we had been informed was frequently seen.

There was no vole but a brown rat, which we watched as it swam along the edge of the

water.

In Draper hide we were lucky

enough to see a water rail out in

the open feeding alongside a

moorhen and showing us how

much smaller the rail was

compared to the moorhen. Out on

the water were several gadwalls,

shovelers, tufted ducks and

mallards and a couple of stock

doves feeding on the grassy strip

between two islands out in the

water.

As we made our way to the next

hide we heard a Cetti’s warbler.

From Tern hide, looking out over

the lagoon, there were a couple of tern rafts on which gulls rested – much too early for terns

yet! Whilst in this hide it began to rain hard! Our earlier logic proved that we had made the

correct call! There were several mute swans and two of them started to move their heads

gently in unison in a “courting” display. We also noticed a cob doing the same with an

immature bird, identified by its brown plumage. One of the cobs was “busking”, the familiar

pose with neck curved back and wings half raised, in a threat display. With both feet

paddling in unison, resulting in a more jerky movement; this display is intended to intimidate

a potential rival and chase it off. A lesser black-backed gull flew up with a piece of

vegetation, dropping and picking it up several times until three opportunist black-headed

gulls arrived in the hope of snatching some food. The lesser black-backed gull then dropped

the vegetation in the water and flew off!

From the nearby Gadwall hide we spotted a lovely drake pintail together with a large flock of

teals and a group of shovelers. The shovelers were swimming around in a circle with bills

sifting the water, the other birds benefiting from foot stirring of the vegetation floating just

under the surface. A couple of gadwalls also benefited from this action. Further out, a couple

of shelducks and nearer, a little grebe, were added to our lists.

Swans Photo Brenda Smith



We moved on from this pair of hides, walking along by the river Lee to Kingfisher hide. After

a short wait, a female kingfisher flew into the branches of a bush hanging over the water. We

had to peer through the branches to see the bird and as we watched, it hovered and then

dived into the water and came up with a small fish. It landed on a bigger branch so we had a

bit better view, although its reflection was the best view! It bashed the fish several times

before swallowing it and then moved further into the bush and sat still resting.

We then moved on to Warbler hide where we enjoyed our lunches. Here we had good views

of another kingfisher as it flew over the water and landed, momentarily, on a reed stem

before flying away. A kestrel flew over and was chased off by a carrion crow. It was still

windy and a reed warbler flew out of the reeds and up and away. Out on the marsh a little

egret was feeding and then flew over the reeds towards the river.

By now the sun had appeared and so we decided to take the longer route back to the visitor

centre. This route leads out of the reserve via a one-way revolving gate so that, once the

decision is made, there is no turning back!

Back at the Visitor Centre we picked

up a leaflet on wildlife watching in the

Lee valley which included Amwell

Nature Reserve not far away. The

staff gave us directions and we made

our way to this reserve, formerly

gravel workings, and now one of

Hertfordshire’s top wetland

birdwatching sites. It boasts three

hides with fantastic views.

Immediately after crossing the River

Lee Navigation channel there is a viewing area over the lake. There were several duck

species and sitting in the tree on other side of the water several cormorants, a couple with

white heads, and a few grey herons. We walked down to Gladwin hide and watched male

goldeneye displaying with the distinctive head tossing, but it appeared that the female was

not interested! Then two great crested grebes started to display facing each other and head

shaking. Several wigeons landed and joined the other ducks on the water. What with the

grebes, swans and goldeneye starting to display and great tits giving their ‘teacher, teacher’

song it too seemed that spring was not far away! A red kite glided over, giving us good views

of this magnificent bird and shortly after, two buzzards drifted over. Several species of gulls

were beginning to collect on the lake, resting or washing before then flying off in a flock.

Another good day of birding that also blew the cobwebs away and a good start to the year’s

bird list of fifty bird species.

Brenda & Melvyn Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore Trip Report, 7 February 2015

Eight hardy birders met on a very chilly, grey morning at Frampton Marsh RSPB reserve.

This coastal wetland reserve includes reedbed, large freshwater scrapes, wet grassland and

Goldeneye photo by Brenda Smith



one of the largest expanses of saltmarsh in the world which in winter is home to thousands

of brent geese.

The visitor centre provided excellent close views of teal, lapwing and a little further out,

tufted ducks, while the wet grassland behind the car park revealed among others, moorhen,

lapwing, little egret and curlew.

Following the Wash trail, Canada

geese were seen accompanied by a

solitary barnacle goose and a pale

hybrid goose. Large numbers of

wigeons were still evident and we

heard whistling while skeins of dark-

bellied brent geese were spotted

feeding in the grassland. These

bernicla race geese spend the winter in

S and E Britain and breed in the USSR

whereas the pale-bellied race hrota

spend the winter in Northumberland or

Ireland and breed in Greenland or Spitzbergen. Skylarks were also seen in the grassland,

identified by their crest and white edges to their tails, along with meadow pipits and reed

buntings. Godwits were spotted and scopes confirmed them to be black-tailed Godwits.

Scanning the saltmarsh from the sea bank viewpoint revealed redshank, dunlin, knot, grey

and golden plovers but no raptors. Indeed the only raptor seen all day on the reserve was a

buzzard although merlin was reported from the visitor centre. Little grebe, pintail, mallard

and gadwall were seen in the scrapes as we made our way to East hide for lunch.

Identification of knot from dunlin was discussed relating mainly to the greater size of knot

with a shorter straight bill. Five female goldeneyes were spotted in one of the pools along

with shovelers while ringed plovers and snipe were added to our lists. We continued our

journey round to the Reedbed hide during which time good views of common gull were had

allowing another identification opportunity. At close quarters, the white ‘wing mirrors’ on

black tips were evident, much larger than those on herring gull. Also the absence of a white

leading edge to the outer wing distinguished them from the slightly smaller black-headed gull

at this time of year. Linnets were seen flying around the islands from this hide and pochards

were seen in the pools.

With time passing, the group moved on to RSPB Freiston Shore. Here we were greeted with

the sound of house sparrows in the shrubs surrounding the car park. Heading down the

footpath towards the shore, large numbers of curlews were seen in the fields along with

golden plover. Other sightings here included oystercatchers, wigeon and more passerines

including wren, great and lue tits.

After enduring the chilly weather for much of the day, it was with some relief that we

retreated to our cars for a warm journey home after a good day’s birding in the wild dramatic

scenery of the Wash.

Rachel Lowry

Comparison of Canada and Barnacle Geese

photo by Rachel Lowry



Paxton Pits and Grafham Water March 7, 2015

On a clear, crisp morning, members of the group assembled in the car park of the main

Paxton Pits reserve and then set off along the Meadow Trail. Although our visit this year was

too early for the spring migrants, we quickly spotted the anticipated common water birds and

passerines as we made

our way passed Rudd

Lake then clockwise

around Hayling Lake. After

joining the River Trail then

crossing the scrubland

back toward

Lafarge/Redland Works,

we had good views of

several green

woodpeckers. On Heronry

South Lake, we studied the

varying plumage of the

nesting cormorants, and noted down waterfowl including shoveler, gadwall, goldeneye, and

great crested grebes. Directing our scopes further north, we could see groups of

goosanders, and were rewarded with much better views of these handsome birds from

Hayden Hide. Elusive goldcrests in the trees near the hide kept us on our toes. Returning to

the visitor centre for refreshment, we were entertained by the pond’s resident smooth newts,

diving beetles, and pond skaters.

Moving on to Grafham Water, we parked at Mander Park then walked west through the

nature reserve area. The anticipated birds such as pied wagtail, black-headed gull,

cormorant, coot, mute swan, and tufted duck were easily spotted. As we crossed the

meadow west of Dudney Creek, skylarks sang overhead and a flock of meadow pipits

foraged, and bullfinch sped past in the hedgerow. From the hide, we added teal, pochard,

goldeneye, and redshank to our lists.

Concluding our day, we drove to Plummer Park then walked east toward the glamorously

titled sludge lagoons. From the overlooking hide, we noted several little grebes diving in the

channels, as well as a large gathering of shelducks. As we left and headed back to the cars,

a red kite glided gracefully overhead.

By Ed King

Going Green to WWT Barnes: Saturday 18 April Did we go green? Yes, we travelled by train, tube and bus to the Wildlife and Wetlands Trust reserve at Barnes in West London. After a few parking issues at Cambridge station, a small group of birders gathered in the booking hall to sort out the most economical ticket options. There was lots of enthusiasm and anticipation, although the smell of coffee and bacon rolls that was drifting around the station may have been involved. So once fully armed with refreshments we began the first leg of our journey by train to Kings Cross station. Then we travelled by tube to Hammersmith and by bus which stopped right at the entrance to the London Wetland Centre.

Cormorant photo Brenda Smith



A trip to the London Wetland Centre was a nice follow up to last year’s visit to Slimbridge which is the WWT’s headquarters and flagship reserve (see weekend away report in our January newsletter). Although smaller than Slimbridge the London reserve is rightly described as an “urban oasis for wildlife and people”; despite being so close to the city, it’s a welcome haven of tranquillity.

WWT have created numerous wildlife habitats such as lakes, pools and gardens that are home to birds, frogs and newts. There are scrapes for wading birds and reed beds (where up to seven bitterns have been present in winter), grazing marshes and wildflower meadows. In the decade since the centre opened, over 200 species of bird have been recorded, making it a bird watching paradise as well as a wonderful place to relax. Scenic paths meander among the lakes and meadows and there are plenty of places to sit and watch the wildfowl, dragonflies and water voles. At dusk bats hunt for insects over the lagoons. On arrival we encountered a species that we struggled to name: it was very large, bright yellow with an upwardly curved red bill and seemed incapable of independent motion as it drifted on the water in the wind. One or

two of our party offered suggestions such as ‘elastica fulvum-ruba’ or ‘rubber duckii’ but we decided not to add it to our species list! After more refreshments we set out at last to find some real birds and were amply rewarded with a good selection of woodland birds, wildfowl and hirundines but surprisingly few raptors. The raptors on our day-list were mostly spotted from the train. There are six hides at the Wetland centre, each of a different style and all well designed for maximum viewing across the lagoons and marshes. At the first hide we visited, it seemed at first that there was little to see but as we “got our eye in” we slowly began to see more and more wildfowl and other birds including gulls, waders and our first sight that day of swallows and both species of martins. It was an excellent opportunity to firm up our identification skills on the more common species of gull and the distant waders. Pairing and nesting was much in evidence as we made our way around the reserve and in their constant and violent disputes, the coots gave us an opportunity to practise some action photography. Meanwhile on the other side of the reserve in a more tranquil backwater, other coots and moorhens were sitting on eggs, repairing their nests and feeding their chicks. Sand martins were investigating the artificial sand martin bank but we saw no evidence of serious nest burrowing. Sand martins are smaller than house martins and swallows. The upperparts are sand-brown and the underparts are white except for a brown breast band. The bill and legs are black-brown. Juvenile birds have pale fringes to their back feathers and the breast band is less distinct. However, in flight these colours can be difficult to differentiate, in which case its small size, it is the lack of a white rump and the presence of the breast band that best tell it apart from house martin. Sand martins nest in colonies, burrowing into banks, quarries and cliffs, and usually near water. Both sexes construct the nest burrow and line the nest chamber with plant material and feathers. The eggs are white, smooth and glossy, and about 18 mm by 13 mm. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young.



Wandering on around the reserve we spotted sedge warbler, reed warbler and reed bunting in the reedbeds. Great crested grebes were displaying on the lagoons, geese and swans were nesting and we were treated to the welcome sight of a wheatear which kept returning to the same part of the scrape.

After lunch we walked around the gardens and the “world bird collection”. One pool was occupied by the somewhat bizarre mix of several broods of mallard ducklings darting between displaying and mating goldeneyes. It was quite special to see these attractive ducks so close to us –we usually see them on the far side of a large lake!

The captive collection included numerous ducks which are on the British list as well as the huge variety of more exotic species. However, no captive birds were included in our final species count especially as some of them wouldn’t normally be in southern England in April! Hoping to see the otters playing, we stopped at their pool but found them enjoying an afternoon snooze! However, we did come upon an unexpected sight - seeing a few people armed with cameras by an apparently empty pond we decided to investigate and at first, thought that the heron visible at the back of the pond, had an interesting catch, but suddenly the area was filled with the very loud croaking of male marsh frogs inflating their cheek patches to increase their sound volume. Then just as suddenly, all was quiet, so we retired to the café for tea and to compare our lists of sightings. We counted 50 species of wild birds seen before 5pm. Following tea and a little retail therapy in support of WWT, it was time to retrace our (green) journey back to Cambridge. Brenda Field East Wretham Heath and Wayland Wood 25 April

Eleven group members met at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s East Wretham Heath reserve on

an overcast morning. The reserve lies at the heart of Breckland. The word ‘Breck’ describes

a land that was farmed, in the Neolithic and Bronze Age, until the soil was exhausted. The

area has sandy soil with an extreme climate - lower rainfall, hotter summers and colder

winters than nearby areas. So this combination of soil, climate and land use has given rise to

the Breckland, with its rare birds, plants and insects found virtually nowhere else in Britain.

The grass heathland has been grazed by rabbits and sheep so preventing it from reverting to

scrub. The rabbits were introduced in the middle ages and were farmed for their fur and

meat. Their activities of closing cropping of the turf and digging have produced the sandy

ground which determines the species of wild plants and their continuing survival. This terrain

has also resulted in some rare invertebrates.

As we made our way across the heath two house martins came over followed by swallows.

We walked through the old plantation of Scot’s pines that were allegedly planted two

hundred years ago, at the time of the Battle of Waterloo. These gnarled trees and the old

fallen trees give weird and wonderful shapes. Goldcrests were heard, even over the

cacophony of the rookery, but were difficult to see amongst the pine leaves.

Marsh frog Photo Brenda Smith



There are some areas of hawthorn scrub from which we heard chiffchaff, blackcap and

willow warblers, soon drowned-out by the loud, high-pitched contact calls of a pair of oyster

catchers flying over. We continued our walk, re-tracing our steps upon realising that we had

missed a turning, before arriving at the main hide on the reserve, overlooking Langmere; a

mere formed naturally at the end of the last ice age – 13000 years ago. The water level

fluctuates in harmony with the underground aquifer. The porous chalk bedrock and sand fills

with winter rains and the levels rises in late winter and spring. It takes time for the water

levels to rise and the mere’s water level is highest in the early summer. The water table

levels drops in dry summers and the mere slowly empties; in some years it dries up

completely. This creates zones of vegetation around the mere with silverweed and grasses

on the outer edge. The damp margins have marsh bedstraw and willowherb and in the open

water there are pondweed and reed canary grass. As the mere level falls, orange foxtail

grass and water stitchwort appear in the muddy bed. There are only six large meres like

Langmere in Britain and these are all in Breckland. Invertebrates, e.g. small worms and

crustaceans tolerate this cycle by lying dormant for long spells, whereas mobile animals, e.g.

newts, water beetles and waterfowl move away. There was some water in the mere although

the “tide-mark” of vegetation suggested that the level was quite low and here we saw a few

species of waterfowl including shelducks and little grebes and lapwings..

Once more, re-tracing our steps, we diverted off to a track that took us through fields, in

which there were sheep with very young lambs. One lamb seemed keen to follow us rather

than going to its mother but, as we went through a gate the mother came and was reunited

with its youngster! Despite their proximity

to one another the water levels in Fenmere

and Ringmere fluctuate at different rates.

Fenmere’s level changes with that of

Langmere whereas Ringmere’s changes

independently. As a result, it has a

different character with a greater

abundance of sedge and reed. These

meres produced the same species as

Langmere so we spent little time here

before, again re-tracing our steps to the

main track, Harling Drove Road.

Making our way back along this drove, we noticed badger tracks on the wet sand areas. Our

attention was soon diverted to a lovely bird song and, upon tracing its source, on a fence

post, we were delighted to see a woodlark singing. We could see that it had three orange

rings on its left leg and an orange and silver ring on the right leg. Checking on a website

afterwards, it appears that the Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary

Studies, University of Groningen in the Netherlands, is carrying out a study of these birds. As

we watched the woodlark a red kite glided over. Wonderful! As we continued back to the car

park for lunch, we heard another woodlark singing but this time we did not see the bird.

During our walk around the reserve, we had noticed several areas of old tarmac and

crumbling runway which, we subsequently discovered, were left over from the time between

1942 – 1970 when it was requisitioned by the military for training and for use as an airfield.

Woodlark RSPB Images

David Kjaer



These areas are home to miniature gardens of mosses, lichens and tufts of bright coloured

yellow stonecrop and, later in the year, delicate white flowers of bedstraw.

After lunch we made our way further up the road to Wayland Wood, another NWT reserve.

As we arrived so did the sun to accompany us as we walked round. This reserve is a

managed ancient wood dating back to the ice age. It is steeped in history, and the name

comes from ‘Waneland’ a Viking word for a place of worship. It is reputed to be the site for

the ‘Babes in the Wood’ story. The wood is coppiced on a seven to twenty year cycle, with

the poles being used nowadays for bundling together to prevent erosion of river banks,

whereas in the past they were used for fences and fuel. In the coppice area light gets to the

wood floor and there was a colourful array of early purple orchid, primroses, wood anemone,

yellow archangel, dog violet and a few bluebells, and in damper areas, water avens. As the

coppice regenerates so it shades the floor and creates deep thickets. In turn, as the floor

vegetation dies back, it supports various warblers. As we walked around the grass ride we

heard several woodland birds, warblers and tits, including a pair of marsh tits. The emerging

green leaves on the trees made it difficult to see the birds and it became a listening walk.

Despite a dull and slightly damp start to the day, the afternoon sun, lovely wild flowers and

singing birds soon reminded us how wonderful it is to get out in to our lovely countryside!

Dawn Chorus Fen Drayton Lakes 2 May 2015 The birds in my garden were already singing as I dragged myself out of bed at 4.00, in the dark, on Saturday 2nd May in order to make the start of the dawn chorus at 5.00 am. By the time I set off the dark was slowly turning into dawn heralding what turned out to be a really glorious morning. As I manoeuvred the approach road leading to Fen Drayton reserve, a

good variety of birds could be seen in the fields and flying around, not to mention the many rabbits on the verges. A keen group of 24 birders gathered, well wrapped up for the cold dawn. The day broke with mists across the lakes with clearing skies and the sound of a very enthusiastic dawn chorus. This really is a beautiful time of the day and the pain of getting up so early was well rewarded. We set off accompanied by the cacophony of sound of a wonderfully noisy dawn chorus. The songs of many common garden birds could

heard as well as the migrant warblers. It is always a joy to hear the melodic songs of the robin, wren, blackbird and song thrush. The beautiful song of the blackcap could be heard as well as some sightings. The rather monotonous sound of the great tit was much in evidence as well as the repetitive song of the chiffchaff. Despite the leaf cover, it was still possible to

Whitethroat

photo Brenda Smith



spot some of these singing gustily. Many other birds were heard and seen, such as chaffinches, greater spotted and green woodpeckers and a jay. Everywhere we walked, the bushes and scrub were full of sound and we were able to see many of the birds as well as hearing them. We heard the lesser whitethroat and were treated to several excellent sightings of a whitethroat perched clearly on bushes. A really handsome cock linnet sat on the top of a briar clearly for all to see and the female could be seen close by and it looked very much as though they had a nest. Other linnets were also flitting in the bushes nearby. It is always a treat to see linnets close up as it is more usual to see them flying over fields in flocks. They are such stunning birds. As we continued our walk we were treated to the sound of a nightingale clearly singing not far away. We tarried a while to enjoy what was the first sound this year of this bird for many of us. Nightingales were heard on several occasions during the course of our visit. Reed buntings were seen during the morning and one particular handsome male perched clearly on a branch showing off his breeding plumage. One of our party observed a bittern flying by but the rest of us were too busy looking at the reed bunting and so missed it. As we passed the reedbeds sedge and reed warblers could be heard. The songs of these warblers are often confused but there are basic differences. Both warblers have a range of phrases. The reed warbler has a more rhythmic and even tempo. It repeats a phrase 2-3 times before moving on to the next. In contrast the sedge warbler chops and changes between phrases and, as it does this, the tone and pitch rises and falls in a jerky way. Sedge warblers often sing perched in nearby bushes and scrub and we had several good sightings of sedge warblers during the morning. Cetti’s warblers were much in evidence and we heard their loud bursts of song and saw evidence of them flitting low in the bushes but not clearly. It really is difficult to see these skulking birds. The lakes had a variety of water birds which included a good range of ducks as well as coots, great crested grebes and the ubiquitous greylag and Canada geese. From the hide we were able to see a pair of Egyptian geese and their five goslings and watched them take to the water with their parents. A pair of black-headed gulls appeared to be trying to chase a lapwing away. Were there eggs in a nest they wanted? An oyster catcher could be seen quietly sitting on a nest and others feeding in the mud on the edge of the islands. An avocet was also in evidence as were redshanks. It was good to see the sign of summer with a pair swallows catching insects above the water as well as common terns diving down to just above the water also catching insets. As we started to walk back to the start and breakfast we could hear garden warblers singing and also rewarded with a good sighting. Now it was time to enjoy a hot drink and bacon bap but the morning was not finished. We were treated to the sight of a cuckoo flying past and house martins flying overhead and then high in the sky the sight of a swift. Surely summer is now well on its way. An excellent end to a perfect dawn chorus. Alex Andrews

Birding in Cambridge and London After several decades of living in London, we moved to Cambridge just over a year ago. There were many factors to consider when deciding where to move to but as birding and other natural history are a very important part of our lives, we knew it had to be somewhere we could continue to pursue these interests. It's a common misconception among people who don't live in London that there must be little in the way of birding interest there. Nothing could be further from the truth. London has a very active birding scene, and a wide variety of habitats including woodland, rivers,



reservoirs, parks and heath and, importantly, miles of green corridors formed by private gardens. Everywhere is accessible by public transport, so having a car isn't necessary. There are a number of excellent birding and natural history groups, and we were active members of three of these. As far as species go, London can provide a surprising variety of birds both regular and more scarce, and sometimes at unexpectedly central locations. To give just one example, since its opening in 2000 our nearest significant site was the London Wetland Centre. The location was already well known to birders as Barn Elms Reservoirs, a bleak, exposed place with no facilities but which could turn up scarcer species of grebes and ducks in winter. In its new existence it has lost a lot of its former solitude but has gained a tearoom, and the diversity of wildlife, not just birds, has increased enormously. Just a few of the more unexpected species I've seen in the course of regular visits over the years are spotted crake, woodcock, wood sandpiper, goosander and short-eared owl. Little ringed plover, lapwing and redshank are regular breeders. On one memorable occasion a pair of avocet bred, although sadly the chicks were all taken within a few days by crows or herons. Whinchat, wheatear and yellow wagtail are regular on passage. Wintering bitterns arrived two years after the reserve opened and have been a regular annual attraction ever since – on one occasion I saw four at once when the lakes were frozen. Within the London area there are many other excellent birding sites turning up all sorts of rarities as well as reliable regular species. We even shared in the good waxwing years, with a flock outside Warren Street tube station and another which stayed for weeks to feed on one tree in a shopping street in Ealing. Having left behind a wide variety of opportunities to indulge our love of birds and natural history, since relocating to the southern edge of Cambridge this aspect of our life has changed considerably. Like many Londoners, we were already very familiar with most of the major sites in East Anglia so have been able to enjoy having closer access to these. One novelty has been to explore some familiar places in greater depth, such as discovering Burwell Fen lurking behind Wicken Fen; visiting the north side of Nene Washes; turning east instead of west from the car park at Eldernell to discover March Farmers, which gave us the best variety of charismatic species in one day that we've had for a very long time. We've also given a considerable amount of time to seeking out and exploring an array of sites we'd never even heard of a year ago – Kingfishers Bridge, the wonderful Ouse Fen, Cherry Hinton Chalk Pits to name just three. Some of these we were led to by reading sightings reports, and for others we joined organised walks. We have an interest in all wildlife, including butterflies, and in the summer we visited several of the places Louise described in her talk to the Cambridge RSPB Group in January 2014, and were lucky enough to find a couple of the scarcer species. A year on, the novelty of being able to access the countryside within a few minutes of home hasn't worn off – to pop in for a walk round our nearest RSPB reserve, Fowlmere, or to stay out in the countryside until dusk without a long journey home is still new and exciting. And what about the difference in the birds we've seen? We almost miss seeing and hearing ring-necked parakeets. In London, small flocks used to fly low over our garden twice a day as they travelled to and from a night-time mass roost a couple of miles away. It's not so much fun when a group descend on your bird feeders, though, and although they may be a slightly exotic rarity here at the moment, be careful what you wish for! We've noticed very few jays here, presumably because of the relative shortage of woodland. We've seen fewer peregrines than in London – maybe because there are fewer feral pigeons! But in exchange we've found it much easier to see a whole lot of species rarely, if ever, seen in central London – for example nightingale, turtle dove, grey partridge, skylark, jackdaw, rook and wintering swans. The biggest challenge we are facing now is in our own garden. We have a small garden, similar in size to the one we had in London, but we are in a brand new development where



our garden, and all those around us, are very raw with no mature vegetation. At our previous home, we had all the usual garden birds in good numbers (with the notable exception of house sparrows which had been common but disappeared completely from our road in the 1990s) plus a few more surprising visitors including a grey wagtail that came to our pond daily for several weeks one winter, the occasional willow warbler and chiffchaff and a redstart on migration, and regular wintering blackcaps. In our present garden, until recently pied wagtail was the only species we'd seen. A few more birds have started to come since we introduced a pond and we will be doing more planting, although we fear it will be a while before it's worth registering our garden for BTO Garden Birdwatch. On the positive side, the Wildlife Trust is developing a new country park adjacent to the housing and there we have already seen quite a few species including barn owl, winter thrushes, grey and red-legged partridge, skylark, meadow pipit, green woodpecker and brown hare. A year on from our move, we've found the experience of living in Cambridge extremely positive, not just in terms of wildlife but because we've found it a good place to live for all sorts of reasons. We do have to use our car a bit more, though.

Jill Aldred

ECLIPSE Was the weather going to allow people to see the Eclipse? This was in our minds and we thought it would be good to do a birdwatching trip and combine it with seeing the Eclipse. The weather reports were followed avidly during the week but things did not look good. Cloud cover seemed to be the forecast for the day. However, Norfolk looked a little more

promising than Cambridge so an early start and we were at Sculthorpe Moore at 8.30 with expectations high. Oh no! – cloudy sky on our arrival but within minutes the cloud lessened and we were able to experience the eclipse – faint to begin with but over the next hour it became much clearer. Walking along, Scarlet Elf Cup fungus added beauty to the woodland paths and the whole experience was very atmospheric. The birds didn’t seem to take a lot of notice and there were good sightings of bramblings, bullfinches, marsh tits and many

others during the eclipse. Hunger and full feeders were no doubt the attraction for them. The final part of the eclipse saw the sun shine through and what a lovely day we then had. A highlight was a pair of treecreepers who had obviously paired up and it was great watching them on a tree trunk and then chasing each other to the next. On the way back to the car we saw our first chiffchaff singing in the trees above us – a sign that spring had arrived. After a really good morning at Sculthorpe we then drove over to the coast for the next phase of our day. A lovely lunch (and we didn’t linger too long) at the Orange Tree at Thornham was followed by a walk to the harbour hoping to see twite but we were not lucky there. However, a good range of ducks and waders were seen and interactions between curlews were fascinating.

Eclipse photo Alex Andrews



We ended the day at Snettisham to see the “High Tide Spectacular”. We thought we were out of luck with the sunset but a light pinking of the sky turned into a vivid red long after the sun had set. The birds performed well and great waves of knot with the sound of thousands of wing beats flying just overhead were impressive. These were followed by very noisy oystercatchers. Various other wading birds were seen, including godwits but curlews were not as prevalent compared with the visit we made last year. It was good to see the repairs made at Snettisham following the previous year’s gales and we were able to walk round and see the knot and oystercatchers huddled together from the new hide. Alex Andrews and Rachel Lowry

Thriplow Daffodil Weekend

Once again, our Group participated in this very popular village event. This was the event’s

47th year and our Group has

been involved for at least 15 of

those. As well as ‘locals’, visitors

come from various parts of the

Country, many by coach on

daytrips and some from as far

away as Northumberland! (This

group was on a weekend trip.)

Therefore, an excellent

opportunity for fundraising and

thanks to a small band of Group

volunteers, visitors were

encouraged to buy tombola

tickets, RSPB goods, pin badges

and to “Feed the Bittern”. Their

efforts were rewarded with almost £400 being raised for the RSPB.

Melvyn Smith

News from Local Reserves

Lakenheath Fen news April 2015

Welcome to the Spring news from Lakenheath Fen! Well, I was slightly disappointed that we

didn’t get any snow over the last few months, but it’s certainly very nice to get some warmer

weather and sunshine! It’s been such a dry couple of months that it’s been quite hard to get

the water levels up to what we’d ideally like them to be. River levels are lower than they

would usually be for this time of year, so not as much water is seeping in through the

riverbank. This means that we’ve had to put our abstraction licence to good use, and get

water flowing in from the river. Everything is now more or less back up to ideal spring water

Thriplow Daffodil weekend stall photo

Robin Bailey



levels now though. Now it’s all hands

on deck for bird surveys, maintaining

paths and preparing for our busy

summer season!

Out on the reserve

We’ve had digger-man, Paul Farnish,

in to give the visitor centre pool a bit

of a re-vamp. It was beginning to look

a bit overgrown, and not much wildlife

was being seen there, apart from the

odd coot and kingfisher, and the occasional bittern (perhaps my expectations are too high!).

So we’ve opened it out quite a bit, creating a wider shallow feeding edge, and creating a bit

more open water.

I’m pleased to say this has been a complete success! For the first time ever, we’ve had a

curlew and four lapwings taking a bath. A pair of gadwalls, pair of shovelers, and several

pairs of mallards have all happily settled on it too. Hopefully before long, we’ll be seeing lots

of ducklings! And the bittern and kingfishers all still seem to like it too!

Paul also made a few improvements to the footpath that runs through Botany Bay at the

western end of the reserve. If you’ve ever walked along it, you’ll know that it occasionally

gets quite flooded - well, not any more! Using mounds of spoil that were dug out from a

nearby ditch a few years ago, we’ve raised the level of the path to provide a nice dry

footpath whatever the weather! It all looks a bit bare at the moment, but will soon heal up,

and you never know what plants may have been lurking in the seed bank!

We’ve also improved the path up to the viewpoint at New Fen North for wheelchair users.

The grass surface has been replaced with gravel chippings and a top coat of limestone dust.

It’s now fairly smooth, and hopefully will allow wheelchairs and mobility scooters to travel up

to the viewpoint with ease.

Incoming migrants

Visitor centre pool in Autumn 2013 by David

White

Visitor centre pool today by Katherine Puttick



Most of our summer migrants have arrived, with

garganey on 13 March, followed closely by

chiffchaff (17th), and sand martin (30th). April saw

the arrival of swallow and sedge warbler (4th),

blackcap (7th), whitethroat and house martin (9th),

willow warbler (10th), cuckoo and hobby (13th),

wheatear (14th), reed warbler and grasshopper

warbler (15th), swift (22nd), and finally yellow wagtail

(28th). Although most migrants have arrived,

they’ve not really been in any big number yet, the

exception being hobby, with 25 being seen a few

days ago

.

Other sightings Low water levels on the washland in March meant

that some mud was showing around the edges of

the pool, which attracted good numbers of ducks

and waders. This included up to 278 teals, 45 shovelers, two shelducks, and a pintail.

Wader interest included two dunlins, three redshanks, a pair of oystercatchers, green

sandpiper, and 38 black-tailed godwits. Up to three great white egrets were present for most

of Jan and Feb, along with up to 30 little egrets. A rough-legged buzzard has been the

highlight of the last few months, although confusingly, there has been a very pale common

buzzard around too. Enough to test even the keenest of birders amongst us! A female

ferruginous duck was present on reedbed pools for a few days in March.

Despite it turning a little cooler in the last few days several butterflies, including brimstone,

small tortoiseshell, peacock, red admiral, comma, and green-veined white are all on the

wing. Several orange tips have also been seen, seemingly timing their emergence with the

flowering of the larval food plant, lady’s smock, or cuckoo flower as it is also known. A large

red damselfly was seen on 24 April.

That’s all from me for now. I hope all this has whetted your appetites. Spring is a great time

to come and visit – you never know what may turn up! Will the red footed falcon appear

again?! Will the golden orioles grace us with their exotic presence? Who knows, but we’ll

be certainly keeping an eye out!

Hope to see you soon! Cheers, Katherine.

Fen Drayton Lakes

The sun has certainly been shining at Fen Drayton Lakes over the last few weeks. The

increase in warmer weather has meant the arrival of some wonderful spring migrants. The

aerial feeders such as swallows, house martins and swifts have been impressing visitors and

staff alike, with their fast flight and mid air swooping. Black terns and little gulls spent a few

days feeding up on Ferry Lagoon last week and nightingales can be heard singing from the

hedgerows.

Sedge warbler just arrived by

Tim James



The warmer weather hasn’t just meant an influx in avian guests but the presence of

butterflies has been filling the reserve with colourful fluttering. The orange tip butterfly

(Anthocharis cardamines) has been very prominent around Fen Drayton Lakes of late, flying

along hedgerows and woodland margins looking for a mate, nectar sources or food plants.

Tern rafts have also been

launched on the reserve

just in time for the arrival of

common terns to the lakes.

Last year ten small tern

rafts were launched around

the reserve, resulting in 33

nesting common terns. In

addition, one pair of

oystercatchers nested and

thus the rafts may also

have a potential for

breeding Oystercatchers.

With the addition new

Heritage Lottery Funded

rafts this year, reserve staff

are hoping for an increase in tern nesting and maybe even further interest from

oystercatchers.

Early signs suggest an interesting year for other breeding birds too, with some of the key

reedbed species such as bittern, marsh harrier and bearded tit showing promise. Several

nightingales have returned and are making themselves heard too. We hope that this is the

beginning of a new era for the nightingale at Fen Drayton.

As the weather continues to warm over the summer months, we are expecting more visitors

to the reserve. We are starting to prepare for this now and will be displaying more

information and interpretation signs over the coming weeks. We are hoping that the

information signs will not only help people to understand the important work that is done on

the reserve but will help point out and direct people to species they may not have noticed

before. Some fun events are also due to take place on the reserve this summer, with a

summer holiday events programme currently being created. The Wednesday wander at Fen

Drayton Lakes is also still going strong and continues to be very popular with both regulars

and new attendees.

The beautiful orchard has received its final touches this month, with the wire being finished

off around the guards and the addition of beautiful oak plaques, handmade by a particularly

keen volunteer, denoting each tree’s type and variety. The guards are to protect the trees

from the cattle that will be released onto the orchard in the coming months. Traditional

orchards are a hugely diminished habitat in the UK, and grazed traditional orchards even

more so. Each of the 127 tree enclosures will provide an oasis of fallen fruit and rough,

undisturbed grassy ground where small mammals, invertebrates, birds and fungi can feed

and thrive. We really look forward to seeing the orchard develop over the coming years.

Tern Raft photo Tim Fisher



Our main other project, before the habitat work really gets started again in late summer, is

the fencing-off of the area around the viewing shelter at Ferry Mere. The purpose of this is to

exclude livestock from the area, making the screen more comfortable to use and to reduce

poaching to the path.

Have a wonderful summer.

The Fen Drayton Lakes Team

Ouse Fen Jan-April 2015

There seems to be a cool breeze blowing most days this Spring, but this doesn’t seem to

have held migration up and with every day that passes there are new arrivals from the

South. Today (28th April) there were 4 hobbies catching insects over the reedbeds and a few

swifts passing overhead too with small flocks of swallows. But surprise of the day was a

graceful group of 3 cranes, circling high and floating north, the bright sunshine reflecting off

their pearl grey upperwings, beautiful.

Looking back, it seems to have been a long winter; large groups of fieldfares have only

recently departed, lively, as they ‘chack’ from pasture filed into the greening hedgerows,

fattening on earthworms for the north sea flight. From mid-April lucky observers found their

mountain cousin, the ring ouzel in similar open places across our region. So different from

the suburban blackbird, this wild rock-dweller of northern hills and Scandinavian rocky

slopes seems to have passed in great numbers, further west than its usual migration route.

Winter in the reedbeds can a rather quiet affair, though the north end of the reserve, at

Needingworth lakes, regularly holds the largest wintering flock of smew in the UK. This year

was no exception with 21 birds present for a month from mid-February; we tend to get higher

figures in colder winters. The drakes are stunning (see photo) and the female ‘redheads’ are

not bad either. In summer they breed in Scandinavian forest lakes, using tree holes to nest

in, whereas in winter they prefer the most open lakes without any cover, diving to feed on

fish.

A few marsh

harriers wintered

at Ouse Fen, but

the scarcer hen

harrier only put in

one or two brief

appearances,

along with an

occasional short-

eared owl, though

barn owls are

regular hunters

here. Wintering

lapwings and

golden plovers on surrounding fields were often disturbed by peregrines, and if you were

Drake smew at Needingworth Lakes, followed

be duck, isn’t he stunning enough for you?

(photo James Hanlon)



very lucky, merlin. A single great white egret wintered but hasn’t hung around this spring,

unlike last year’s long-stayers, so we await their colonisation in the future, 3 spent much of

the autumn on the reserve. There were reports of a penduline tit in early April, but not re-

located and bearded tits are now breeding in good numbers. We have large numbers of

greylag geese, some breeding, and currently there are 4 pink-footed geese with them, origin

unknown, also a long-staying black swan. Mammals in the reedbed include Chinese water

deer and roe deer, which do keep muddy channels open, a habitat favoured by water rails

and probably other species. Water voles are widespread despite the occasional mink

sightings.

Berry Fen is part of the reserve, close to Bluntisham and is a wonderful area of floodplain

wetland abundant with wildfowl and good for waders too. Garganey are regular in spring and

there is a grey heron colony in the willows. Redshanks and lapwings breed and passage

waders include regular flocks of ruff and black-tailed godwits. Last year a ringed (escaped)

black-winged stilt summered and a great white egret was regularly seen. It is a short walk

from Barleycroft Lake where there is a large, noisy colony of black-headed gulls and a few

common terns. This year we have a new colony of cormorants nesting in the trees, seven

nests currently; local fisherman will love them!

Our dedicated team of volunteers have done a great job over the winter of pulling, saving us

money on contractors; pulling hundreds of willow saplings from the establishing reedbeds,

planting a new hedge at Barleycroft Lake, and laying an old hedge at Needingworth lakes.

The latter job has opened up lake views and will hopefully help dry out a muddy stretch of

footpath.

Last but not least, bitterns have increased from the six boomers last year, though hard to

see. May is the best month of the year to hear this extraordinary ‘foghorn’ sound. If you get

over to the reserve soon, now is THE time to watch the amazing sky dancing of the marsh

harriers, six pairs currently gracing the skies.

Barry O’Dowd

Warden of Ouse Fen

Field Trips ideas and Suggestions

For those who have joined us we have had many brilliant field trips and memorable weekend

outings. Variety of habitat is the key to a wider range of species and Andrew Camps has

asked if there are any new or different areas that you would like to include in future

programmes. Ideally the day trip should be within a one hundred mile radius of Cambridge.

Field Trips June to September 2015 Saturday June 13, SWT Lackford Lakes & King’s Forest or Mayday Farm

Meet at Lackford Lakes car park at 3pm, a donation of £1 is asked for parking. Bring a picnic tea which we will have at Lackford before leaving at around 7:15pm for one of the other venues to look for churring nightjars and roding woodcock at dusk.



Wednesday June 17, Evening Walk to RSPB Lakenheath Fen Meet in the reserve car park at 7pm. Depending on whether there are any staff members around, there may be an introductory talk. Equally the facilities may be available for a short while after arrival. On last year’s visit we witnessed a cuckoo disembowelling a large caterpillar; marsh harriers were very numerous. Others seen were hobby, barn owl coming and going to its nest site, sightings of bearded tit, coot, kingfisher, swifts and grebes on the river to name a few. Sunday July 19 Great Ryburgh, Swanton Novers & Cley Marshes Meet at Great Ryburgh Car Park at 9:45am. Today if we get calm fine weather we will be watching for Honey Buzzards over the wooded areas of the Sennowe Estate, and later from another site near Swanton Novers. Later we will go to NWT Cley. Saturday August 15 Rutland Water

Meet in reserve car park at 9:30am. This the time of year when wading birds begin moving southwards, many of them stopping off to rest and feed up here, examples being golden plover, lapwing and dunlin. Waterbirds are well represented at this site where ospreys are now breeding. Fri/Sat/Sun August 21-22-23 Bird Fair, Rutland Water If there is sufficient interest for this annual event I am willing to take names and endeavour to match willing car drivers up with those requiring a lift. Lectures usually of 30 mins by well known personalities in the birding world, the latest in binoculars, spotting scopes, books, outdoor wear and of course refreshments – it’s all there. Sunday is concessions day for RSPB & WT members Saturday, September 12 Abberton Reservoir & Tollesbury Meet at 9:30am at EWT Visitor Centre, a donation is expected if you are not a member of the EWT. We will spend time here where on the grassy areas we may find wheatears, meadow pipits, skylarks overhead, possible great spotted woodpecker, sparrowhawk, and with luck peregrine. We will move on to Layer de la Haye and Layer Breton Causeways where spoonbill is a possibility, and certainly cormorants. As high tide is around mid. morning, this should have the effect on the number of waders we may see around the shores of the reservoir. We will continue on to Tollesbury where birds seen include redshank, curlew, oyster catcher and other small waders are likely, marsh harriers may be seen along with kestrel. General

As with all trips, we do try to offer lifts to those without transport, so let me know whether a lift is needed, or can offer a lift. It goes without saying to bring a packed lunch and hot or cold drink with all trips, suitable clothing and footwear. Andrew Camps, Field Meetings Organiser Tel. 01638 741018



Indoor meetings

Wednesday, September 16

Green, Pleasant, Planned? The RSPB, town planning and wildlife.

Simon Marsh

Cambridgeshire Bird Club indoor meetings (Doors open at 7.30pm for a

8.00pm start; there is a £2-£3 charge for non members) Outdoor Meetings There are three outdoor meetings on 12 June, 10 July and 14 August which are to be announced and posted on the Cambridgeshire Bird Club website. Indoor Meetings At Cottenham Village College

Friday September 11 Ornithology to Ethno-ornithology – a life journey. Andy Gosler Friday October 9 The Lady of the Reeds – the rediscovery of pioneering bird photographer Emma Turner James Parry

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