Fowlmere

Is it spring yet?

2013-05-24T21:41:44Z

I found myself asking this question yesterday as I put on my woolly hat and scarf before meeting the volunteers for the weekly work party. The main task was putting the finishing touches to the new kingfisher nesting bank at Spring Hide, the culmination of several month's work by Richard H and various vols. It looks brilliant, but will the kingfishers think so? It may be too late this year, although there is an outside chance of occupation - kingfishers can raise three broods in a season, and at least one has been seen on the reserve in the last week.

The birds must have been asking themselves the same question during yesterday's storm that had us running for cover from the 1cm diameter hailstones. Many species have arrived at Fowlmere later than usual, such as chiffchaff, swallow, blackcap and swift, but my impression is that individuals of several species are still arriving. Fowlmere has been one of the best places in Britain to see turtle doves in recent years, so we were getting worried about their non-appearance a week ago, but this week there have been at least two 'singing' in the scrub near Drewer Hide. There was also a cuckoo singing last weekend. On the debit side, we have not recorded a grasshopper warbler yet. Indeed, there were no records at all last year, which was a big disappointment after the three pairs in 2011. I hope we haven't lost them forever.

Other birds have been just getting on with it. There are several broods of mallards and greylag geese, and one of the latter has been patiently incubating in full view of the visitors in Spring Hide while ignoring the antics of the builders a few feet away. Someone even witnessed the spectacle of it scaring off an otter that approached too close to its nest. The mute swans hatched 7 cygnets on 14th May, an event we were actually able to witness from Reedbed Hide. The mother was clearly fascinated by what was happening in the nest, and every so often half an egg shell appeared at the margin and another little grey head was seen bobbing up and down beneath her. We also have a pair of lapwings again, incubating their eggs surrounded by fast-growing reeds. In that setting their chances of survival are high, at least to hatching, which I anticipate will be in the first week of June.

Let's be fair - the weather hasn't been all bad, and on the warmish sunny days the thrushes and warblers are delightful as they sing their hearts out, and 2 hobbies have been hunting over the reedbed. Furthermore, the barn owls can now be seen every day through the entrance of their nest box, where we assume they have eggs.

As ever, I shall try to post on the blog more frequently, but it all depends on how many other jobs come my way...

The end is nigh...

2013-03-15T11:49:00Z

It may not have felt like it this week, with northerly winds and flurries of snow, but winter is gradually drawing to an end and we are completing various tasks before the birds start nest building. It is obvious to me where our team of regular volunteers have been toiling away throughout the winter, but the results are most visible to the public when we get contractors in. Last week our reed cutting contractor cut >2ha in two areas - the fen that should have been grazed last year, and part of the reedbed that we haven't worked in for many years. I was reminded of why we hadn't worked in the latter place each time we pulled the mower out of a wet patch! If it's too wet to get in, there's no need to cut it!! Cutting and/or burning reedbeds allows the accumulated dead material to be removed, which keeps the ground wet and stimulates new growth.

We also had a mini-digger in for two days, digging the foundations for our new kingfisher nest bank (watch this space...), clearing out a small ditch, and digging out several ponds. I am keen to see our ponds in good shape, as they are great habitats for the nationally scarce Fen Pondweed, and they are always colonised by stoneworts after the work has been done.

Many of our winter visitors are still with us - the female hen harrier is still roosting every evening around 5pm, and one or more merlins hunt over the reserve at about the same time. We have seen evidence of duck movements recently, with a flock of 11 wigeon dropping in to the mere last weekend; 48 teal were counted yesterday; and a male shoveler has been here for a week. It would be nice if that attracted a mate and bred for the first time.

However, as I write this on the morning of the 15th, the wind has turned to the south-west, and I wouldn't be surprised if there are one or two chiffchaffs on the reserve today. Mid March is the time they usually start to turn up, but I suspect they will have been intimidated by the adverse weather and wind direction. I love the sound of their song. Our resident species have been in full voice for a while now, but for me the sound of the chiffchaff is the first sure indication that spring is almost here.

The best laid plans...

2013-02-27T18:30:57Z

On Tuesday we started cutting reeds to the east of the mere, and it was going really well until the mower head seized up at the end of the morning. We will finish cutting that section tomorrow as part of our weekly work party (always on Thursdays).

One bonus was flushing two jack snipe from the rushy parts of the reedbed. They are probably the same birds that we saw at the beginning of the month, but if you're tempted to twitch them be prepared to scan more than an acre of open ground where they could be hiding. We finished well before the time the hen harrier usually turns up, but it didn't! However, one of our team saw an adult male merlin from Reedbed Hide late in the afternoon.

Now I've heard that the mechanic won't be able to start repairing the mower until Friday, so we are going to have to cut reeds next week too, probably on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. I'll post again next week to confirm it, because if the weather turns wet we will have to postpone.

Annual reed cutting next week

2013-02-24T18:35:14Z

We will be cutting the reeds to the east and west of the mere on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this coming week. We cut reeds somewhere every winter, but this time the area is larger than in previous years. As well as clearing the fen where lapwings bred successfully last year, we will clear out the accumulated old reeds from an area that hasn't been managed for some time.

We will start at 9am and finish about 4pm, so we are unlikely to interfere with the hen harrier when she comes in to roost. In any case, we won't be working near her roost site.

It will all look rather different in a few days time!

Purple patch continues

2013-02-16T19:44:00Z

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 Reedbed Hide, but the watchers in Drewer Hide had stunning views.

If our bittern wasn't so shy, that would be a strong contender for top bird. It has been seen at least four times this week, mostly while feeding in the edge of the reeds on the northern side of the mere. It can be extremely difficult to spot, but once we had found it this afternoon we watched it for half an hour before the light faded.

Merlins and bearded tits are still around, but have not been seen so frequently, for different reasons. At this time of year, bearded tits are normally feeding out of sight low down in the reeds, and their presence is usually only betrayed by their 'pinging' calls. Merlins, on the other hand, appear in full view but at such a speed that one doesn't really get a chance to appreciate their finer points.

Earlier this month we enjoyed watching two jack snipe on the eastern side of the mere, but we are not sure if they are still with us. They were seen every day up to the 10th, then not at all until they were reported today by one person.

Other birds to enjoy at the moment include kingfisher, up to 11 gadwall, up to 33 teal, c60 siskins in the alders by Spring Hide, the barn owls hunting or in the nestbox, Cetti's warblers singing, and a covey of five grey partridges in the fields on either side of the track to the car park.

Speaking of which, we apologise for the uneven surface of the track. We are in the process of obtaining quotes for repair and renovation, but we will still have to source the funds. I am expecting it to cost about £!*@!!!

Snow update Sunday 20th January

2013-01-20T09:47:02Z

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.

work party Thursday 17th January

2013-01-15T15:02:54Z

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 if we can't work there this week, as I was hoping to finish that job before the end of January. I don't want it to overlap with the annual reed cutting in early February.

recent photos from Fowlmere

2013-01-09T09:41:28Z

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.

http://cambsbirdclub.blogspot.co.uk/

It is worth scrolling down the phopto page, because there are also photos of a red kite seen here last week, and various water birds at the turn of the year. Enjoy...

Weekly work on Thursday 10th January

2013-01-08T15:53:00Z

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 opportunity to do vegetation management before the start of the bird breeding season (early March for some species). Thankfully there are still plenty of birds around the reserve. An hour ago I saw a mixed flock of siskins, redpolls and goldfinches numbering about 60 birds in the alders by Spring Hide, and there were two woodcock there as well. The bittern was last seen in the open area to the west of Reedbed Hide, where I don't expect to work during January. The barn owl can still be seen in the nestbox, and there are also the fly-overs that are not affected by our presence at all - a merlin hunted over us as we finished work last Thursday; a red kite was seen on the same day, and the next; and a peregrine flew over yesterday.

This coming Thursday we hope to continue coppicing willows by the mere; pulling out willow stumps near Drewer Hide; and cutting access for the new kingfisher bank at Spring Hide. The work at Spring Hide should take about an hour. The work at Drewer Hide might take all morning. The work by the mere will go on all day, and in fact will probably continue on other Thursdays in January.

Finally, I apologise if our work does interfere with your enjoyment of the reserve, but it is worth remembering that most of what you see at Fowlmere is only possible because of the management of the vegetation that makes the birds and mammals visible.

New Year's Day 2013

2013-01-01T18:15:36Z

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 (over)	1	Long-tailed tit	*
Bittern	1	Herring gull (over)	1	Blue tit	*
Grey heron	1	Stock dove	1	Great tit	*
Mute swan	3	Woodpigeon	*	Treecreeper	1
Greylag goose	2	Barn owl	1	Jay	1
Gadwall	1	Kingfisher	1	Magpie	1
Teal	10	Green woodpecker	3	Jackdaw	00s
Mallard	12	Meadow pipit	1	Rook	00s
Sparrowhawk	1	Pied wagtail	1	Carrion crow	*
Common buzzard	2	Wren	4	Starling	1
Kestrel	1	Dunnock	1	Chaffinch	*
Grey partridge	3	Robin	*	Brambling	3
Pheasant	1	Blackbird	18	Goldfinch	4
Water rail	3	Fieldfare	30	Siskin	2
Moorhen	*	Song thrush	1	Bullfinch	4
Golden plover (over)	c60	Redwing	20	Yellowhammer	2
Common snipe	6	Mistle thrush	3	Reed bunting	5
Woodcock	1	Cetti’s warbler	1	Corn bunting	1
Black-headed gull	8

* = present but not counted

58 species! Not bad for a little reserve on a breezy day with c250 visitors (including lots of lively children) walking round.

It's a bit muddy...

2012-12-31T07:23:00Z

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 accessible. In the summer it is not unusual to see visitors in sandals, and even convoys of young mothers with prams and pushchairs walking round. However, as I walked round the reserve yesterday, I was reminded that 2012 was the wettest year on record in England, but not everyone seems to realise it. You will enjoy a walk in the countryside much more if you don't have to spend all your time watching where you put your feet.

The reserve can seem quiet during this windy weather, when most of the birds are keeping warm and dry under cover, but even now there is still something to be seen. A duck that many people don't recognise is gadwall, and a fine male is often on the mere, together with varying numbers of teal. Several common snipe have been less visible at the edge of the reeds, but can usually be spotted if you look carefully enough.

I am trying to run some water off, partly to provide shallow feeding areas for such birds as snipe and teal, but also because we need to start the annual activity of cutting reeds. Will it stop raining long enough for us to do it?

mid December

2012-12-24T17:55:00Z

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 of the water and ran along the bank.

Geoff was then rewarded with a bittern fly-past, presumably the same bird that has been here since November (but not necessarily - when we see only one at a time, how many are there really?).

In the last few days someone has seen a bearded tit in the reeds next to Reedbed Hide, and there have been small flocks of teal and gadwall on the mere. And of course, kingfishers are being seen every day.

Obviously I can't promise that any of the above will be seen on a casual visit, but there is usually something to be seen by those people with the patience to watch and wait.

Improving the view from Drewer Hide

2012-12-15T17:55:00Z

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 means that occupants of the hide can see wider and further than before. We had planned to do it last winter, but the harrier turned up before us, and we didn't want to risk putting such a super bird off.

"Why not just remove them?", you may ask. Some of these willows have been there long enough to have developed convoluted, gnarled trunks that are good for invertebrates, and RSPB nature reserves are all about diversity after all. Thus I prefer to cut back the growth every few years, which allows the trunks to develop and also put out fresh young shoots for those specialist insects that need them.

Now we just need that harrier to appear...

Work party on Thursday 13th December

2012-12-10T09:40:00Z

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 give advance notice of such activity.

Our regular visitors will know that we have a weekly work party almost every Thursday, when our volunteers help to manage the habitats and maintain the hides and other visitor facilities. Usually the work programmme for the day is worked out in advance, but occasionally we have to make decisions at short notice.

This coming Thursday we plan to work in two parts of the reserve. The main task will be continuing to manage the willows and reedbed in front of Drewer Hide, where we will be both improving the habitats for wildlife such as reed warblers and water rails, and improving the view from the hide. Last winter we were privileged to have a hen harrier roosting in the reedbed for several weeks, but people in Drewer Hide were frustrated by seeing only fleeting glimpses of the bird as it flew past gaps in the bushes. If it returns again this winter, views will be much better after we have cut back the bushes.

The other task is maintaining part of the roof of Reedbed Hide. Normally it is not good practice to work near two hides simultaneously, but we do have to take advantage of the availability of specialist volunteers who can do particular jobs. This particular task is part of the programme of work aimed at extending the life of this popular hide, and should take less than an hour. We may have to close the hide for a short period so that visitors are not sitting under the workers, but believe me we will be trying to get this job done as swiftly as possible - working on an exposed roof in December is nobody's idea of fun!

These two work areas make up a very small proportion of the reserve, and the rest of the reserve will be available to be enjoyed. Redwings and fieldfares should still be all over the place, and maybe some waxwings will call in again. Enjoy!

Waxwings!

2012-12-05T20:42:15Z

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 and fieldfares, so at the reserve we have seen many of those Scandinavian thrushes but almost no waxwings, despite the abundance of berries.

A flock of 17 waxwings spent half an hour on the reserve almost three weeks ago, but the rest seemed to have passed us by, until this afternoon. While checking some habitat management tasks in the middle of the reserve, surrounded by redwings and fieldfares, I chanced upon a small group of waxwings perched in a willow bush by the path. As I watched and waited, I became aware of more, some as they flew into view, others as they made their distinctive trilling calls behind me. Then suddenly something spooked everything, and they all took off. I managed to count 25 waxwings before they flew out of sight towards the southern end of the reserve; there could have been more.

I didn't see any of the waxwings feeding, just sitting around, so I don't know if they will return to the same spot tomorrow. If they are seen again, I will send a messsage to Cambirds and Birdguides, and we will think about how our human visitors can get to see these fantastic and beautiful visitors from the north.