Nature

Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve

Fowlmere RSPB nature reserve has seen an unusually high water level throughout the reserve and the continuing colder weather is in stark contrast to the same period last year. In this article, local birder Ade Cooper sets out his diary for the months of February, March and April. February The month began very cold, with a biting east wind and temperatures staying near zero all day.

Some species had been ignoring the chill and returning to prepare for breeding. Another pair of Coots and another Little Grebe arrived, making 4 of each. There were still Siskins in the alders, Teals and a pair of Gadwalls were on the mere, and 2 Little Egrets were along the Guilden brook. There were Snipe in the reedbed: a helpful Fallow Deer flushed out 11!

The Marsh Harrier seen previously was still appearing regularly and roosting on site. I believed the bird to be a juvenile, in which case it could not be sexed yet and

Teal numbers have reached a record number on the reserve Marsh Harrier on a snowy day would be unlikely to be our breeding female returning, but I hoped the bird was one of the youngsters from last year now doing well.

On one occasion, I saw a Woodcock flying up from the edge of the bridleway and off into the Poplar wood. It was probably a bird moving from the north due to the freezing conditions and only just arriving here. This is another species in decline. Where once we had at least half a dozen wintering on the reserve, now I am very happy just to have seen one.

Further into the month we saw pleasant birding days, but with a cold easterly wind giving a raw feel. Suddenly things became more lively, the reserve living up to its name with lots of fowl on the mere. Over 100 Ducks of 6 species – that doesn’t happen very often! A lovely looking male Shelduck arrived in the afternoon of the 13th, the first of the year, and Teal numbers reached an exciting new high count record of 91 birds for the

Male Shelduck (front), Greylag right and a pair of Mallard ducks at the background

reserve, smashing the previous record of 65! Also present were 3 Shovelers (2 male and 1 female), a pair of Gadwalls and a female Wigeon, plus a good flock of Mallards.

Along with the Ducks were 18 Greylag and 2 Canada Geese. Coot numbers had doubled to 8 while the 4 Little Grebes were still in residence.

Elsewhere around the reserve, the male Bearded Tit was seen briefly, also a Red Kite and a Kingfisher, and a Brambling was calling from the top of the alders, which was a very nice surprise! A large number of Lapwings had been pushed south by the freezing conditions, with several groups all flying over heading south. A pair of Sparrowhawks didn’t seem to mind the cold and were displaying way up above the reserve: the female flying ‘butterfly’ style and the male above her ‘rollercoasting’ – excellent!

Eventually in mid-month the icy conditions passed, replaced by milder westerly airflow. One of the male Shovelers and the female Wigeon remained until the 17th, but the Teals all dispersed back to more covered areas once the frost had gone.

A Marsh Harrier roosted on the 18th, and at least 5 pairs of Greylag Geese were seen prospecting for nest sites. 320 Reed Buntings were counted coming into roost, quite a few more than last month; this is usual as feeding sites become exhausted and birds move around to find new areas.

We also now saw the reappearance of the Starling murmurations, this time even bigger and better! I have never seen so many roosting at Fowlmere – estimated numbers were around 6000+ – and they were great

Thousands of small black dots that make the Starling murmuration to watch. The numbers continued to grow over the following weeks, reaching a high of 10,000 and continuing to the middle of March. On two occasions we saw raptor birds attacking the flock: first a Sparrowhawk followed by a Peregrine Falcon, then a few days later another Peregrine Falcon, but the Starlings’ safety in numbers proved very successful and none of the raptors managed to get a meal.

On the 20th February two White-Fronted Geese spent the whole day on the mere. These birds were the wintering pair from the Wimpole estate, now on the move and heading back east to breed. A further flock of 9 White-Fronted Geese were seen flying over early the same morning – remarkable, as our first ever sighting at Fowlmere was on Christmas Day last year!

White-Fronted Goose

As the month came to a close I was pleased to see 2 Ravens appearing to be nest-prospecting, and 50 Meadow Pipits suddenly showed up in the field by the Guilden brook. We also saw Great-White Egrets flying over near dusk and a flock of 9 Barnacle Geese were in the field by the entrance.

The first Chiffchaff of the year was feeding along the Shep on the 27th, this would be wintering bird rather than a summer migrant. A Mute Swan arrived on the same day.

Great-White Egrets flying over

The first Butterfly for the reserve this year was a Peacock, along the Shep on the 28th. A Water Vole also appeared there on the same day, my first one for a little while, and finally a Woodcock flying across the main reedbed in the orange sky of dusk on the 28th was a lovely sight.

Water Vole

March There were now real signs that spring wasn’t far away. The earliest ever reserve record of a Sand Martin, in fact my earliest Sand Martin anywhere, was a lone bird feeding over the main reedbed all afternoon on the 1st. On the same day, a Barnacle Goose was seen on the mere with 60 Greylag Geese.

A few days later, it was wonderful to see a first sighting for this reserve of a Tundra Bean Goose. The species is scarce and a great bird to see anywhere, I certainly wasn’t expecting to see one here. The bird was with 80 Greylag Geese on the mere, and it also took a short flight to the fields on the east side.

Like the 2 White-Fronted Geese that were present a couple of weeks previously, this Tundra Bean Goose was one that had been wintering at Wimpole. There was no sign of it the following day so I will probably never see one again at Fowlmere – although in birding it pays never to say never!

A pair of Tundra Bean Geese top left with a Barnacle Goose centre and two Greylag Geese bottom right.

The Barnacle Goose was still there at this time, making four Goose species present that day at the reserve, the first time this has ever happened.

As the weather began to improve it was good to see the Great-White Egret which had been in the area make another flyover on one day, and a Merlin seen across the fields at the centenary end was the first one at the reserve this year.

The Marsh Harrier was still present over the main reedbed, and flushed out 4 Snipe. It was also good to see a pair of Red Kites seemingly prospecting for a nest site. The birds were spiralling around together, first over the poplar wood and then over the centenary wood. Red Kites have never bred at Fowlmere, it would be great if they did.

Towards the middle of the month the Chiffchaffs arrived. Just a few, due to the very windy weather at that time, but more to be expected on calmer days.

Chiffchaff

The Mute Swan was joined by 4 more, and a total of 10 Snipe flushed up from the main reedbed was the winter’s highest total. Water Rails had been very vocal, with at least 10 birds heard around the reserve, and two pairs of Coots had started nest building, the first species I had seen doing so this season.

At this time we saw that an odd looking white Greylag had joined the Goose flock; showing that the flock was still drawing in new birds making it worth checking regularly for scarcer species.

White Greylag joining the Goose flock

Male Blackcap

By the 20th Chiffchaff numbers had increased with 8 then singing around the reserve, and it was lovely to have them back. The first singing male Blackcap was heard, with another male along the bridleway. These could be either overwintering birds from nearby villages or early southern migrants just in. I expected more to arrive in the following week.

A small but noisy group of Redwings were feeding in the centenary wood; it was good to hear their constant chattering and even a bit of full song. Some were later seen departing, flying high up in the sky at dusk and heading off east to continue their migration overnight.

The 5 now resident male Cetti’s Warblers were in fine voice. They each seemed to have found their own territories around the reserve, so I had hopes for a bumper year if they could all attract a mate.

Most of the birds on the mere were still present. The Coots had already laid eggs: the sitting female had not budged from the nest for some days.

Two of the 5 Mute Swans flew off on the 20th. At the same time a new pair of Gadwalls came in, which our resident pair didn’t care for; there was much chasing around there!

I was surprised to discover that we had 7 Little Grebes: 3 pairs and a single. I saw some interesting behaviour from one Little Grebe that constantly followed a Mute Swan around. This bird had worked out that when feeding on underwater vegetation, the Swan would disturb tasty morsels for the Grebe to catch easily – very clever!

Towards the end of the month a few more Sand Martins were seen passing through; the Chiffchaffs had increased to 10 singers and there were at least 3 male Blackcaps in. Other migrants had not yet arrived but Willow Warblers were expected to appear before long and I was hopeful of seeing a Wheatear: both species had been picking up in numbers elsewhere.

The pair of Gadwalls had been seen mating and it seemed likely they would stay to nest. Our only pair of Canada Geese had started to build a nest – the little goslings are always popular!

Some of the wintering species were still around, including Siskins, Fieldfares and just a few Redwings. On the 30th I was delighted to see a female Wheatear on the track to Manor Farm, just out from the reserve, and the first Swallow made a brief appearance on the same day. April The beginning of the month saw activity picking up. Three more Swallows passed through on the 1st and the sweet sound of the first Willow Warbler could be heard near the boardwalk early on the 2nd, a typical arrival date for this species.

Two calling Green Sandpipers flew over westwards in the evening of the 1st, yet another first record of the year, and the numbers of singing male Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were still increasing, with some of them beginning to be paired with females.

A pair of Shovelers arrived midweek; hopefully our pair from last year back for another attempt at nesting. A pair of Grey Herons were seen nest-prospecting, but seemed to take it no further. The first Mallard ducklings hatched but as usual their number steadily decreased as the days went on.

The sun and the warmer temperatures brought a great explosion of Butterflies around the reserve. Peacocks were almost everywhere, Brimstones nearly as plentiful and even a couple of Commas.

On the 2nd a Water Vole was showing quite brilliantly by the bridge just up from the boardwalk. For nearly half an hour it completely ignored any visitors walking by and just continued eating! Over the following days it continued to appear regularly.

The very cold weather over the Easter weekend caused migration activity to slow right down, and things did not pick up for several weeks. Even as the days

Little Grebe following a juvenile Mute Swan Mallard and Ducklings

Wheatear

became warmer the nights remained frosty and cold, and at dawn the bird song was still subdued. Passage migrants continued to be few in number almost to the end of the month.

Hopes were still high that a pair of Red Kites might nest nearby as they were still about. I supplied some food for them by dragging a drowned Fallow Deer into an open field, hopefully they found it.

An adult male Peregrine was a nice sight as it flew over south. The first Moorhen young had hatched and another brood of Mallards as well, although once again the ducklings were disappearing fast with a Grey Heron taking advantage. The Coots on the mere also hatched a week or so into the month, giving 4 tiny young.

Sedge Warblers began to arrive from the 9th – just 2 at first, followed by 2 more a week later and the first Yellow Wagtail on the reserve was seen on the 11th, about a week later than usual. Swallows also began passing through, but in small numbers.

Around mid-month I heard a female Redstart by the Guilden brook. It was extremely elusive, as it was staying on the opposite, sunny, side of the hedgerow, but it was lovely eventually to see it.

I also saw an Otter briefly: my first one on site for quite a while.

By the 19th summer arrivals were still trickling in at snails’ pace: the first 2 Reed Warblers appeared on the 17th with a third on the 18th. Few others were seen.

A single Redwing seen at this time was unexpected as I had thought they were long gone. Even more surprising was a flock of 25 Barnacle Geese flying over quite high one morning. Their calls were heard long before a visual and it was a while before I realised what I was hearing. When the birds came into view it was nice to see them in V formation going due south; this meant that they were feral birds, as true wild ones would be going North.

With the sun out and a little warmth by late morning, some new-for-the-year Butterflies were found: first Green-Veined White and Orange-tip, then later a Speckled Wood butterfly.

By the third week of April still very few summer breeders had come in. Sedge Warblers had increased to 6 and Reed Warblers to 4. Seeing 2 Yellow Wagtails was a bright moment – literally!

Finally in the last week of the month the expected migrant push began. On the 24th a female Wheatear was found just out from the east gate, an early good sign, then the reserve’s first Common Whitethroat of the year and a couple of Sand Martins passed through, along with the first Swift going over in the evening. A big moment was hearing the first Cuckoo singing as it approached the reserve from the south flying overhead, and continuing to sing around the reserve. It was still present the next morning, so I hoped it was last year’s bird arriving to stay for another season.

A calm and clear night on the 25th gave good flying conditions. Reed Warblers made a significant increase up to 13; overtaking the Sedge Warblers, of which there were now 10 males singing.

A really unusual record for this time of year was a calling, flyover Redpoll. We rarely see these in winter nowadays, and nearly all records are autumn passage birds, so a spring bird was a welcome surprise. Best of all was the return of a Grasshopper Warbler! I had hoped that after last year’s brilliant showing of 4 males we would see them again, so I was pleased to hear a bird reeling away at the end of the boardwalk. To show how slow this spring has been, last year Grasshopper Warblers arrived on the 11th April, two weeks earlier than this year.

As the month came to a close we were still having overnight frosts. The days were fine and sunny but bird activity early mornings and evenings was not great and the dawn chorus was virtually non-existent.

I was still not seeing any passage migrants go through, but summer breeders were continuing to arrive. Most pleasing were 2 more Grasshopper Warblers: a second bird heard reeling near to the first between the boardwalk and the mere, and a third bird in the cattle paddock. Hopefully with warmer days we may get to see that one.

New for the year on the 28th was a male Lesser Whitethroat singing along the Guilden brook. There was also a second bird seen in the same bush, so we probably have a pair. The Cuckoo was still coming and going and there was a new male Common Whitethroat on the Guilden brook.

Four pairs of Greylag Geese had goslings, but like the mallard ducklings they were disappearing fast: 3 of the pairs only had 2 little ones each. It seems the reserve provides rich pickings for the Grey Heron! This article is a synopsis taken from the website produced by Ade Cooper and Caroline Scott about Fowlmere Bird Reserve. To see the full version and other interesting visits Ade and Caroline have undertaken in the UK and abroad, visit: www.cooperandscott.wordpress.com