Nature Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve

Nature

Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve

Above: preparation for Spring, a Weed Cutting machine clearing the channels. In this article, local birder Ade Cooper sets out his diary for the months of November, December and January. November – Colder temperatures and a northerly wind at the beginning of the month prompted a start to the migration of winter Thrushes. Tens of thousands were passing through southern England on the 4th. I wasn’t able to get to Fowlmere to see this, but watched from my back garden, where flocks of hundreds were seen in just a few minutes.

It was good to hear the chacking of Fieldfares once again! The passage of Thrushes halted just after 09.00, and at the reserve in the afternoon I noted none had been grounded, there were just the site’s first 30 Fieldfares of the season and 40 Redwings going straight through.

The Starling roost increased over the first few days, with around 2,500 coming in on the 5th, but just a week later the numbers unexpectedly reduced to almost nil.

Three Gadwalls on the mere were joined by a female Shoveler on the 5th, while there were 9 Snipe on the mere edge and also Water Rails coming out to show occasionally. Large numbers of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls were passing over at dusk to roost further north, with a Few Yellow-Legged and Herring Gulls in amongst them.

A visitor reported a juvenile Marsh Harrier briefly over the reedbed on the 5th.

In the morning of the 7th a newly arrived female Wigeon was on the mere with the Gadwalls and the Shoveler. More birds were seen flying over than on the reserve itself: Fieldfares and Redwings, Golden Plovers, a Raven, a Red Kite and a Cormorant.

Later in the day I saw the first winter Goosander on the mere. It roosted overnight on the mere and was still present the next morning. By the 14th the Gadwall numbers had risen to 5, with the Shoveler still

Gadwall on Ice Male Wigeon. all are first winter

present. Siskins were lingering in the alders in variable numbers, and small flocks of Golden Plover were using the surrounding fields and flying over quite frequently. Redpolls and Bramblings were on the move and being heard on most days flying over.

As the month progressed, the shorter days meant less opportunity during the week to visit the reserve. A short visit late on the 17th found a male Mandarin on the mere, only the second record this year. Being an introduced feral species they can be seen as unwelcome but there’s no doubting their exotic, attractive looks!

Beautiful male Mandarin on the mere

A Chiffchaff seemed likely to overwinter along the bridleway at this time. Little Egrets, Snipe, a Kingfisher and Teals were in evidence around the mere. Birds flying over included Redpoll, Brambling, Red Kite, Grey Wagtail and Cormorant. The new boardwalk was progressing well, now incorporating a new spur with a viewpoint looking towards the Reedbed hide.

The third week brought some interesting sightings. First, a Green Sandpiper flew down to the mere edge near dusk on the 22nd; Fowlmere doesn’t get many winter records of this bird so it was good to see. Marsh Harriers are also not usually seen at this time of year, but a female came in on two afternoons, 23rd/24th. This bird must have been regularly around the area as visitors had also reported it in the previous couple of weeks – assuming there was just the one!

A new male Shoveler arrived to join the two birds already present on the mere, with the 5 Gadwalls and up to 29 Teals. Water Rails were regularly seen feeding tight to the reeds on the back edge of the mere. Gulls were popping in and out to rest on the mere: the most seen at any one time was 37 Black-Headed, 1 Common and 1 Herring Gull. It’s good to have these Gulls using the mere as they may bring more interesting birds in with them. December – In the first week 3 Mute Swans, 2 adults and a juvenile, arrived and stayed throughout the weekend. We see few of these on the mere now, since a pair stopped nesting a few years back. The Gadwalls also increased by 1 male, giving 4 drakes and 2 ducks in total to join the 3 Shovelers and 2 dozen Teals; the mere was quite lively at this time!

Green Sandpiper at dusk Three Gull species on the mere

Juvenile Mute Swan

The Barn Owls were showing regularly from the edge of the nesting box in front of the Reedbed hide, and late in the afternoon of the 5th another Barn Owl, not one of our pair, was also seen hunting the reedbed.

Two species that normally do not overwinter on the reserve are Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, but one of each was seen over the first weekend. One Blackcap and two

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Wigeon and Teal. First winter male Wigeon (brown markings in white wing Chiffchaffs were still present a week later. I expected them to move off to the villages when the weather became colder, but a Chiffchaff was still in evidence at the end of the month.

Two Ravens put in a flyover appearance on the 5th and 2 Red Kites were lingering over the poplar wood, with quite a bit of interaction between the pair.

Dawn on the 11th brought a spectacular bright sunrise. An additional Mute Swan was then on the mere and the Gadwalls had increased to 8: a good number for the reserve.

Cold and snowy weather up north had forced a few Thrushes to move and this was evident with the number of Blackbirds around the site, but more noticeable was the number of Redwings, with 100 feeding in the sheep field by the entrance and at least another 50 on the reserve. There were few Fieldfares, however, not even double figures which was strange1 .

By the 19th the mere was still quite lively but the misty weather meant the rest of the reserve remained quiet. 4 Wigeons arrived during the week and steadily increased to 11 by the weekend. The flock consisted of 7 males and 4 females, a good count for the reserve. Also on the mere were the long staying Gadwalls, Shovelers, Teals, Mallards, the 4 Mute Swans, Moorhens, Little Grebes and Little Egrets. It was good to see so many birds using the mere; sometimes there are none at all.

On Christmas Day a Peregrine Falcon was reported to have been seen, then on the 28th the 10th reserve record of Goosander was recorded, with 3 birds flying straight through, going purposefully south east. 2 Ravens flew over south on the same day.

On the mere duck numbers were varying day by day. The previous week’s Wigeons had all moved on, but 3 Mute Swans were still present and seemingly well settled.

Four Little Egrets were feeding in the flooded sheep field by the Guilden Brook; I am still hopeful of seeing a Cattle Egret in there. There were few Passerines2 around the reserve: hardly any winter Thrushes, but there were Siskins in the alders and 2 Bramblings were feeding in an ash tree.

January – New Year’s Day was unseasonably warm and some birds thought it was Spring already. I heard Great Tits, Goldcrests, Mistle Thrushes and Corn Buntings singing.

A pair of Ravens were seen flying around over the reserve several times. They had been coming down to feed on a dead deer in the field opposite the entrance. On the mere there were just a few ducks: Shovelers, Gadwalls, Mallards and Teals. 4 Mute Swans flew over but didn’t land, while a mixed flock of Siskins and Goldfinches was in the alders.

The following week saw some temporary disturbance to the wildlife as routine management work was being done in preparation for Spring. A Truxor Weed Cutting machine was used to clear the channels, opening them right up, and other trimming back, including the bushes around the Barn Owl box, was undertaken. The Barn Owls initially left the box, but they did return and could be seen at dusk from the Reedbed hide. At this time a third bird was also hunting the reedbed, to the disapproval of the breeding pair, giving rise to much calling.

One good outcome from the work was that 4 Woodcock were flushed up by Warden Iain in areas away from the public paths. It was great to know there are so many on the reserve. I flushed another in a different area over the weekend, so there may well be many more!

On the 8th 70 Golden Plover flying over to the east fields was the best of the birds seen.

By mid-month signs of Spring were already starting to appear.

The first pair of Coots returned to nest on the 14th. Over recent years Coots have come back earlier than they used to: the end of February is more usual. A reserve record count of Gadwalls came in on the 15th, 11 males and 4 females, beating the previous record by 3.

Two pairs of Ravens flew over together on the 16th, one bird bellowing out a loud and deep call, seemingly a bit disgruntled about the other pair being around. 10 Water Rails were counted calling around the reserve and at least 2 Bramblings came into roost with a small number of Chaffinches near the Spring hide.

A female Marsh Harrier was around the reserve for the whole of the second half of the month, not only roosting but also lingering through the day. On the 22nd it was showing nicely over the reedbed and at times close to the Reedbed hide. At least 4 Snipe were on the mere edge as well as Water Rails showing every now and then. There were still good numbers of Siskins and Goldfinches in the alders.

The half frozen mere had its usual complement of ducks, but on the 23rd a Chiloe x Eurasian Wigeon also appeared there. This was the third time I had seen it at Fowlmere recently. It comes from the Dernford collection, often being seen on the reservoir, and we call it the Dernford Duck!

The close of the month saw the mere hosting 13 Gadwalls ,up to 4 Shovelers coming in and out and 11 Snipe, the highest count so far this winter. Five Coots had also now returned.

Several species were now gearing up for the breeding season: Kestrels and Red Kites had been seen pair bonding, with the Kites particularly putting on nice displays. The Barn Owl pair were regularly coming to the nest box in the late afternoon and, less impressive, 2 pairs of Greylag Geese had returned.

My favourite reserve sighting that week was a single male Lesser Redpoll, feeding in the alders with the Goldfinches and Siskins. We rarely get Redpolls stopping to feed these days.

Female Marsh Harrier

Greylags

1 Blackbirds, Fieldfares and Redwings are all members of the

Thrush family. 2 “Perching birds”. Includes all songbirds. 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