Nature

Fowlmere RSPB Nature Reserve

In this article, local birder Ade Cooper sets out his diary for the months of August through to October. August

The month started quietly, as it often is at that time of year, with two Green Sandpipers arriving on the 1st and a flock of Lapwings on the mere. I also saw a Lesser Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler, both the first ones for about 7 weeks, and a yellow juvenile Willow Warbler.

Flying over was a Red Kite, and 4 Sand Martins made their way south.

The following week the Barn Owl youngsters from the Reedbed box were seen to be able to fly, even though their landings needed a bit of work! Young from the Cetti’s Warbler family could be heard calling, and a Spotted Flycatcher was seen. The Lapwings on the mere increased in number, and there was a pre-migration build-up of 50 Swallows.

A particular delight was to discover that a Marsh Harrier pair, first spotted back in May and new to the reserve, had in fact bred successfully. The fruits of their labour were seen taking a first flight: two pristine juvenile Marsh Harriers came up from the nest and perched in nearby bushes.

Over the next few weeks I was able to see that the male was bringing all the prey in for the youngsters. The female disappeared for well over a week, but did return later.

At one point, it seemed there might have been a third juvenile, but I came to the conclusion that this was not the case. Juveniles from elsewhere had been seen around the nesting area, and it was clear by the reaction of the male bird that one passing juvenile didn’t belong. The male bombarded this juvenile across the reedbed, upping the aggression levels when the reluctant juvenile wouldn’t leave the area. It got the message in the end and flew off southeast.

Another juvenile seen flying around the nest site was very easy to dismiss as not one of our birds, as it had bright yellow wing tags! This bird probably came from

Male Marsh Harrier

Female Redstart a nest over in Norfolk. As well as outsider juveniles, another adult female also popped in. This bird was more well-marked than our female and in fairly heavy moult.

The middle of the month became very hot, turning thundery with heavy rain. An easterly breeze had brought early autumn migrants arriving in great numbers all down the English east coast, but unfortunately this didn’t reflect at Fowlmere. No Pied Flycatchers or Redstarts could be found amongst the Tit flocks, we saw only Lesser Whitethroats, Garden Warblers and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers. The Flycatchers had abandoned their insect diet in the heavy rain, with one seen eating blackberries and the other eating elder.

The Swifts had mostly moved south and 2 Green Sandpipers had a brief stay on one day before continuing south west. It seemed that these two would be the last of our waders, as the heavy rain had topped the mere up just a little too much so that there was no mud showing. On the plus side, we could be confident that once again it would not dry up this year.

One highlight was to find a beautifully patterned Tree Pipit perched on the dead branches of a small bush in the cattle paddock. Tree Pipits are hard to come across in Cambridgeshire – we mostly see calling birds flying over – but this is the fifth consecutive year that I have recorded the species at Fowlmere.

Even better, a few days later there were two more, perched at the top of a hawthorn in the same area, making three in a week! They stayed for just a short while before flying off south.

Towards the end of the month a Tit/Warbler flock began to gather in the cattle paddock. The flock initially included Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Common

Tree Pipit Whitethroats, Lesser Whitethroats and a Garden Warbler. By the end of the month the flock numbered 53 birds, with Blackcaps, Willow Warblers and both Whitethroat species present.

On one evening 3 Whimbrels flew through – the first record of the year – and a gathering of around 50 Swallows was also present.

As the month came to a close migration was becoming evident. There was a clear passage of House Martins on the 29th/30th, with small flocks regularly going through amounting to hundreds in total. Smaller numbers of Sand Martins and Swallows were also seen, along with 4 Swifts.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend the weather was windy and a lot cooler, but a calmer, sunnier day on the 31st brought out a female Redstart, seen for a few minutes by the Guilden brook. The date was typical for Redstarts to begin arriving, so I was hopeful for several more as autumn went on.

The warmer day also brought out butterflies, which were nice to see. Lots of Large and Small Whites, 10 Small Heaths, the last of the Common Blues and Meadow Browns and a couple of Red Admirals and Speckled Woods. A great count of 11 egg laying pairs of Willow Emerald Damselflies were at the Spring Hide pool.

One brilliant sighting that I missed myself was a GreatWhite Egret, reported seen briefly on the 31st.

September

At the beginning of the month another trio of Shovelers arrived, and 2 Ravens were seen tussling way up high with a Buzzard. There were numerous Chiffchaffs – at least 20 around the reserve – but not so many of other Warbler species as they were quickly moving out.

Ploughing in the fields next to the reserve attracted 700+ Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull.

Migration had picked up, with the first Meadow Pipits passing over towards the south. 3 Grey Wagtails, several Yellow Wagtails and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen

Juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull. Not a good photo but a record

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On the 9th an Osprey was seen to go low, straight down the middle of the reserve – very exciting!

By mid-month, Warblers were quickly departing. 21 Blackcaps were still in the cattle paddock, but very few Reed Warblers remained. Chiffchaffs had also decreased from the previous week, and Swallows and Martins were also noticeably lacking in numbers, with only 8 Swallows and 2 House Martins seen moving through.

The Marsh Harrier family were still present, and one of

the juveniles was seen chasing a Woodpigeon, its hunting instinct starting to kick in. A Red Kite flew around with them over the reedbed for a while on one day, and shortly afterwards a juvenile Peregrine Falcon did the same thing.

Siskins were still on the move, with a weekend tally of 40+ along with the first Redpoll of the autumn. Meadow Pipits also continued to pass over, with at least 50 over a few days; 21 of these roosted in the reedbed on the 13th.

A good flock of 30 Corn Buntings was seen briefly on the Guilden brook and 8 Grey Partridges were in the east fields, both counts being more than we usually see these days!

The water level on the mere was still high, giving little activity there. 2 Shovelers flew in on the 13th, with 2 Teals and 66 Mallards present, and Kingfishers were making regular visits.

Even total cloud cover early on the 20th didn’t bring many birds down: the only birds to stop in were 4 Shovelers.

The first Golden Plover of the autumn went over calling on the 20th, and the first movement of 30 Skylarks was particularly pleasing. It’s a sad sign of the times that sightings of these two species, once so regular in autumn in this area, are now particularly welcome. At the end of the day, a flock of Lesser Black-Backed Gulls went north west to roost:

Marsh Harrier pair

one juvenile Yellow-Legged dropped briefly down to the mere.

The Marsh Harriers were now getting itchy feet (or should that be wings?) and venturing out further from the nest area. By the end of the month they had gone, and strong winds restricted bird sightings mainly to those passing over. Flyovers included Snipes, Siskins, a Golden Plover and a group of 40 Skylarks.

The most exciting thing for me was seeing the first 10 Redwings of the autumn coming up from feeding on hawthorns on the 27th.

October

The first two weeks of the month saw sightings recorded of Pintails, a Marsh Tit, Stonechats and Hawfinches. The first Fieldfare arrived on the 12th, and there were also several Bramblings and Redpolls seen flying over.

On the 14th I saw 2 Wigeons, with 3 Shovelers present, and up to 40 Siskins in the alders. There were 3-4 Chiffchaffs still around the reserve, a Little Egret and 5 singing Cetti’s Warblers, which is a new high.

Roosting birds included Redwings, which had increased to 40 in number, Fieldfares, Reed Buntings, Linnets, and a murmuration of 300 Starlings.

A juvenile Marsh Harrier on the 18th was unusual for the time of year. At this time the 3 Shovelers were still present, with good numbers of Fieldfares, Redwings, Siskins and Grey Wagtails. 2 Snipes and 2 Kingfishers were in evidence, with flyovers including Golden Plovers, Bramblings, 2 Ravens and a large flock of Lesser BlackBacked Gulls at dusk.

Dusk was the most entertaining time of the day on the reserve at this time. A female Merlin shot through on one day, and a late Swallow on another. A fantastic 310 Reed Buntings were counted coming into roost, but the show stealers were the 3000+ Starlings (top of page 42) that roosted close to the Reedbed hide daily all week, giving a spectacular murmuration each day.

As the month came to a close, buck Fallow Deer began grunting and sounding their dominance. The hoglike grunts could be heard almost all day coming from the reedbed.

At the end of the month it was good to see the Reedbed hide reopen. The usual safety measures are in place: masks to be worn, hand sanitiser to be used, no more than six persons inside at a time and alternate shutters screwed shut with signage on the seats to keep visitors distanced.

Little Egret Fallow Deer

Both Drewer and Spring hide remain closed. 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