A Morning at Fowlmere

It's Thursday, so that's volunteer day at the RSPB Fowlmere Nature Reserve, and so Ray's off to work.  As I'm still on holiday from my keep fit class, I tag along to have a walk around the reserve.  This morning is dry, with high cloud obscuring the sun.  There's a good number of volunteers in the car park, all in good spirits for the new year.

The water level is very high all over the reserve and the mossy woodland tree trunks bend over large pools.  Near the Spring hide I see three of our most beautiful british birds, long-tailed tits, feeding in the trees, very close to me.  A great tit and chaffinch are on the path to the hide.  Viewing from the hide windows, the springs are bubbling up vigorously and a little grebe bobs along the edge of the reeds.  I can hear a woodpecker drumming a little way off.  Pat comes in to clean the hide, so I leave him to it and move on to the Reedbed hide.

From the sheet in the hide I see that some lucky people have seen a kingfisher, but I'm not in luck today.  I know a bittern has been around for some time so I ask one of the other birdwatchers if it has been seen this morning, but no.  A few mallards fly off, and a grey heron flaps around close to the hide - someone saw it swallowing a huge fish recently.  Now the peace & quiet is disturbed as the volunteers start their work *.  A small party emerges through the reeds and pushes a boat across the far side of the mere and up a channel, one of them is the warden, Doug Radford.  A chain saw buzzes in the distance and smoke from a bonfire curls up.

Outside the hide a wren sits in a tree calling a warning.  Back on the main path I look at the owl nesting box, which has been used with success again last year, and hear birds calling in the reeds - not sure, but they might have been bearded reedlings, but I didn't see them.  A little stoat runs up the muddy channel towards me, get very close before it spots me and stops dead in its tracks before darting off.

A last visit to the Drewer hide where there is another little group of long-tailed tits, and some gold finches.  A wonderful reserve, a good place to patiently sit and see what turns up.  http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/f/fowlmere/index.aspx

In the afternoon Ray sees a red kite fly over.  Below is the view from the spring hide.

* An objectionable man was vociferous in his annoyance at being disturbed by the work party, and I couldn't just sit there, so, politley, asked his to be less critical and appreciate that they give up their free time to keep the reserve in good order so that he could enjoy it.