Roman Road walk near Linton, Cambs

Sunday 10th February

Link to leaflet for the walk:  http://www.visitcambridge.org/dbimgs/RomanRoadLintonHildersham.pdf

Today's Rotary walk (10th Feb) starts in the pretty village of Linton, passes through Hildersham, and follows part of the Roman Road.  I would like to go back in the spring, on a fine day, because today it was drizzling and raining, was muddy and gloomy.  Not many birds were seen or even heard, and I'm sure the views were not at their best.

The Roman Road mentioned here was the subject of a talk at the Royston Wildlife Group last year, along with Fleam Dyke, with reference to the many butterflies that can be seen here (spring & summer).  The walk ended with a good lunch at the Dog and Duck pub in Linton.

Fowlmere

Today dawned bright and sunny, clouded over around midday then ended with clear skies again, but it was very cold all day.  We went to see what was about at Fowlmere RSPB reserve and were well rewarded.  From the central reed-bed hide we spotted three snipe - strongly striped waders with hugely long bills - and one jack snipe (this was only just visible in the reeds, and I only know it was a jack snipe because the lady with the telescope was sure as she had seen it more clearly and observed it bobbing - a good characteristic).

The sun was very low in the sky by now, slanting through the narrow windows in the hide and flooding the reed bed with pinky-gold hues.  Looking across towards the Drewer hide we saw a dramatic hen harrier pass low across the reeds and behind the trees, a few seconds later it returned flying left and dropped down into the reeds.  Just a few seconds to view it, but it has been seen here, roosting, for several days and is unmistakable with its pure white rump, easily seen in the dusky light.

Friends told us that a hawfinch was being observed by a large group of bird enthusiasts at Wimpole Hall on Saturday, outside the restaurant.  This is the UK's largest finch, very shy, but with beautiful rich coloured plumage.

Monday Walk & Tuesday Talk

Tuesday 29th January
Ray gave a talk to the Royston Wildlife Group this evening about our Naturetrek birdwatching trip to Kazakhstan (and I read one of my poems).  Highlights were numerous, but include Pallas' sandgrouse, Himalayan snowcock, Himalayan rubythroat, lammergeier, Eversmann's & Guldenstadt's redstarts (just for their names alone).


Monday 28th January
The milder temperatures and rain over the weekend have thawed almost all the snow, but the wind is very cold.  This morning we walked up on to the heath, down to the sports club, up to the high point where the square metal seat is, across the golf course and back via the wooded strip.

Going down Lancester Hill we were entertained by the sight and sound of many skylarks, getting ready to nest as soon as spring arrives.  Some of them soared upwards singing their hearts out, others flew about much closer to the ground.  They like to nest in the long grass that grows on this hillside, although they are at risk from dogs running off the lead.

Where the line of trees runs down towards Ivy Farm, where the new houses are being built, we saw fieldfares and redwings in the trees, then on the ground, about 30 in all, about 18 fieldfares and 12 smaller redwings. These migratory thrush family birds have been around since late autumn, but it is still good to see them here - they like feeding on berries.  We checked a flock of chaffinches but couldn't see any bramblings amongst them. 

There are still small patches of snow on northern slopes of the heath where the north-east wind blows very coldly.  However there are a lot of mole hills all over the place so the ground can't be too frozen for them to be active, searching for earthworms and insects - apparently they do not hibernate.  The beech leaves and mast lie thick on the woodland floor, deep bronzy brown, gold and dusty grey as they slowly rot.

RSPB Garden Birdwatch

Yesterday's forecast snow materialised around 11pm as sleet, so didn't settle on the ground.  This morning dawned bright and sunny, dazzling off the snow still lying in the garden.  It's Murphy's law that as it's slightly warmer, fewer birds came into the garden just on the day we want to do a count for the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.  However, it is more of a regular scene rather than one of many extra birds coming in because of the cold, so more realistic.  We had no pheasants, no starlings, no thrushes, but we did have a house sparrow.  The massive flock of linnets were flying around the field behind and lots of them landed on the trees at the end of the gardens - 30 on the ones in our own garden - we can't count the others.

Recent Activity

Friday 25th Jan
A sudden panic in the garden as the local sparrowhawk swooped through, but it didn't appear to catchanything this time.

Thursday 24th Jan
On my way back from my keep fit class I saw a red kite circling above Echo Hill, it's forked tail twisting as it flew.  At Mahjong, I heard that neighbours had also seen fieldfares and bramblings in their garden.

Wednesday 23rd Jan
I was in London today, and Ray saw a brambling in the garden and two red-legged partridges - they often visit in the winter months.  He later walked up towards Therfield, the snow is still thick on the ground here, quite soild and icy.  He spotted a great grey shrike, then immediately after in the opposite direction saw quite possibly another individual, which dropped down and up, then down and up again, flying off across the field with something in its claws, maybe a mouse.

Tuesday 22nd Jan
Very cold with snow lying on the ground and on the branches of the trees.  In the front garden 4 fieldfares are perching on the branches of our big tree.  They stayed a while then flew away over the roof, joined by another 2 we hadn't seen.   Ray walked up past the farm and then towards Therfield, where he saw lots of hares and grey partridges.  The farmer here farms sympathetically for grey partridges in particular, so it's good to see so many of them.  Ray met another birdwatcher (a bird ringer from Stevenage) who said he had seen 2 long-eared owls near to where we saw the short-eared owl last week.

Just a Linnet!

A huge flock of 100 linnets have come across to the trees at the end of our gardens for two days now.  The male pheasant brought 4 females today, they feed underneath the bird table and feeders, scratching at the snow with their feet to find the seeds that have fallen.

It has snowed all day today and we went out in the afternoon up onto the heath, where lots of people were out having great fun sledging down the hills.  We walked along the path towards Therfield, and all around lay a monochrome landscape of white snowy fields and black vegetation, except where the ginger stubble poked though the snow.  I used my walking poles and tried some Nordic walking - they were very helpful.  We saw filedfares again, and two redpolls in the same place as before.  Some of the sheep had been left in the top field, restrained by an electric fence.  Hares stood out like large dots in the fields until they looked up, showing off their long ears.  Smaller dots were partridges.  We decided to walk until 4pm before turning back and at that exact time we saw a tiny goldcrest, not 3 yards from us, low down, searching for food on the bark of the trees, where we could easily see the yellow stripe on its little head.

We walked back against a slightly stronger wind with the snow in our faces, and returned down Briary Lane as dusk fell, along with happy sledgers.

View and path towards the heath looking north

View and path (Icknield Way) towards Therfield
looking south

New Birds for January

Today on our usual walk we stop at the right hand corner above Heath Farm and see a flock of sheep in a field on the right where we've never seen them before, and then the farmer driving across the field with excitable dogs in the back of his truck, one of which is let out and expertly coralls the sheep into a pen on the other side of the field.  The other dogs are allowed tojoin in for the final funneling in.

Along the lane we see two redpolls (finch family), a first for 2013, feeding in the hedgerow, with their bright red caps the same colour as the rosehips.

At the bottom corner of the field, the farmer drives off towards the farm with the first lorry load of sheep, presumably taking them closer to the farm for protection from the forecast snow.

Down the Icknield Way lane we see a large brown and white bird dart out of the hedge and back in a couple of times, then fly off with its round, flat face and wing markings giving away its identity as a short-eared owl.  Another first for January.

Not in a large flock as they would normally be found, but alone, we see several single fieldfares (thrush family) with lovely views of their striking plumage.  The cold wind is blowing today from a southerly direction, so we can hear the sound of the traffic on the A10 - last week the wind was more from the west, and the sounds were from the A505 and the railway line.   Around 10.30 it starts to snow as we head home.