Saturday 13 September 2008

Ouse Washes and Fen

Tom with Common Darter
Headed with Tom to the Ouse washes, partly in hope of seeing one of the huge number of Honey Buzzards coming inland off the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts. Despite seemingly favourable raptor watching conditions, the best we could manage was a distant Buzzard sp. (only two Honeys were reported in Cambridge all day) and a couple of juvenile Marsh Harriers. The water level was very high, and no good for any waders we were hoping to see, seeing instead several hundred Wigeon. There were however huge numbers of dragonflys (mainly Common Darter, Southern Hawker, and a few Brown Hawkers) and Butterflies (massive numbers of Green-veined White and good numbers of Small Tortoishell and Large White, plus a few Red Admirals.)

We moved south a bit to Ouse Fen and saw a couple of Little Egrets, three Green Sandpipers, four each of Little Ringed Plovers and Ringed Plovers.