Fowlmere

Snow on the ground. Eight Red-legged Partridges and four flyover Golden Plovers at Fowlmere.

Thetford Forest

An afternoon winter bike ride with the boys. Very cold! Noticed a few Marsh Tits amongst a Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, and Coal Tit flock, whilst Sam found his own Green Woodpecker and Treecreeper. Also a couple of Roe Deer.

Snow

A light sprinkling of snow. Seven Blackbirds feeding together in the garden on the apples i left out for them. Fowlmere in the morning was very quiet and cold.

Shame this Blue Tit there wasn’t a Waxwing feeding on the berries, but there you go…

Just outside Loftus Road (after watching Rangers beat Cardiff to stay top of the league), some Ring-necked Parakeets were heard but it was too dark to see at this point. Best wildlife sighting of the day was in the car-park of the King’s Arms in Barnet, where a Fox was wandering around.

Fowlmere

A very quick walk around at dusk. Nothing apart from a Grey Heron which gave up and flew away when it realised that the frozen water was not much use.

Fowlmere

A cold and crisp morning, with the mere partly frozen. Not a lot to see, though a good record of three fly-over Little Egrets. Managed this record-shot with an Apache helicopter (the blob above the right-most Egret) also in the frame.

Mid-afternoon the weather clouded over and snow looked imminent. I took a walk around Shepreth L-moor shortly before dusk where I saw the usual Redwings and bugger-all.

Fowlmere

Very quiet first thing. A large number of Gulls on adjacent field, nearly all Black-headed Gulls, but also a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Common Gulls, and two Herring Gulls. Whilst scanning through, I also noticed a bevy of twenty Red-legged Partridges at the back of the field.

The partially leucistic Blackbird was also seen in flight. As well as a white head it also has a white rump/upper-tail coverts.

Shepreth at dusk was virtually birdless apart from a few flyover Redwings.

Bird Ringing

Bird-ringing at Amanda’s with the children as part of a Fowlmere Bulfinches event. Caught Great Tit, Blue Tit, Robin, and Dunnock. The children also dissected several Barn Owl pellets, finding various Shrews, Mice, and Vole bones, most of which could be identified under microscope to specific level. Three Tree Sparrows were also seen and during a quiet moment I went for a walk and found a three figure count flock of Corn Buntings.

After taking Sam to football in Bishop’s Stortford I called in at Amwell for the Gull roost, but unfortunately nothing of note was found apart from a Little Egret.

Water Vole

A possible at Fowlmere was seen very briefly. Nothing else. Thick fog.

Fowlmere

Warmer than of late (cloud cover.) Very little at Folwmere itself (c. 150 Starlings), but a four figure count of Gulls on the field being ploughed between the reserve and Manor Farm. Mostly Black-headed Gulls, but a few Common Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

Little Grebe

A Little Grebe in the Botanic Gardens, Cambridge. The first I’ve seen there and presumably a cold weather movement. Crappy camera shot below…

Fowlmere

A lovely crisp morning with no wind. Usual array of birds: Tits, Goldcrests, Thrushes (including a partially leucistic Blackbird with a blotchy white head, and a good number of Redwings), Finches etc.. Also a Cetti’s Warbler heard.

Snapped this Grey Heron feeding on the mere…

Purple Sandpipers

Took a break from my niece’s birthday party in Beccles to pop down to Lowestoft with Tom. It had held a few good birds, including three Northern Long-tailed Tits and a Pallas’s Warbler in recent days. Unfortunately, in heavy rain, there was no sign of these birds today but we did have a reasonable attempt for an hour or so, finding a few large flocks of Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests.

Five Purple Sandpipers on the rocks at Ness Point were new birds for Tom.

Between Foxton and Fowlmere, a Barn Owl was seen.

Yank Herons

Top day in Cornwall with Tom, Cris, and John. Listened to Queens Park Rangers beat Reading (Cris’s team) on the way home and back in time for Cambridge Utd live on TV.

American Bittern at  Walmsey (lifer!)
Green Heron at the beautiful Lost Gardens of Heligan.

Also a Whooper Swan, three Greenshanks, and several Bar-tailed Godwits at Walmsey and a few Goldcrests and a Blackcap at the gardens.

A few quick phone snaps and hand-held digiscope’s…

Nuthatch

A Nuthatch heard in the Botanic Gardens at lunchtime (with Great Tits and Blue Tits) was a surprise.

Fowlmere

Extremely quiet today first thing. Only spent an hour there but saw hardly anything (six Siskins.) Was going to walk the Guilden Brook hedge but a male Sparrowhawk (one of three Sparrowhawks seen) saved me the bother when it flew the whole length of it. Only one bird (a Reed Bunting?) came out.

Fowlmere

A quick hour walk at dawn: Seven Goldcrests (there has been a big increase lately) was about it. Also a flock of distant waders that didn’t look like Golden Plover (but may have been.)