“The RSPB is the country’s largest nature conservation charity, inspiring everyone to give nature a home.” Cambridge Local Group Newsletter Issue No: 117 January 2018 Contents Page 2 Group Leader’s Report Andy Law 3 Field Trip Reports 3 Strumpshaw Fen, 27/08/17 Brenda & Melvyn 4 Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, 03/09/17 Brenda & Melvyn 6 Weekend in Dorset, 28/09/17 - 01/10/17 Various 13 Paxton Pits and Grafham Water, 09/11/17 Graham Cole 14 Welney and the Ouse Washes, 09/12/17 Norman De’Ath 16 News from Local Reserves 16 Fen Drayton Lakes Luke Wake 17 Fowlmere Beth Aucott 19 Lakenheath Fen Alan Kell 21 Nene Washes Charlie Kitchener 23 Events 23 Field trips 24 Indoor meetings 25 Obituaries 25 Christine Sansom Tony Corps 25 Anne Shearcroft Melvyn Smith 27 Club directory Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018 Group Leader’s Report Hi all group members I hope you have all had a good Christmas and new year. There is some good birding to be done at this time of the year. A visit to any of the wetland reserves around Cambridge should give a good variety of ducks made all the more enjoyable with the drakes being in breeding plumage. Choose a bright sunny day and they will seem to glow in the bright winter sun. A visit to the Ouse Washes could add all three species of swan to your tally and tree sparrow are fairly easy to see at the RSPB visitor centre. Although there are few waxwings about at the moment there has been an influx of hawfinches this winter with several being reported in and around gardens in Cambridge. One person even reported them flying over the station. I have heard that they have been seen fairly regularly in the car park at Wimpole Hall. I hope you all participated in the Big Garden Birdwatch and have sent your results in. Remember it is just as important to send in your results if you only saw a couple or even no birds, as it is if you saw hundreds. It is nice to see species increasing, but it is vitally important to know when numbers are decreasing, so what you don’t see is just as important as what you do see. Our main money-raising event of the year is also fast approaching. Thriplow Daffodil Weekend & County Fare is happening the weekend of March 17th & 18th, and as usual we will have a stall with tombola, RSPB sales goods and ‘feed the bittern’ game. It would be good if you could come and help out with one of these, it doesn’t have to be all weekend or even all day, just an hour or two would be of great help and take the pressure off and allow the regular helpers time off to look around. If you could help please let me or any of the other committee members know, or if you’re not sure what’s involved just come and have a chat. I hope you all enjoy the program of indoor and outdoor events that we provide for you each year. I think we have some great speakers and destinations over the next year, we all do our best to make it as variable and interesting as possible. But if there something you would like to hear about, I would love to get your feedback. Our talks don’t have to be specifically about birds, some of them could be about other groups of animals or perhaps plants. Or is there is a specific speaker you would like to hear give a talk for us? Why not drop me an email after each talk or trip and give me your thoughts good or bad. As we are now into the new year, membership fees are due. Thanks to all those that have already renewed their membership. For those who have not yet renewed you can do so at most indoor meetings or by contacting Tina at [email protected]. It’s still only £10 a year. Good birding Andy Law The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 2 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018 Trip Reports Strumpshaw Fen, 27th August 2017 On a lovely sunny morning thirteen members of the group met at the car park of RSPB Strumpshaw Fen. We all crossed, with care, the railway bordering the reserve and then met in the reception hide where most of us enjoyed a hot drink whilst looking out over the lake. A kingfisher dashed low over the water. There were several little egrets with one very close. Hiding in the reeds was a black swan and out on the water were gadwall, mallard and shoveler with the males still in their eclipse plumage. The kingfisher then returned and perched on a small dead tree behind the reeds. It stayed there for a short while and then flew across the water before returning again and finally crossing the water and up a channel and away. Moving off from the Visitor Hide we slowly wandered along the woodland path listening for birds. A robin popped out briefly, otherwise only pheasants around their feeders could be seen; with the shooting season for pheasants starting on 1st October, many of these will not be seen afterwards! Next to the path a movement was spotted in the nettles and on closer inspection a vole was seen moving under the grass before it disappeared into thicker vegetation. As we came to the edge of the wood we stopped to scan through a flock of small birds. There was long tailed tits, blue tits, goldcrest, coal tit, chiffchaff and a spotted flycatcher. The track took us down to the River Yare and, as we walked along the river bank, we were distracted from birding by the sailing boats slowly passing, with motor boats passing at a quicker pace. Part way along the river walk we took a detour into the fen, to Fen Hide. Here, a young water rail was calling and was located on a pile of dead reeds by the water. A couple of young Chinese water deer came out of the reeds; watching us they wandered across the open area and back into the reeds. Having exhausted our sightings here, we made our way back to the river and then along to Tower Hide. Here we had really good views of a kingfisher that landed on dead tree branches in front of the hide. It was a male bird, distinguished from the female by both upper and lower mandibles being black; the female has an orange or part orange lower mandible. We watched as it dived for small fish and was successful on a few occasions. It was then joined by a juvenile bird and they both flew off. Later another kingfisher came, again on to the same branches and also Kingfisher by Graham Cole began fishing. Out on the water were several grey herons slowly and stealthily hunting for fish. Little egrets were more actively fishing. Most of the male ducks were still in eclipse plumage but we were still able to spot four garganey amongst them. As we were getting a better view of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) registered charity in England and 3 Wales no. 207076, Scotland no SC037654 Cambridge Local Group Newsletter No 117 January 2018 the birds an osprey came over and all the ducks took flight, circling around before landing further away on the water. Later the garganey were seen again, this time a bit further away but a better view to confirm their identity. We enjoyed our lunches in the hide before making our way back to the visitor centre. On the way a couple showed us a willow emerald damselfly, a recent coloniser. It has made one of the most spectacular arrivals. A decade ago it had only been spotted twice in Britain. They were found in Suffolk during 2009 and every year since, this species has spread further north and now is found in twelve counties. Its habitat is still water where it spends most of its time on willow. It lays its eggs in the bark of either willow or alder. Before moving on from Strumpshaw we spent a restful few minutes at a small pond in the hope that water voles, that had been seen earlier, would appear again. However, luck was not with us this time so we moved onto Buckenham Fen. There is one hide over- looking the fen and a small pool and here we found snipe, ruff, dunlin and avocet as well as grey heron and black-tailed godwit. Our main objective was to find the pectoral sandpiper that had been seen earlier in the day. Once again, luck was against as we searched from the track leading up to the hide. A juvenile ruff had us excited when someone thought it was the sandpiper! Finally, in a drain near us we found a female tufted duck with three chicks; the female keeping guard on the surface as the chicks dived for food. Although the “pec sand” had not been seen, all agreed that it had been another good day’s birding. Brenda and Melvyn Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore, 3rd September 2017 Seventeen group members met at Frampton Marsh’s car park and proceeded to the visitor centre where an RSPB staff member, Chris Andrews, gave us an entertaining talk about the reserve.