For the first time in ages I went bird watching today, at the RSPB reserve at Fowlmere. It is between Royston and Cambridge, about an hour’s drive from my home.
The site was originally a mere or lake, fed by chalk springs. After a failed atempt to drain it, it was used for growing watercress for many years, but when that industry ceased it became largely overgrown with reeds.
I didn’t see any of the marsh or reedbed birds I’d hoped to see, other than a solitary Snipe, but I did see a female Sparrowhawk hunting low over the reeds. I also saw Long-tailed Tits, a Goldcrest, Redwings and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.