It’s been great to hear the distant sounds of calling whooper swans this week; not so distant for some of the volunteers (the Great Fen Monitors) surveying for birds recently, with the swans flying past them!

The cold weather is certainly with us now and so the arrival of such birds is not a surprise. Other flocks are swelling in size as well, in a variety of habitats, from lesser redpolls feeding on the silver birch and alder catkin seeds, to the linnets out in the open fields.

Listen out for the lesser redpolls and siskins at places like Trundle Mere Lookout, as you are on the edge of Holme Fen. Try a walk on the Northern Loop Trail, watching out at its northern end for linnets (and raptors of course); peregrines have been spotted up this way as well.

At this time of year, the ditches and the associated headlands are a real refuge for wildlife, so scan them with your binoculars for small birds in particular. The combination of dense stands of common reed in the ditches and the tall vegetation either side, in the field margins, is used by a range of wildlife. The thickets of reed-stems, nestled deep down at the bottom of the ditches, provide a sheltered microclimate that many species will take advantage of. Wrens, stonechats, reed buntings and also water rails will be using these refuges, as well as various small mammals. These bird species have their predators and if you are lucky you may spot a marsh harrier, as I did yesterday, following a ditch line in search of prey.

Rails are often overlooked, but we know from our monitoring that they can be quite numerous in the Great Fen at this time of year. They will be searching along the water’s edge, hunting for invertebrates and other little morsels to eat. Even if you don’t see them, you may hear the squealing pig-like call of the water rail, one calm, frosty morning, as you wander the Fens.

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)