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Click on "Flora & Fauna Record" to go to the Birds and Wild Flower Systematic lists
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BREAKING NEWS: February, March 2016
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| NEW SEASON TALKS: October to December 2015 & February to May 2016 View Posters |
| 31 March 2016: Aldreth Road. First Peacock butterfly and Mistle Thrush singing. I haven't heard a Mistle Thrush from my garden for about 3 years! PM |
| 30 March 2016: Haddenham/Aldreth Fens Generally quiet but roving flock of about 100 Fieldfares. Most interesting was seeing 8-10 Redpolls on an Alder along Claytons Drove which is quite isolated from other trees. They kept moving from the tree hanging upside down etc and then suddenly all went into a ditch where they stayed some three or four minutes before flying up to the tree again. 1 Little Egret flying.Several Mallard pairs in drains. PM&ID |
| 24 March 2016: Aldreth Causeway and Old West River – Kingfisher 1, Treecreeper 1 singing, Siskin 9 flying over and a fresh Otter spraint. No sign of any egrets, although later we found a Great White Egret at Sutton Gault (different to our Aldreth bird) Aldreth – Turtle Dove 1 singing Cross Drove – Short-eared Owl 2, Siskin c10 feeding in alders (including bird singing) and a Badger sett, and Record shot of one of the owls   |
| 24 March 2016: In recent days 3-4 Blackcaps singing around the village and Goldcrests singing from conifers etc in several places also Song Thrush singing in garden BY. Greenfinches "wheezing" in gardens nearby this a.m. PM |
| 23 March 2016: Weather cloudy, dull and not warm. Trip round Aldreth/Haddenham fens. Not a lot going on really except about 80-100 Fieldfares off Long Drove feeding on ground. Corn Bunting males gradually returning to breeding territories and 1 pair of Reed Buntings. One Buzzard on ground. 2 Roe Deer. PM&ID |
| 22 March 2016: Report from Chris Boness: Crossbill male. saw the bird without binoculars. It flew from the spruce to another in the next garden and came within 20 feet of me. I was on a morning walk and heard the contact call and then the flight call. Pretty obvious really. The bird was in the front garden of No. 17 The Green next to the dog walkers green (Non Conformist old cemetery) next to the Surgery. Interesting really as this is around the highest point in the village so wondered if the bird was just transiting through and saw some food. |
| 14 March 2016: Some sightings from a walk along the Old West River on 13th March: Cormorant 1, Little Egret 1, Buzzard 2, Mute Swan c6, Greylag 4, Mallard 6, Tufted Duck 14, Lapwing pair in display, Kingfisher 2 (seen several times – very active and vocal), Treecreeper 1 seen and heard in song. No sign of the Great White Egret. Simon. |
| 13 March 2016: On Saturday (12th), in the fields behind us, a large flock of pigeons went up heading over College Farm towards us on Station Road being chased by a peregrine. I am sure it has happened many times before, but this is the first time Ian has been able to spot the bird. Sheila and Ian Dickerson |
6 March 2016: Here are a few images of the Great White Egret at Aldreth earlier today. Simon.   |
| 6 March 2016: Church Fen Drove, Nice little collection of Gt White Egret and Little Egret together, Kingfisher and 2 Green Sandpipers. Thanks to SS for calling us. PM I and SD. Green Sandpiper in Church Fen Drain    |
| 6 March 2016: Just to let you know that I have had two visits from a Reed Bunting (adult male) in the last week, an occasional 3-4 Lesser Redpolls, 2 Yellowhammers coming regularly to feed on the ground, but still no sign of Tree Sparrow. Apart from these, the usual suspects. I am glad to see Greenfinches regular on the feeders, usually 8 or so, and no sick ones so far. Jake Taken in the garden this morning. Ian.  |
| 26 February 2016: Some notes from a walk from Aldreth to High Bridge: Little Grebe 4, Mute Swan 10, Mallard 6, Buzzard 4, Grey Partridge 4, Lapwing 25, Golden Plover 5, Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 birds in drumming ‘competition’ within 10 metres of one another, Linnet 40+. Brown Hare 1, Mink 1, Otter probable pathway. Simon |
26 February 2016: This one came in this morning and watched me clean the windows. Ian.  |
| 26 February 2016: Aldreth fens 25 February. No sign of 2 Short=eared Owls that had been reported by local farmer Church Fen drain Little Egret. Near Aldreth ponds glorious male Bullfinch. Dambank 2 corn Buntings and pair of Teal by Dambank bridge. Flock of roaming 25-30 Common Gulls. North Fen, 12 Roe Deer, Galls Fen 30+/- Field fare, 150-200 Linnets. 4 Yellowhammers on stack of straw but all agitated and then a Merlin chased them. No wonder! PM & ID |
| 25 February 2016: 24/2/16 - 3 Teal in Church Fen Drove ditch Aldreth. SS |
| 24 February 2016: Here is a picture of the Aldreth Turtle Dove taken on 20th February by Jonny Rankin This is the third winter that a Turtle Dove has been recorded in Aldreth in winter. Presumably the same one, it has already been singing. Johnny Rankin is an ornithologist from Suffolk studying Turtle Doves and had never seen a wintering specimen. He is involved in a programme of satellite tracking these drastically declining species and will be talking to HCS sometime in the 2016-2017 winter programme of talks. Keep a look out for it.  |
| 18 February 2016: The lovely afternoon tempted us out to walk down to the West River and along to the pumping station. Half way along we spotted the Great White Egret not far from a Grey Heron on the bank and then in the small drain that runs through the fields to the right of the river bank. Usual lapwings around. And then a small Barn Owl (last year's brood perhaps?) hunting up the drain from the barns to Aldreth. So a good outing. Sally MacEachern |
| 18 February 2016: Nr Dambank 3 Common Snipes. Aldreth Ponds, pair of Bullfinches. Cliff Carson. |
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| 13 February 2016: Yesterday, I heard that Ninja has been singing in Aldreth since early January. Ninja is a Turtle Dove. He was named by the couple in whose garden he spends some of his time. Based on the early dates it seems probable that the same male Turtle Dove has over-wintered in Aldreth for 3 years running. I saw and heard Ninja this morning. Simon Stirrup.Traditionally, mid-January to end-March is the time when food becomes scarce in the countryside, and bird species which don't normally visit gardens will appear on and under garden feeders. It's a kind of desperation, but it's nice for us to see them briefly. This year, my garden has been visited only by a few Redpolls and an occasional Yellowhammer, whereas I would have expected to see Tree Sparrows and Reed Buntings as well. I know that a friend in the village gets occasional Siskins. Another hunger-month visitor is Pied Wagtail, which otherwise stays out in the fields. |
| 12 February 2016: Short-eared Owl quartering hill at Haddenham Hillrow on Monday 8th February. Then flew across Road along dyke to Adventures Fen. Chris BonessOtherwise the mix is much as usual: Blue and Great Tits, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, a few Greenfinches, occasional flurries of Long-tailed Tits and the resident Wrens, Dunnocks, Robins and House Sparrows. There are always a lot of Blackbirds too, which I suspect are mostly winter visitors. Sadly, I haven't seen a Song Thrush or a Mistlethrush at all this winter (Redwing and Fieldfare only visit my garden when there is snow or when the ground is frozen). Green Woodpecker is notable by its absence this winter (though I hear it regularly), but I have Great -spotted Woodpeckers, male and female, regularly on the peanuts. |
| 7 February 2016: Great White Egret is still about according to Dave Jordan (Pump Engineer). Seen yesterday. Simon We spotted a redpoll on our feeder this morning. A first for our garden (Orchard Way). But probably not unusual? A walk from Aldreth down to the West River at about 9.00 this morning produced 50+ lapwings in a field to the right of the causeway, and a marsh harrier flying out of a tree in Nine Acre and across towards Aldreth. Sally MaceachearnThe bulkier birds include Magpie, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, 2-3 Stock Doves and a small flock of extremely agile Jackdaws, which have learned how to peck fat out of the fatball feeders without actually perching. One oddity was the sight of a Stock Dove actually clinging in an ungainly fashion to a sunflower heart feeder and managing to extract a few seeds; they really don't have the feet for this feat! One bright frosty morning, there was a male torquatus Pheasant on the lawn, resplendent and majestic, its white collar dazzling in the sunlight. It's not a native species, but it's always welcome on my back lawn. |
| 6 February 2016: Brambling 1 seen and heard over our garden today (6th Feb). Simon.A pair of Mallard have taken up residence, and are a joy to watch as they waddle fussily from one feeder to another in search of titbits. They have completely trashed my pond, so the Heron that visits occasionally just looks in the pond with disdain and leaves after less than a minute. |
| 4 February 2016: Report by Cambirds observer 5 Bewicks Swans in North Fen with a large flock of Lapwings. NB: This time of year up to 400 Whooper and 40-50 Bewicks Swan move back and forth from Ouse Washes to surrounding land daily. Much of this is in Haddenham parish mostly north of Hillrow Causeway but sometimes going south according to state of food supply which this time of the year is wheat or rape. PM My garden is under constant surveillance from Sparrowhawks, with an occasional Buzzard circling high above as well. A male Kestrel has come down on the lawn a few times, but I could not see what had attracted him. |
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