A single day Nightingales & Spring in the Fens tour. It tried to brighten up early on, but then the cloud thickened and it was rather chilly for a time. Late morning, it succeeded and it was much warmer, even if it remained mostly cloudy. We spent the day in the Brecks and the edge of the Fens.
We met slightly earlier than normal, in the car park at Lynford Arboretum, and drove down further into the Brecks. It seemed to be brightening up, and the temperature was edging higher from the 3C it was as we left home. As we parked and got out of the minibus, we could immediately hear a Nightingale singing. Scanning the field next door, we could only see a couple of Brown Hares and a few Rabbits, so we set off further down along the road.
A Yellowhammer flew in and landed in the top of one of the bushes. There were lots of warblers singing too, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler. We managed to get eyes on some of them up in the emerging leaves.
Further down still, we heard another Nightingale singing so we stopped to listen to its beautiful fluting whistles and rich, varied song. It was quite close, so we found a gap in the hedge and looked through. The Nightingale hopped up into a bare tree right in front of us and perched there singing in full view.
When it finally dropped down, we continued along the road. There were a couple of Garden Warblers singing here but they kept stubbornly out of view. A Lesser Whitethroat was occasionally rattling away further over. We heard a Woodlark start to sing and looked up to see it fluttering over before we lost sight of it behind the bushes.
Another male Nightingale was singing here too. We could just see it moving around deep in a leafy hawthorn. A second Nightingale flew back and forth, in and out of the brambles, at one point with what looked like a leaf in its bill. Presumably a female nestbuilding, we had a good view of its brighter orange-red tail as it flew past.
It had been starting to feel a little warmer, but now it clouded over again and a light mist descended. The temperature dropped noticeably too. The Nightingales were still singing on and off but the warblers seemed to have gone quieter. As we walked back up the road, a Chiffchaff flitted around in the bushes ahead of us.
We cut in through the bushes where it was a bit more sheltered. Hearing a Nightingale singing ahead of us, we scanned the hawthorns and were surprised to find it perched right in the top, out in full view. Normally, they prefer to perch a little lower, on the side of the bushes. We got the scopes on it and had a great view of it singing, turning round to show us its front and back.
Walking on up through the middle, there were fewer birds singing now. We heard another Garden Warbler and had a glimpse of it as it flew out from very low in a hawthorn by the track. Up at the top of the hill, we hadn’t heard a Nightingale until now when one started singing. We walked over, but it was deep in the dense bushes at first. A Common Whitethroat sang from the top of an oak tree ahead of us and then a male Blackcap appeared lower down.
We heard a Green Woodpecker and it sounded like it was in the trees close to the track. As we started to walk down, it moved further out. There are no large trees in the middle of the heath, but there are some telegraph posts which are the closest alternative. Looking through a gap in the bushes we could see it now, perched on one of the posts, yaffling.
As we turned to walk back, the Nightingale was now in a hawthorn right next to the track. What was presumably a female flew across low and landed in the brambles the other side. The male followed and we could now see it perched above in the branches of an oak tree. It sang for a minute and then flew back.
There are normally a couple of Nightingale territories here and, as we walked on, the second male started to sing, in response to the first. It hopped up into some low brambles, on the edge of its territory and facing straight over some open grass to where the first male was still singing and where we had seen the female fly. Again, we were able to get it in the scopes and watch it singing.
We had been very lucky with our views of Nightingale today, so we decided to start making our way back. A couple of Common Whitethroats were in the bushes ahead of us, two Robins fed on the side of the path and a couple of Dunnocks flew across. Several Linnets flew round calling and one landed on some wires nearby. A couple of Long-tailed Tits flitted around in the broom.
Back to the minibus, we drove round to the RSPB reserve at Lakenheath Fen next. After a break to use the facilities and warm up with a hot drink in the visitor centre, we headed out to explore the reserve. It already seemed to be trying to brighten up and it was thankfully not as chilly here. A Cuckoo flew over and landed in the poplars by the car park, where we could hear it calling.
We made our way straight up to the New Fen Viewpoint. By the mobility access car park, a female Cuckoo bubbled from the poplars and then a male flew through the tops and started calling. We watched the two of them chasing through the trees.
We sat for a while on the benches up at the viewpoint and scanned the fen. There were some noisy Canada Geese and a couple of Greylags on the water. A couple of pairs of Coots were chasing everything that got close and we quickly realised why – both pairs had a couple of young chicks, which they were feeding. The kind of chicks only a mother could love! A Little Grebe did not escape the Coot treatment, and was chased back into the reeds.
There were a couple of Reed Warblers singing in the reeds and one flew across low over the water. When another bird flew across we looked down to see it was a Cetti’s Warbler. It disappeared straight into the reeds the other side and shortly after it shouted from where we had seen it go. Two Reed Buntings perched up in the reeds on one of the islands out in the middle. A Hobby appeared distantly over the edge of West Wood.
There had been a Garganey on one of the pools by the river, so we walked down the path and up onto the bank. Straight away, we could see the Garganey and hear it calling too, a strange rattling croak. A smart drake, we got it in the scope and had a good look at it. It swam closer to us, along the far edge of the pool, then flew back a short way and got out of the water onto the bank. There were a few Gadwall on the pools too and a male Shoveler.
Scanning further down, we could see lots of hirundines hawking for insects over Hockwold Washes in the mist. We could make out several Common Swifts in with them, at least four, even in the mist. Our first of the year. A male Common Stonechat was perched up on the vegetation across the river the other way. As we turned to come back, a Vestal Cuckoo Bee was on the path ahead of us. Presumably struggling to warm up, we picked it up on a branch to move it to safety and it managed to fly off.
We walked back on the path and round the side of New Fen. Finally we heard a Bittern booming ahead of us, although it only did so a couple of times and then went quiet again. Maybe it needed a bit of warmth to get them going again. A Hobby flew across high over the Fen and disappeared off back the way we had come, and a Sparrowhawk circled up over West Wood.
A male Marsh Harrier flew in with food in its talons but dropped down into the reeds with it. When it circled back up and landed in a bush, the female came up briefly too, with something in its bill. A couple of Great Crested Grebes were on one of the pools.
Continuing on out to Joist Fen, there were more Reed Warblers and Sedge Warblers singing in the reeds. By the time we got out to the viewpoint, it was time for lunch. Several Hobbys were hawking distantly back and forth over the fen in front. At first we counted nine, but numbers gradually increased and by the end we were up to at least twenty in the air together. An impressive sight. A few Marsh Harriers circled up too.
As it started to brighten up and the temperature increased, a Common Crane bugled a couple of times from the reeds over towards the paddocks. We scanned but couldn’t see any sign, although a Whimbrel flew up briefly, a bit of a surprise here but they are on the move at the moment.
The Bitterns also seemed to wake up a little too. They started with some quiet grunting and then began to boom a little more loudly. We could hear at least three different males. One flew up very briefly, but was only seen by a couple of the group standing in the right place, over by the track. It then proceeded to boom very regularly from where it had landed. Not far away, but impossible to see now in the reeds.
Those who had stayed on the benches were rewarded with a fly through Kingfisher. Three Common Buzzards and two Red Kites circled over. There was no sign of the Cranes showing themselves so we decided to walk back. Lots of Azure Damselflies came up out of the vegetation and several dark tenerals were trying to warm up, basking on the path. A Large Red Damselfly flew out too. Another Cuckoo called from West Wood.
We called in at Mere Hide, as a couple of Bitterns had apparently been photographed there at one point yesterday. It was rather quiet, just a family of Coot out on the water, two adults feeding a slightly older, half grown juvenile. A pair of Mute Swans swam in from behind the reeds. A pair of Common Cranes bugled – they weren’t far away, but impossible to see in the reeds if they didn’t fly out.
Continuing back to the Visitor Centre, it was warm enough now for us to reward ourselves with an ice cream (the gooseberry is highly recommended!). Then we made our way back round to Weeting to look for Stone Curlews. A few people were looking for Woodlarks on the heath opposite the car park. A pair had been there earlier, but had disappeared and all we could see now was a distant Skylark on the fence.
Opening the windows of West Hide, we looked out to see the resident pair of Stone Curlews in the cultivated area. One was hunkered down with the camera pointing at it, presumably on the nest. The other was standing nearby, so we set up the scope on it. A good view until it sat down too and went to sleep, then all you could see was its head.
A few gulls and a Little Egret flew over the back. A Common Buzzard was perched in a distant tree and a couple more circled up distantly, along with a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk, but otherwise it was quiet here now. We decided to move on.
Time for one last stop, we headed deeper into the forest and parked by a ride. Walking in, the trees were rather quiet at first. We could hear a Willow Warbler and a couple of Blackcaps singing. When we came out into a clearing, a Tree Pipit flew across and landed in a nearby tree where we could hear it singing softly. We got it in the scopes and had a good view of it. An increasingly scarce bird of the forest clearings these days, so always nice to see and hear.
There were a few Stonechats out in the middle of the clearing and a pair of Jays flew across the back. Unfortunately we were out of time now, so we turned and headed back. It had been a very enjoyable day, despite the mixed weather. Great views of Nightingales and wonderful to hear them singing. Plus a nice selection of other characteristic birds of spring in the Fens and the Brecks.
