Day 3 of a 4-day Winter Wildfowl, Cranes & Owls tour. It was a cold start with a hard frost overnight but with light winds today it didn’t feel as cold. The skies were rather grey all day though, with high cloud persisting. We spent the day in the Fens.
It was a long drive over to Lincolnshire today and a slow one too. We saw our first Whooper Swans in the fields by the main road just before Thorney. After a fuel stop and a chance to use the facilities (though only one loo meant a bit of a queue developed), we pressed on to Deeping Lakes.
The water level in the river Welland has gone up substantially in the last few days, after all the recent rain. It was very brown too, with all the run-off from the surrounding farmland (which is also why the mouth of the Wash turns brown), and no surprise there were no Goosander on the river today. We did see a couple of Little Grebes and a brief Kingfisher which flashed away behind us.
When we finally arrived at Deeping Lakes, most of the larger areas of water were open but the smaller ones were frozen over. The pool by the entrance track held lots of Greylag Geese, Wigeon and Coot. Walking into the reserve, there were more Wigeon and a few Gadwall on the West Pool.
We made our way straight down to the hide. Opening the windows quietly, we could see a Long-eared Owl looking straight back at us from deep in the ivy. It was hard to see until you knew where it was, so we got a scope on it and everyone had a look. It had a couple of branches across it, but it was more in the open today and you could get a fairly clear view of its face and long ‘ears’.
There were more ducks out on the pit from here. Some rafts of Tufted Duck were our first of the tour and we found a few Common Pochard too. A small group of Goldeneye were right over by the far bank but after a while several appeared with the Tufted Ducks much closer to us too. A smart drake Goldeneye swam past in front of the hide.
A party of Long-tailed Tits picked their way through the trees in front of the hide.
After everyone had enjoyed good views of the Long-eared Owl and photos had been taken, we decided to move on. A pair of Goldeneye were displaying out on the pit from the path, the female stationary with her neck out and bill just in the water. It was still very cold and frozen walking through the trees. We flushed a Water Rail from the side of the path by West Pool. Up onto the river bank, we could see just how fast the River Welland was flowing today and really appreciate just how murky and brown it is now.
We walked down the short way to the junction in the river and scanned the willows beyond. The hope was to find the Little Owl here, but there was no sign of it at first. Scanning carefully, we eventually picked it up in one of the trees further down. It moved a bit higher up but we could still see it and got it in the scope. Then we moved a bit further down, where we had a slightly better view and we could see its eyes as it turned its head to look at us.
Two owls already, we turned and walked back to the minibus. On the way, we met a couple of local birders who told us that the road across the Nene Washes from Thorney was closed due to flooding. We were heading for Eldernell next, so it meant we would have to go the long way round. Another stop to use the facilities was required at Thorney Toll too, so the journey took a lot longer than normal.
As we drove down along the A605 towards Eldernell, we could see a flock of Pink-footed Geese flying over. There were lots of Whooper Swans in the field the other side of the road and the geese started to whiffle down with them. They were a bit distant though. There had been a couple of Tundra Bean Geese with them in recent days, but having had good views of the ones at Martham a couple of days ago, we decided not to stop.
When we got to Eldernell, it was already time for lunch, so we stopped to eat looking out over the Nene Washes. The near pools were all frozen, but there was still some open water further away to the east. A couple of Marsh Harriers drifted over, flushing all the ducks. Up in front of us, a succession of large flocks of Black-tailed Godwits flew over, presumably to look for unfrozen ground to feed. Two Kestrels worked their way up and down the hedge line, dropping down to the bank repeatedly.
After lunch, we climbed up onto top of the bank. We didn’t have to walk too far before we found a couple of Short-eared Owls roosting in the bushes. One was easier to see than the second, which was lower down and hidden in the branches.
Continuing on along the bank, we found one Long-eared Owl in its usual spot in the hedge. It was turned away from us, looking the other way and not turning its head, but we could see its long ‘ear’ tufts sticking up. There was no sign of the second Long-eared Owl which often roosts in the same spot and is often easier to see. Thankfully, we had enjoyed such good views of the one at Deeping earlier we did not need to spend too much time looking for it elsewhere.
We carried on down the bank and noticed a white shape walking along the path on the top away from us. A Cattle Egret! Perhaps the grass here was a little less frozen than out on the marshes. It continued to walk ahead of us until it eventually flew a short distance further along and dropped down onto the grass just below the bank.
A couple of Stonechats were feeding along the edge of the ditch below the bank and kept flicking ahead of us.
When we got to the small copse, we quickly found the Tawny Owl in its usual hole. It was perched right up out in the open at first, presumably trying to warm up. We got the scope on it but it quickly dropped down into the mouth of the hole. We could still see it looking back out at us from the bottom of the opening. Four owls for the day already!
There were a couple of Red Kites and a Common Buzzard in the tops of the trees and we could now see that one of the Kites was feeding on something. Several Goldfinches were up in the alders too.
As we walked back along the bank, we could hear a Green Woodpecker yaffling in the trees in the distance. We found another Long-eared Owl but it was even more tucked in and we could just see a patch of feathers of this one. There was possibly a third owl further along, but we couldn’t make it out and we were running short on time now, after the delays earlier.
With the road across the Nene Washes closed, we were a little worried about Welney Wash Road, as the plan was to finish the day at Welney WWT. It would already be around 3pm before we would get there now and with the persistent grey cloud the light was already starting to fade. We checked on Twitter (‘X’) and there was no mention of any problems on the Welney feed. Google Maps seemed to think the road was open and as we made our way in that direction, the first of the automated flood warning signs were not illuminated.
It was very frustrating therefore when we got all the way across to Tipps End and found the automated sign flashing and a warning of 47cm of flood on the road. The fixed signs had also been opened to say the road was closed too. We couldn’t risk driving across, so we had no choice now but to take the very lengthy detour which would take us at least 45 minutes. We got stuck behind a tractor as well and even when we turned onto a two lane road where we thought we could overtake, it tried to keep us behind by driving down the middle straddling the white lines!
It was a slow journey round and the light was going all the time. When we finally got round to Ten Mile Bank, we spotted 11 Common Cranes flying towards us over the fields. We stopped but they turned and disappeared off behind us, presumably heading off to roost. Further on, there were just a few Whooper Swans left now in the field where a big herd of swans had been a few days ago.
We pressed on to the WWT Welney Visitor Centre but by the time we arrived the light had all but gone. The sparrows had stopped feeding but there were still quite a few in the bushes. We heard a Tree Sparrow call, but we couldn’t find it in the gloom and all we could see were House Sparrows now disappearing into the brambles. Within a couple of minutes, they had all gone quiet too, in to roost.
We had a quick look over Lady Fen, but it was rather misty now too and there was no sign of any Short-eared Owls still hunting here. A Kingfisher shot past and disappeared over the road and up over the bank beyond. Groups of Whooper Swans were still flying in off the fields beyond as we walked slowly back to the car park.
A frustrating end to what had otherwise been a very enjoyable day, it was time to head for home. As we drove back towards Ten Mile Bank we had a last minute consolation in the form of a Short-eared Owl which we picked up in the headlights as it came up from the verge ahead of us and then flew out over the field and round behind us.
