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  • They’re back!

    Spring has finally sprung down on the Fen. As if someone has flicked a switch, the reedbed is full of birds singing. A Chiffchaff calls from the hedge, a tumble of notes come from an unseen Willow warbler, and the Reed buntings chirp out their simple song from the still frosty reeds. I suddenly hear…

  • Staying home

    I’m very fortunate to live near some lovely countryside, with two small nature reserves just a few minutes walk away from home. This weekend I decided to explore these instead of heading to the Fen. The closest reserve is an area of heathy common, with short rabbit grazed turf, and prickly gorse bushes. There’s a…

  • The Dawn Chorus

    I got up this Sunday morning early enough to hear the start of the dawn chorus. The Song Thrush began, backed by the local Blackbirds, then Robins and Wrens. A Blue tit joins in with a simple trill, and a Woodpigeon adds his two penny worth too. Their voices merge into a wall of beautiful…

  • Tales from the Riverbank

    The thin January light seeps through Winter’s brown stems, warming the muddy tones faintly golden. The cold grips my limbs despite three layers, as I sit frozen to the damp riverbank. A Blackbird whispers his subsong in the cool sunlight, practising for when Spring arrives. The water is high, and the river flows fast, eddies…

  • Reed bunting

    Spring is in the air! A lovely morning down on the Fen, misty to start off with and then glorious sunshine. Walking down the path, a pair of Great tits were sunning themselves in the hedgerow. Further along, a pair of Bullfinches – male and female together, flew from the hedge up into a tree,…

  • Here be Dragons

    Up at sunrise again this morning, I know it’s early at this time of year, but I urge you to do it at least once. Just be still and listen to the dawn chorus, a crescendo of song in the still, cool air. Each individual bird adding it’s voice, a melody from a Blackbird here,…

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