Some Like It Wet

I consider myself very fortunate that I live reasonably close to some areas of wetland scenery. There was a time when a huge area to the north of Cambridge was fenland, which can be roughly defined as marshy land with rivers winding very slowly through it. Most of it was drained for agriculture, but small areas were left undrained to absorb flood water during times of heavy rainfall. Additionally wetlands have been created where gravel has been extracted and increasingly more have been set aside specifically for wildlife.

Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB reserve is just a short drive from my brother's house and we've been going there a lot recently. It's provided a welcome respite from all the news of Jolly Jack Covid.

And here's some more good news. Yes, spring is slowly making its way here, but I want to talk briefly about three other happy arrivals in this strange, watery landscape.

At one time, not so long ago, if you'd seen a tall, elegant bird at the water's edge it would have been a Grey Heron. It was such a unique bird that nobody bothered about the "Grey" element of the name; you just didn't see any other herons or other birds like it. Other herons now appear sporadically, especially on the Somerset Levels, but here it's Egrets and others that are doing well.

But then in the mid-1990s I was down near Southampton and someone pointed out a small, dazzlingly white bird, a very rare visitor to these shores in those days, a Little Egret. Now they seem to be everywhere - beside rivers, along our coasts, around reservoirs, in every wetland; even in the little ditch that runs a few yards from my front door.

And of course at Fen Drayton Lakes. No one is really sure why they've done so well here, though it's easy to suspect that global warming might have something to do with it.

And then just a few years back there began to be regular sightings of the Little Egret's big cousin, the Great White Egret.

They've not yet become as common as the Little Egret, though in this locality at least, they are seen on most bird-watching trips to the fen edge. You can sometimes see as many as a dozen of them during a day's bird-watching, though being large and white makes them difficult to miss!

And now this winter there's another weird bird on the scene - three weird birds to be more precise. Three Glossy Ibis have turned up and have chosen to spend their winter at Earith in the Fens, of all places.

(By JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) - Own work, 

CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=86320224)

These are birds that are native to Africa, though they are highly nomadic, adventurous birds and have made their own way to The Caribbean, the Eastern seaboard of the USA, Australia and other lands, where they have been successful colonists. Some also established themselves in Spain. Now if you're an African bird and you find the Spanish winters a bit chilly for your liking where might you go? Back to Africa till it warms up? No, Earith!

And they are not the only birds on the increase in these strange times. Another egret, the Cattle Egret, is getting more and more common here, even though this is hardly cattle country. And, despite an overall decline in bird numbers, there are also several other species doing well, so life is not all doom and gloom, particularly if you're a birdwatcher.

And I'll finish up with a picture you won't be expecting; just the weathered wall of a pre-fabricated metal hut used as a base for young naturalists on the reserve.

Which leaves just one question unanswered, "What would Claudio Monteverdi have written if he had access to an electric guitar back in 1643?"

"Oblivion Souave" (Monteverdi) by Nora Fischer and Marnix Dorrestein.

Take care.