Galanthus Nivalis...

 ....is nothing more grand than the common snowdrop. And a "galanthophile" is a literally a lover of snowdrops, though it's usually used to refer to a collector of the many varieties of this little, unassuming flower. Here's a small collection which I made yesterday afternoon in my local patch of woodland......

Just the thing to brighten up the day.

Take care.

White Birds

After being run aground in the turbid shallows of winter for the past couple of weeks, it was a pleasure to set out once again on a quest for beauty and rarity. Certain white birds have been seen in the vicinity of Swavesey church which, just a few years ago would have been very rare indeed. Even when you know where to look they can still be elusive, as we concluded this morning. No sign of them.

No matter, we can go on to Fen Drayton Lakes bird reserve instead, where a short stroll from the car park brings you opposite the Old Ferry Boat Inn, just one of many pubs claiming to be the oldest in England. Most of what you see is seventeenth century, though some parts are older. The main problem with the Old Ferry Boat Inn is that the old ferry boat itself hasn't run for many decades!

photo from Wikipedia

(By DickDaniels (http://theworldbirds.org/) - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0,

 https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17526412)

That superb little duck is a Smew, it's not the bird we were looking for earlier but it's still a far from common bird, perhaps a few hundred of them visit these islands in winter, but seven of them have been seen here recently. Lets go and find them.

We did see them, though very distantly, so we thought we'd walk around the small lake for a closer view. This fisherman cheerfully told us that he'd been there since before daylight and had just caught his first fish - we sort of knew how he felt. We did get a bit closer view of the Smew as well as many other birds, the sun shone and Song Thrushes were tentatively singing a few notes in readiness for Spring. Life's not so bad. We were heading for home when my brother Les said, "Lets go by Swavesey church again on the way back."

And there beside an old wall were four Cattle Egrets, with another four close by. According to the latest figures published by the British Trust For Ornithology, between 10 and 100 of these birds visit Britain in most years. There seem to be more about this year than ever, but it's still a surprise to find eight in a small field near a village road.

Although they are called Cattle Egrets they're just as happy associating with sheep or horses. Just as I was starting to take photos however, one, and then another, took to the wing. I did my best...

All was not lost though as they touched down in a paddock on the opposite side of the road...

I rather wished they'd lingered among the Aconites for a while longer; it would have made a pretty picture. Would you like to see a Cattle Egret eat its lunch? It's not so pretty as the flowers.....

"There'll be a nice snack around here somewhere, I'm sure".

"Maybe a bit further over this way".

"Aha!"

Is that a small snake, or a very large worm? 

"I don't know but it's tasty!"

"Tricky things to swallow though!"

"Gone!"

Meanwhile, over by the wall, it's kind of nice just sitting in the sun.

So that's the Cattle Egret, the latest of the family to make its home here. Just thirty or so years ago it was the Little Egret that moved in, then a few years back Great White Egrets began to be seen, now its the Cattle Egret. Who's next?

Take care.

Burwell Fen - Now And Then

Burwell Fen is indeed a place that we visit now and then. It's also "now and then" in the sense that, after I've shown you a handful of photos that I took yesterday, I'll unveil a few pictures from back in October when it looked a little different. And thirdly, although all the photos show the way the area looks these days, I can also remember how it looked long ago. So here we go: Burwell Fen - Now And Then.

Right next to the rough, semi-official car park that stands at the end of a long, bumpy track down to Priory Farm, there is a woodpile that for the last year or two has served as home for a Little Owl. I mentioned him/her many months ago but didn't get a photo, so made sure I got one yesterday afternoon.

Actually there were two owls present, though this one is not so obvious (it's right in the middle of the picture). It's amazing how effectively they are camouflaged among the old logs. They stand just 8 inches (20 cm) tall and presumably must hunt over the surrounding area, but they spend a huge amount of time just perched on their logpile, sometimes obvious, sometimes hidden.

Out on the fen it's much harder to hide and large numbers of waterbirds, mostly Wigeon, were on the flooded areas. This in turn attracts birds of prey like Marsh Harriers and the occasional Peregrine.

There are several Travellers' sites around the Fens, attracted here originally by the seasonal work in agriculture. These days they're more likely to travel in Transit vans than horse-drawn wagons, though they still retain their love of horses.

When I first knew this land it was all given over to agriculture and there would have been farm buildings in the middle of the picture above, but since then it's been bought up by the National Trust and is being returned to something like the Fens were before they were drained; all very much to the taste of wildlife.

Although we didn't see all the birds we'd hoped for, there were plenty of Roe Deer. But now lets skip back to October....

Rather more colourful, though less watery, I'm sure you'll agree. We also got better views of some of the animals that are kept here for conservation grazing, including this strapping fellow...

...separated from us by a fence, I'm pleased to report. Not that these cattle are particularly aggressive anyway.

The walk around Burwell Fen is a simple triangle about 3 and a half miles in length (5.5 Km) with extensive views throughout. One side is part of a dedicated cycleway and is easy walking, the rest can be a muddy, especially after heavy rain and for most of the winter.

It's one of those places that comes under the category of "beautiful but difficult to photograph, or even to explain, the beauty". If you like wide skies, far-reaching views and a feeling of freedom, then this is the place for you.

It's certainly the place for these Konik ponies who range across a wide area and always look particularly wild when there's a wind blowing their tails and manes. And with that we'll leave Burwell Fen - till next time.

Take care.

Staring At A Tree

 A few days ago we drove all the way to Norfolk to stare at a tree.

The tree (no, not the one in the photo) stands in the middle of a paddock. We spent most of the very chilly morning staring at it.

Not content with that we walked all around the field to view the tree from different angles and we used binoculars and a telescope to explore every bough and twig. But to no avail.

Perhaps I should explain. We were not really looking at the tree itself, but for some birds which like this tree above all others in the forest in which it stands. This is what the bird looks like, if you'd like to join in our search.

(from Wikipedia)

It's a Hawfinch, a fairly rare and very elusive bird, which in winter can often be found in this Hornbeam tree, in this paddock, near Lynford Arboretum, in Thetford Forest, in Norfolk. However the Hawfinch seems to keep a very full and complex appointments diary, which on this day involved its presence elsewhere. 

Luckily the low sunlight was playing games with the mist that snaked its way in among the trees and around the Highland Cattle. OK, the photographer got the better of the birdwatcher and I let my attention wander from time to time during the morning.

If you get fed up with searching for the mysterious Hawfinch, you can go to the little bridge on the way back to the Arboretum, where they scatter some feed for other birds who rate a free feed above secrecy and personal privacy.

Among them was this Nuthatch which, while not a rare bird at all, is extremely uncommon in the little bit of country that I call home, so it's always nice for me to see one.

Time to wander back to the car and eat some packed lunch before going off on another stroll towards the lakes along the valley of the River Wissey. Sometimes it's best to forget your intended goal and just see what turns up.

We did see some common water birds and a very dapper little Stonechat, who was showing himself off in the sunshine. But there was just about time to go back for one last attempt to find our Hawfinch. And there it was, rather distant as they always are, and too far away for a photo, but unmistakable with that huge seed-crushing beak.

That put the cherry on the cake for us, as they say, though the light and atmosphere of the Breckland forests had kept me entertained all day, even without the belated appearance  of the Hawfinch.

Birds seen: Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Magpie, Jay, Black-Headed Gull, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-Tailed Tit, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Dunnock, Wren, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Robin, Nuthatch, Siskin, Mallard, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Starling, Pied Wagtail, Coot, Great Crested Grebe, Pheasant, Little Egret, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Fieldfare and Hawfinch.

Take care.