The Rain is Coming in the Fenlands.

As I was driving out of the village of Benwick in the Fenlands of Cambridgeshire, I turned down this country lane and was struck by the clouds as I looked out across the Fens. I stopped the truck and took a quick photo. There were different layers of clouds moving swiftly across the sky. It lent a fierce look and was followed by a fierce downpour of torrential rain. You can certainly see the weather coming in the fens. 😀

A Glorious Sunny Winter Day.

I knew I would enjoy today at work. I got up at 4 am and went out the side door to the carport. I looked up, and although it was cold and frosty, the night sky was clear. The moon and the stars looked great. I knew it would be a clear blue yet chilly day. 

It was indeed. I spent the day driving around the Fenland, close to Chatteris. I went to a small village called Benwick. Here, I stopped and drank in the glorious sight of the crisp morning. It felt like Heaven on Earth. I got out my mobile and tried to capture the moments as I walked along the river bank. It felt wonderful to be alive and out on this smashing day. 

Sunrise Over the Fenland.

It was a glorious sunrise over the Fen. We had got up before driving to King's Lynn on a shopping expedition. This is before coming back and finding a Soviet Tank in front of the drive - as you do. 

The kind morning moment allowed for reflection of a kind autumn day. We had a coffee and watched from the gate as the sun came up. A fine start to my four days off of work.

The Fenland Buzzard on the Telephone Pole.

I was driving along the country lane in the Fenland between Manea and Upwell. I turned onto the bridge over the Sixteen-foot river, where the sign said to March. I was returning to the work depot after finishing my day's work. As I trundled along the uneven tarmac of the lane towards March town, I was looking out over the fields. There is nothing but fields and criss-cross networks of canals that drain the Fens. It is peaceful, rural and I absolutely love it all. Especially when my work day is over and I can take a comfortable drive back to the council yard and clock off. 

It was then that I saw her on a telephone pole. I say 'her' but in truth, I was not sure of the buzzard's gender. The reason I decided the buzzard was 'her' as opposed to 'he' was because of the colouring. I had seen a Common Buzzard with a similarly mixed fleck at Sandringham a year before. On this occasion, a falconer was holding the wonderful creature and he told me the buzzard was female. Therefore my buzzard on the pole was a female too. Just a whim but there you have it.

My heart always leaps every time I see a bird of prey. The Fenlands is full of them and their numbers are increasing. This beautiful creature was staring at me from the telephone pole and did not move off as I drew nearer. It just looked at me as I drove past. Her plumage was lovey and I cursed to myself. 'Dam and blast! I never have the camera when driving.' 

I trundled on listening to the audio novel on my mobile that was placed on a charger stand. All of a sudden my mind clicked into gear. 

"Mobile!" I exclaimed to myself. 

Better than no camera at all. I pulled into a layby further down the road and checked no vehicle was coming along behind me as I turned around and went back to the buzzard's location. As I rounded the bend I could see the creature in the distance and slowed the van down. I knew she would get spoked as soon as I moved for the camera. They have spectacular eye-sight. I stopped the van picked up the mobile and put to camera settings just as she got spooked. I managed a couple of clicks but she took off as I was snapping away.

"Never mind," I told myself as I looked at two shots I thought I could put in the blog. I drove on passed to the next layby and turned around again to resume my journey back to the yard. As I passed the telephone pole again, the buzzard had returned and she was staring down at me as I passed. Just like the first time - almost déjà vu.

Another Dog Walk to the Fenland Bird Hides.

There were a large number of Buzzards flying about. Also many Kestrels too. In the distance was a Marsh Harrier. It looked good through the binoculars but was too far for a decent photograph.

The bull does not seem to mind us being there. Just so long as the river between is there too.

I always wonder how long the rickety old cottage will last. When will it fall down? It certainly looks as though it could do with some TLC. 

Our little dog, Darcey was full of spirit. Finally, she could leave the car and go for a run along the bridle path and up the scarp of the dyke.

Sometimes they go speeding along the river and you automatically click with the camera. It is more like a reflex action. I did not know what it was at first because its wings seemed to flap furiously. It would drop and rise, drop and rise. I caught it several times and when I got home and studied the photo shot, I realised it was a Woodpecker. 

Darcey always looks forward to a walk along the bird hides at Manea. The trouble is, she can't always contain her excitement while driving there. She whines and yelps all the way. Once we are there, she is fine and can run and let off some pent-up steam.

A Splendid English Sunny Afternoon for a Saint George's Day Fair.

My wife and I took a midday stroll along the river bank towards the town centre. The high road had been closed off and there were hundreds of stools selling all types of things. Everywhere were the English flags of Saint George. All the canal boats were adorned with them and the small town centre was buzzing with activity around the Saint George's Day fair. 

I always like the cheese stools and the bread stool. I bought a caramelised red onion 'Nibble Nose' cheddar. The 'Nibble Nose' was the brand name. Plus an Italian Tomato and Basil cheese. When I got home I was able to eat some with the special bread of melted cheese and pitted olives inside the dough. This was also Italian. After a little wander about the fair attractions, we bought a few other things including some salted caramel fudge. It was a bit too surgery for me, but my wife Carole loves it.  

Back home, we sat in the garden for the sunny afternoon eating our fairground market buys. I had a Guinness to help me wash down my bread and cheese.

Country Walks and Birds of Prey.

Quick as a flash, the Marsh Harrier swooped across the river and out across the Fen at the bird hides of Manea. We had taken our nutty little mutt – Dotty dog Dotty for a run along the bridal path. We stopped at one of the hides for a quick drink. We had binoculars and a telescope. I also had my Nikon D 3100 camera.

As the bird of prey came into view I managed to get off a few shots. Most were blurred but one came out as passable. After the excitement, we returned to the bridal path and let Dotty run her excitement out of herself. The fens and the field are the same as they have always been. Nothing changed since retro British days. It felt like stepping back in time.

Kestrel Bird of Prey Hovers and Hunts Over the Fenland.

We took dotty dog Dotty over the Fens yesterday. She always gets excited when she watches Carole and I get the camera and the coffee flask. Once the back packs come out her hopes start to get the better of her. She begins to whine excitedly, hoping she is coming along for the trip too.

As soon as one of us goes into the cupboard for the lead, that is it! Dotty can no longer contain herself and starts barking excitedly. We have to strap her in the back of the car or she’ll just keep jumping about, still unable to contain her joy. As we go along the many canals and country lanes towards the Manea bird hide Dotty starts whining more excitedly.

Because the bridal path runs along a dyke with a river either side. (River Bedford and the River Delph) We are able to let Dotty run her heart out. And she does with great aplomb. If other dogs come along, we quickly put her on a lead. She is always most unfriendly with other dogs when first being introduced. However, other dogs in this remote area are far and few between.

I’m stopping here and there looking for the birds of prey. There are a number of Kestrels hovering over the Fens in search of lunch. Perhaps a mouse or a vole. One female Kestrel came close to the hide and I managed to get a few good photo shots of her.

The Unexpected Day Off.

The Unexpected Day Off.

I had to take an unexpected day off work today. It was quickly sorted out because I still had leave days from last year’s holiday allocation and the full set of this year's to do. After the problem was solved, my wife and I had the rest of the day to do what we desired. It was a very hot day in the upper eighties. So we decided to go to one of the many market towns about our area. We settled upon St Ives in Cambridgeshire. We had not been here for some time and we always like to walk the town square and then along the river to the church. It passed a few pleasant hours and we unwound a little before making our way home via the village of Ramsey.

We drove down all the country lanes, then on to Benwick as the flat Fens started and further on to the village of Doddington, Wimblington and eventually, our Fenland town of March. Here we stopped and bought a few more things for supper. I had Chinese and Carole went for a Vegetarian Biryani.

Then into the garden to enjoy the lovely summer evening in England's Fenland.

Plodding Along During the Hot Summer Day.

Benwick is a very quiet and tranquil little village in the Fenland. While driving along the country road, one dare not blink as the village could be missed. Driving through without noticing. I stop by the river next to a church graveyard. The birds are singing in the trees and the whole place is alive with nature's summer glory - a wonderful retro British summer scene.

This spot is always a great place to have a cup of tea, so I time my arrival for when it is such. As I sip my tea, I look out and think, "This is what it is all about." To borrow the words of Father Ted. lol.

Reed Buntings and Reed Warblers Along the Fenland Riverbank.

As we walked along the river there was an abundance of reeds either side of the bank. The birds of the reed bed are tiny and rather difficult to spot. And when you do focus in on one, they seem to dart off as quick as they come. However, one knows of their presence because of the wonderful bird chatter up and down the waterway. You can hear where they are but it takes a time to spot them at distance. They are so well camouflaged as they cling to the long grass stems.

Their bird song is gorgeous and compelling. As I try to home in with my camera, the little creatures seem to get spooked and fly off further along the bank. I take multiple shots hoping for a clear one at distance. I'm using a Nikon D3100 with 70mm to 300mm lens. 

After sifting through the photo shots I get one decent photo of a Reed Bunting above and another of a Reed-warbler below. We always enjoy going for the long dog walk along the riverbank when the weather permits. 

A Dog Walk by the Rickety Old Cottage.

The rickety cottage stands on the bank of the River Bedford. On the other side is a long dyke and beyond is a parallel river called the River Delph. This forms the flooded fen of Manea in the winter months. This time of the year when the summer is in its glory, the water recedes back into the Delph and cattle graze the once flooded fen.

We took our little dotty dog Dotty along for a good run. She shot off barking all excitedly at first and then got it out of her system and fell in ahead of us as we walked along the bridal path passed the rickety cottage and along the river listening to the warblers singing their little summer songs.

Amid the reed beds, there was an abundance of Thistles and Adder snakes. The snakes would uncoil and slither off as soon as they heard or felt our footsteps. We saw a number of different things and chatted about all sorts as we walked along. We went into one of the bird hides for about forty minutes and looked out for a while. Dotty was restless and so we decided to move on. I took a few photos of interest along the way.

Where the Marsh Harriers Hunt the Over the Fenland.

Today, Carole and I went to Woodwalton Fen. It is a nature reserve that we have been speaking about visiting for some time. Finally, we decided to go there. It was a pleasant surprise because it was much closer than we expected it to be. It was also easy to park too.

As we went towards a small bridge leading to the reserve, the first thing we heard were crows getting vexed and excited in the trees ahead. They were intimidating a Marsh Harrier that had strayed into their airspace close to their rookery or parliament as is sometimes called.

I was armed with my Nikon D3100 with 70mm to 300mm lens. I began clicking away and managed a few good shots. However, I decided not to use them on the blog because there would be many others before the visit was done.

While walking around the various paths we came upon a bird hide along a palisade path. It was covered by trees and as we went up the stairway into the hide, we were delighted with the great view across the marsh. It was surrounded by trees and the visitor’s book spoke of the Chinese Water Deer that lived within the woodlands surrounding the marshes.

The times of the sightings of these rare deer were usually evening and I think that is why we did not see any. We did hear them, however.

Our attention was captured by many pairs of Marsh Harriers coming out of the trees and hunting the marshlands before our bird hide. I was getting a great number of shots. Most of them I would not use on the blog because as time passed some of the Raptors came closer than I expected to enable me to get some closer and better than usual shots.

We stayed in the hide for about an hour and also saw a hobby come over. It was too fast and at distance to get on camera but we got a good look through our binoculars.

It was a fine way to pass the morning and early afternoon and from this point, we walked around the reserve chatting about all sorts of things before returning to the car and making our way home through the village of Ramsey.

    

The Hobby - Little Raptor Over the Fenland.

I had never seen a little Hobby bird of prey before. I mean, in the wild of course. I've seen them in books and on TV nature programmes but this was my first up close and real. At first, I thought it was a Merlin, but once home and looked up via the computer, I could see the little fella was indeed, a Hobby.  

Fenland - Bird Hides - Cambridgeshire, England.

Dotty dog Dotty and my wife Carole at Manea bird hides.

My wife and I decided to take little dotty dog Dotty to the bird hides at Manea today. It was a clear blue day and rather warm. We filled our flask full of coffee and grabbed some nibbles before setting off.

Upon arrival at the River Bedford and the River Delph, which both run parallel to each other, we let Dotty out of the car so she could run her excitement off. Once she had got the pent up energy out of her system we set off across the bridge by the lock gate and walked along the dyke and bridle path that separates the two rivers.

I had my camera and was listening to the various bird song along the way. The rivers reeds were alive with Willow Warblers and Reed Buntings. I was, of course, clicking away with my camera. We walked for a long time surveying all about us.

I saw a Common Buzzard circling over the farmland and tried to get a few shots until RAF Tornados flew over. We passed the first two bird hides and went into the third one and set up our things. We looked out across the Fens once again. The last time we came here with my son Paul, the whole Fen was a giant lake as the River Delph bursts her banks in winter and floods the surrounding pastures.

Now the lake was receded and the fields were back in view. The entire Fen was a lush green where the lake had recently been. The first thing we noticed was a hunting Marsh Harrier gliding low and searching the grassland for the nests of the water birds. The raptor must have found the nest of some Lapwings as these water fowl were constantly try to swoop close and harass the bird of prey. I think it was a desperate effort to protect their nest. The contest went on for some time. The Lapwings would see the Marsh Harrier off, but the big bird would slowly circle the fen and come back low from another direction. I was clicking away with my Nikon D3100 trying to get the best shots possible but it was at some distance.

Carole and I spent an enjoyable couple of hour’s bird watching before deciding to make our way back to the car. That was still another half hour walk for Dotty to stretch her legs a little more.

On the way back we saw a kestrel in the distance and then another come close to it. This other particular bird seemed to be a kestrel too at distance but it did not hover. Instead it was twisting and turning and had a different flight signature altogether. Carol thought it might be a Merlin, but these birds of prey like wooded areas. Then as it got closer we noticed it had a black head. At first, I thought it might be a Peregrine Falcon but it looked too small. Then I realised it might be a Hobby. I managed to get a few great shots of the little raptor as it swooped and twisted in the summer sky. What a smashing little creature it was. Once back home, Carole looked up the Hobby in our British bird’s book and it had all the marks of such. Evidently, the Hobby is a spring and summer visitor each year.

Willow Warbler

Peacock Butterfly

Common Buzzard

Reed Bunting

Then a couple of RAF Tornados put in an appearance.

The once flooded fen was now fields again and the Marsh Harrier was Hunting but the Lapwings were not happy and wanted to protect their nest. They harassed the raptor swooping close in and out to put the bird of prey off.

Every time the Marsh Harrier left, it would just circle and come back low. The Lapwings were waiting.

The air contest lasted for some time.

The Lapwings would not give up the defence of their nest

Lapwings

On the way back, we saw the Hobby swooping, twisting and diving with great ability. At first, I thought it was a Merlin or Peregrine Falcon. However, it was about the size of a kestrel.

Hobby over the Fen