The Cambridgeshire Fens (Day Trip)

Summary

This Naturetrek Day Trip – led by popular tour leader Duncan McNiven – is split between the RSPB reserve at Fen Drayton Lakes and their nearby reserve at Ouse Fen. Fen Drayton Lakes stands at one end of a string of wetlands and fens that runs for 25 miles along the floodplain of the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire. These former gravel pits have now matured into a wonderful variety of wildlife-rich habitats including open water, reedbeds, shallow margins, wet meadows and scrub.

In spring and early summer, breeding Great Crested Grebes will be in their breeding finery feeding their stripy-headed young, whilst Black-headed Gulls and Common Terns noisily dispute islands and floating rafts for the best nest sites. The wet meadows around the lagoons are home to displaying Lapwings and Redshanks and are grazed by cattle that may have attendant Cattle Egrets that are now resident here. As we explore the reserve we should keep our eyes open for uncommon passage migrants that are occasional visitors here such as Wood Sandpipers, Black Terns or Little Gulls. The fringing scrubby woodland will be alive with the songs of passerines. By May, the volume of noise created by up to 10 species of warbler can sometimes almost drown out the Nightingales and Turtle Doves which also breed here. Fen Drayton is also very rich in dragonflies and damselflies and as May proceeds into June, more and more species should be on the wing including Variable Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Scarce Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer and the rare Norfolk Hawker which has recently colonised the reserve.

By autumn, the birdsong becomes muted any many of the summer migrants will have already departed to be replaced by autumn migrants and arriving winter visitors. With the exception of the resident Cetti’s Warblers most of the warblers will have left for Africa to be replaced by arrivals from the north such as fieldfares, redwings and siskins. Out on the meres, wildfowl numbers will be building up as winter arrivals like Pochard, Teal, Wigeon and Shoveler join the resident Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Mallard whilst the shallow margins host migrating waders on their way south. Despite the shortening days, a few late dragonflies/damselflies like Migrant Hawkers, Brown Hawkers and Willow Emerald Damselflies should still be on the wing if the temperatures hold up.

Nearby, Ouse Fen is still being developed as a nature reserve, but will eventually form the largest reedbed in the UK. It is another fabulous reserve and already harbours Marsh Harriers, Bitterns and Bearded Tits. In spring, the reedbeds resonate with the songs of Reed Warblers, Sedge Warblers, Reed Buntings and Cuckoos, whilst Great Egrets stalk fish in secluded pools and overhead Hobbies hawk for dragonflies. As summer turns into autumn the reeds fall largely silent apart from the occasional squeal of a Water Rail but the Bitterns and Bearded Tits are all still present, with the latter sometimes affording astonishing point blank views as the reeds begin to thin. Wintering Hen Harriers often join the resident Marsh Harriers whilst some late Hobbies may linger over the wetland before they leave for Africa.

In total, we expect to walk around 5 or 6 miles during the course of the day, on mostly easy terrain, and will meet at 9am at the Fen Drayton Lakes car park.

• Explore the wetlands and fens along the Great Ouse in Cambridgeshire
• Marsh Harrier, Great Egret & Bearded Tit possible
• Dragonflies from spring to autumn 
• Look for Kingfisher, Cetti’s Warbler & migrant Hobbies
• Migrant waders, waterfowl & passerines
• Led by an expert Naturetrek naturalist