Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis At one point in the same field of view as the Night Heron! Ouse Washes near Earith. 8.30pm on 15th June 2008.
Black-crowned Night Heron, Nycticorax nycticorax Ouse Washes near Earith. 8.30pm on 15th June 2008.
Red-footed Falcon, Falco vespertinus Fen Drayton, 18th May 2008. Female showing well this morning, hawking from this dead tree by the road north of Elney Lake.
Wood Warbler, Phylloscopus sibilatrix Paxton Pits, 3rd May 2008. Nice find by Jamie Wells.
Lesser Yellowlegs, Tringa flavipes - distant record shot (it is there somewhere!) 19th April, Berry Fen.
Common Cranes, Grus grus - this pair were found roosting during the evening of 4th April. At dawn the following morning, they flew north out of the reedbed and landed nearby. For the next few hours the birds put on a fantastic spectacle, dancing and calling, and mating at least twice. This behaviour may not have been seen in the Cambridgeshire Fens for many hundreds of years. The birds later flew south being seen over Paxton Pits and then again by me over Grafham Water. A truly fantastic experience.
Lapland Buntings, Calcarius lapponicus - 26th February, Stirtloe near Paxton Pits. A superb find by Mark Hawkes on Sunday morning, at least two, a male and a female were present this morning. A few shaky shots were secured at high magnification and in a strong wind. The birds seem to favour the stubble on the ploughed area around the bird scarer with the Skylarks, but occasionally move into the grassy stubble.
Female
Male, apparently singing!
The same male as above, showing the rufous collar
Presumably the same male as above
The same male as in the previous photo
Male
Great Egret, Egretta alba - 9th January, Pymoor, near the Ouse Washes. This bird hasbeen quite elusive, but we found it close to Dunkirk east of Pymoor, fishing in a drain. It has distincly green lores.
2007
Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis - 29th December, St Neots. Part of an influx into the UK.
Purple Heron, Ardea purpurea - 6th October, juvenile at Eldernell.
Seen early morning at Bakers Fen, Wicken Fen, on 28 May 2005. The bird departed high to the east at c9.20am and arrived at Cley, Norfolk at 12.55, where I saw it again the following day.
This is the first record in Cambridgeshire since 1983.