Very Wet Morning at Wicken

Definitely weather for ducks yesterday morning. This teal took flight during one of the lighter showers but the Mallards did not look happy when the rain was at its heaviest. The Coots are already paired off and showing territorial behaviour. The hundreds of Widgeon on the pools were fairly restless giving lovely atmospheric flight images along with Mallards, Mute Swans and Geese.

Wicken Fen (NT) in the Summer

An attempt to show the essence of  Wicken Fen on a sunny day. The stars are the White Water lillies at their best in all the Lodes. Large numbers of Willow Emerald Damselflies and Ruddy Darters as well as larger species such as Emperor and Brown Hawker - too fast to capture. Birdlife fairly limited and the heat produced too much haze for clear shots across the water. Common Blue and Argos Brown butterflies photographed

 

RPS Field Trip to Wet Wicken Fen

A party of eight braved the rain yesterday and explored Wicken Fen walking over to Burwell Fen. As usual, I had my eyes mainly downwards looking for insects etc. With the wet and cold conditions, these were restricted to Culex mosquitoes in large numbers, snails, crane flies and other resting flies. Towards lunch, the clouds lifted a bit and it was warmer so suddenly Mayflies and Stone Flies were crawling up every available reed and launching into the air or caught by Spiders. I only managed a few bird photos though others were successful with a pair of hunting Barn Owls, Cuckoos and Reed Warblers. Unfortunately it was a short respite and the afternoon proved even wetter for a circuit of the boardwalk. Most of photos taken at 6400 ISO so a tribute to modern technology and software.

Wicken Fen on a Dull Afternoon

On Friday we visited Wicken Fen with a group from the RPS Nature Group. It was very devoid of birds generally but good views of Kestrel and the Konig ponies and in the distance Marsh Harriers playing and Hen Harriers coming into roost ( we saw total of 3 males (not shown) and 2 females), which was a wonderful experience even if too dark to photograph properly.

 

In the Meadows at Wicken Fen

Some of the species seen and photographed at Wicken Fen yesterday - Ruddy Darter, Emerald Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Essex skipper and Large Skipper etc.