A Morning with the Kingfishers at Fowlmere

27th August 2025

I have been coming to Fowlmere for several years now and up to now the popularity of the Drewer and Spring Hides has been dwarfed by that of the Reed Bed Hide. Yes, Drewer and Spring Hides can throw up some surprises but the Reed Bed Hide is the most-used, mainly due to the elevated position and the commanding views over the reed bed and mere, especially when the pair of Marsh Harriers are breeding during the summer months.

But that has all changed just now as the Marsh Harriers are winding down with the female already left the site and the single juvenile exploring the surrounding area more and more, but mainly because up to three juvenile Kingfishers have been putting on a good show in front of the Drewer Hide. The downside is that you can wait for up to four hours between shows.

So I arrived at 9.00am and settled down with good company and a packed lunch and was prepared for a long wait. In the event a single Kingfisher flew in at 9.30am and put on a show for 10 minutes before disappearing as fast as it arrived. And according to form, I had to wait another four hours for the next showing.

Its preferred perching position was on some Great Fen-sedge just 15 yards away on the other side of the ditch where it had a commanding view down over the water. The brown feet, dark breast band and white tip to the bill are characteristic of a juvenile bird which can fledge as early as May, but the dark colours on this individual suggest that this bird only fledged recently, probably no more than a couple of weeks ago when they started being seen here.

All juveniles have an all-black bill and females don't get their orange on their lower mandible until a few months after they fledge, which in this case of a late brood could be November/December. Therefore, you cannot reliably sex juvenile males until the end of the year.

The turquoise down the back and tail are why some people describe their experience of seeing a Kingfisher as just a flash of blue.

The bird obviously appreciated photography composition and even brought its own prop, a rather mature seed-head of Reedmace.

On occasions the Kingfisher would fly to the branch just 10 yards away and provide some nice shots against a darker background.

And also managed a few action shots.

What is noticeble from all the photos posted of the Kingfishers, not one has shown them catching a fish, just insects thought to be water boatmen.

And just in case you needed any evidence they are indeed water boatmen.

So why are there no fish in the ditch in front of Drewer's Hide? I contacted the previous warden, Iain Wheller, and he provided his views on the lack of fish which can be summarised as follows. He believes the fish populations at Fowlmere are incredibly poor due to recent dry years when the mere has dried up completely and the ditches become low. When the ditch water levels become low the water temperature rises and affects the fish populations and the dissolved oxygen levels. 

The ditch in front of the Drewer Hide is very shallow and the ditch feeding it is also shallow to such an extent that it might cut it off from deeper ditches where the fish poplulations may be better. 

Since then RSPB The Lodge have issued this statement:

"You might have noticed the water levels in the Mere are very low This is due to upcoming planned work this Autumn to create deeper channels through the Mere to improve resilience to climate change.

This is part of an ongoing project to improve the hydrology system across the reserve, including installing better water control structures, deepening and widening several ditches, as well as increasing connectivity between them to allow for better movement of aquatic life."

Well, what a great way to spend a morning and good to meet Jeremy Smith and Diane Ashton.