I Wonder How the Spoonbills are Getting On?

6th April 2026

My last visit to Abberton for the Spoonbills was on the 11th March when they had just returned to the heronry for the breeding season, so time for another visit to see how they are getting on.

I started the day at the Layer de la Haye causeway which was very quiet apart from a couple of White Wagtails on the bank.

The only other excitement was provided by this Pitts Special which was performing acrobatics over the main reservoir.

A quick visit to Billets Farm produced a male Kestrel and a couple of early migrants.

This smart male Wheatear was perched on the fence by the reservoir..................

................and this male Yellow Wagtail was feeding in the grass amongst the dandelions.................

..................and then on the same fenceline as the Wheatear, both fairly distant.

Now on to the Layer Breton causeway where most of the action should be, and walked into a pair of dancing Marsh Harriers. What a good start.

On  the eastern side of the causeway was my first Common Sandpiper of the year and a particularly confiding individual

At that point David Curle arrived and said that someone had reported a Yellow-legged Gull on the causeway. There were only two large gulls by the sluice, one a Lesser Black-backed Gull and the second a "Herring" type. However, compared to a Herring Gull the bill was richer coloured and the eye ring was red, whereas on a Herring it is yellow/orange.

Also it had yellow legs. What a nice surprise.

In the north-east corner of the causeway the Cormorant breeding season was well underway. The number of nests was impossible to count, with many being inside the trees.

Now at the heronry the usual suspects were already established with many nests occupied.

But now joined by six Spoonbills with some on nests.

Apart from their private nests they also have communal meeting areas down by the water's edge.

Also quite a bit of toing and froing.......................

..........................followed by some rather ungainly landings.

You will notice this bird has a white ring on its left leg above its knee..................

..........................which is enlarged here. The 4-letter code is NFLA. This bird obviously likes attention as it appears in many Spoonbill photos taken at Abberton. The bird was ringed as a pullus on the 25th May 2024 at Zierikzee, Pikgat in The Netherlands

Since then and over the last two years there have been multiple reports from Dorset, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent and Essex as well as a couple of trips back to The Netherlands.

Well, what a great day and also good to have a catch-up with David Curle and Ian Plume.

Water Voles at Fowlmere

26th March 2026

The River Shep is a small chalkstream that rises from springs at the RSPB reserve at Fowlmere and then flows through Shepreth to join the River Rhee, also known as the River Cam, at Barrington. The river is maintained in an excellent condition and is home to Brown Trout as well as a thriving population of Water Voles. With the arrival of spring the voles are getting more active so time for a visit.

Water Voles can often be spotted as they swim across the water but at Fowlmere this can be difficult as they often swim under the cover of overhanging vegetation. Here are a couple that broke cover.

As well as their well-known habit of preparing latrines where they deposit their droppings they also prepare their own feeding stations. Here they collect 5-10cm lengths of vegetation such as reed shoots or Water Crowfoot and position them close to the burrow or even just inside the entrance to the burrow as seen here.

Or life is much easier if a tiny juvenile sits on a reed raft mid-stream and eats a Hawthorn berry.

And better still if an adult sits in the sun chewing on a reed shoot.

Don't you just love a Water Vole?