Burham marsh,24th February.

1330-1530,weather cloudy but mild with very little wind.Went over to Burham to look at the marsh.A few days before I had looked across the river from Holborough and seen sheep in the marsh there (big meadow),where before there had always been cattle.I thought the marsh must have become dryer than when I had known it in the 1980s and 90s.I`m pleased to report it looked much the same with all the water flashes in much the same areas and just as big.Only thing was there were fewer birds about for this time of the year:Shelduck 12,Teal 50,Mallard 2,Gadwall 5,Moorhen 10,Heron 2,Crow 12,Jackdaw 6 and Magpie 4.I had also gone to see if I could find any Bearded Tits but sorry to say none were seen or heard but this has become the norm over the past ten years or more.I did however hear 2 Water rail,1 Wren and 1 Cetti`s calling from deep in the reed-bed.I was pleased to see at least 10 Reed Buntings a bird which is now very scarce in the lakes area.Other birds recorded were:lapwing 35,1 Redshank,1 Cormorant,2 Jays,Great and Blue Tits,Goldfinch 6 ,Chaffinch 10,Greenfinch15,Blackbird 2,Robin 1,Woodpigeon 250,Starling 6,Herring Gulls,1 adult Med Gulls,which flew over towards Holborough with a flock of B H Gulls and 2 Linnet a bird which is hard to find now.

February 23rd,1986,snow fell during the morning.In the afternoon I went to Burham to put up new KTNC signs around the reserve.Seeing there was a good number of birds present,both in the marsh and of the river, I made a count after I had finnished with the signs:Teal 1050 in the marsh (big meadow) with a further 450 on the river,Shelduck 84 in the marsh,along with 3 drake Wigeon,35 Mallard,25 Moorhen,12 Redshank,60 Snipe and 4 Heron.On the river:Pochard 350,Tufted Duck 260,1 drake R C Pochard,1 drake and 2 red-head Smew,1 drake Ruddy duck,1 Goosander and 30 coot.Seeing this many wildfowl on the river is unusual but it also accurred in the winter of 1982,all the lakes in the area had frozen over.The Teal count was a all time high.

Holborough marsh,22nd February

Walked around Holborough marsh from 0830-10.It was a rather cloudy morning and the sun never quite managed to break through.Walking under the bridge and down the central path a Green Woodpecker called and a Great spot drummed.Birds seen along this section were: Wren,Chaffinch,Robin,Dunnock,Great tits,Blue tits and Magpie.Out in the northern meadow,which is holding quite a bit of surface water,I could see,2 Gadwall,2 Mallard,30 Teal,1 Snipe,4 female Pheasant and 10 Woodpigeon.Along the river 4 Redshank,4 Shelduck and 2 Mallard were feeding and a Cormorant flew down.Two Cetti`s Warbler called from the Hawthorns along the dyke and as I neared the main reed-bed I could hear two Reed Buntings singing way out in the middle,15 Greylags flew over toward Burham and 30 Lapwing passed NE.In the large area of Hawthorn scrub Icould see a few Redwing along with 2 Blackbirds.In the southern meadow which is holding less visible surface water a few Moorhen and 1 Meadow pipit were present.Standing on the concrete 2nd world war bunker and looking out towards Burham marsh, I was surprised to see sheep grazzing in the large meadow there,in all the years I have known the meadow it has always held cattle. It must have dried out a fair bit in the last few years.Other bird species seen on the walk were:Herring gulls,B h gulls,Crow 8 (Jackdaw 4,Burham) Starling 10,Collared dove 6 and 1 calling Water rail.