Cambridgeshire Fens, 23rd April 2026

A few good birds had been reported in Cambridgeshire so time to pay a visit. The first port of call was near Gamlingay where six Dotterel had been reported. However, despite an extensive search with other birders (it was good to see Ian Conn) on site we could not locate them in the vast arable landscape. Annoyingly, they kept being reported over the next few days. Undaunted, we moved on to Little Wilbraham which was a lovely village with this attractive Windmill.

The reason for coming here was to try and see Ring Ouzel on the common. This time after a brief wait we were lucky and saw both the male and a female. The male is pictured here, but not the best images due to the heat haze.

A few Garganey had been reported across the county so the next stop was Tubney Fen, a small National Trust reserve. A few Linnets were in front of the small viewing screen. 

A short walk to the other end of the water body eventually revealed a pair of Garganey, loafing in the reeds. This is the male, and just the one shot as they were both distant and the heat haze still very strong.

A good day out with some great birds, but certainly difficult with the light for photography.