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Cambridge UK birding (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter JeffMoh
- Start date
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
Is this Cambridge UK or Cambridge MA?!
simon
Well-known member
I think the answers in the title
Jeff never been to any of the following but check out http://lnr.cambridge.gov.uk/reserves/
Jeff never been to any of the following but check out http://lnr.cambridge.gov.uk/reserves/
KnockerNorton
Well-known member
quite right, sorry.
TomSmith
Well-known member
I live in Cambridge and don't have a car (students aren't allowed them) - it can make interesting birding a bit tricky. The town nature reserves are nice enough but not very birdy. Better is Milton Country Park on the northern end of the city, which I think you can reach by bus: there are a couple of fairly large lakes with a decent selection of waterbirds.
What I would do though is either borrow or hire a bicycle (bicycle hire is easy enough - I think there's even a pay-as-you-go scheme), and then go to Fowlmere, which is a beautiful RSPB reserve a few miles south of town where you'll probably pick up a good selection of standard UK birds and maybe something a bit more exciting. If you're keen you can cycle all the way; or you can take your bicycle on the train to Shepreth station, from where it's a 15 minute ride. I'd take you myself but term ends that week so I'll probably be out of town!
The Fowlmere website is here (including directions from Shepreth), and you can find train times here.
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Carlos Davies
Well-known member
Hi Jeff
I also live in Cambridge and don't drive. I second Tom's suggestion of Fowlmere RSPB (I volunteer there sometimes), but would add that you can also walk there from Shepreth station along public footpaths in about 45mins.
If you have a whole day to spare you could try my local patch, which is the riverside walk from Cambridge to Ely. Just find the River Cam at Midsummer Common (central Cambridge) and then follow it North along the Fen Rivers Way. It's about 16miles across varied habitat: farmland, marshes, flooded meadows, hedgerows and some small woods. Your dates are a couple of weeks early for the arrival of Summer migrants, but there's still plenty of wildfowl and waders, usually including Avocet. The walk can be made shorter by making a ten minute train journey to the village of Waterbeach and picking up the path there.
You also have the option of turning off the path at Upware village and visiting Wicken Fen (Britain's oldest nature reserve). Upware is about halfway and has a nice riverside pub which serves meals.
The small City of Ely at the end of the route is also well worth a visit and the train back to Cambridge takes about 20-25mins.
I also live in Cambridge and don't drive. I second Tom's suggestion of Fowlmere RSPB (I volunteer there sometimes), but would add that you can also walk there from Shepreth station along public footpaths in about 45mins.
If you have a whole day to spare you could try my local patch, which is the riverside walk from Cambridge to Ely. Just find the River Cam at Midsummer Common (central Cambridge) and then follow it North along the Fen Rivers Way. It's about 16miles across varied habitat: farmland, marshes, flooded meadows, hedgerows and some small woods. Your dates are a couple of weeks early for the arrival of Summer migrants, but there's still plenty of wildfowl and waders, usually including Avocet. The walk can be made shorter by making a ten minute train journey to the village of Waterbeach and picking up the path there.
You also have the option of turning off the path at Upware village and visiting Wicken Fen (Britain's oldest nature reserve). Upware is about halfway and has a nice riverside pub which serves meals.
The small City of Ely at the end of the route is also well worth a visit and the train back to Cambridge takes about 20-25mins.
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David Jobson
Active member
I know I may be flamed for saying this on a birding forum, but if you are
are only Cambridge for 2 days, you will barely have time to scratch the
surface of non-birding things to see, which of course will involve "the backs"
and a walk along the Cam, but also the wonderful architecture and museums etc..
are only Cambridge for 2 days, you will barely have time to scratch the
surface of non-birding things to see, which of course will involve "the backs"
and a walk along the Cam, but also the wonderful architecture and museums etc..
TomSmith
Well-known member
Carlos: this has been suggested to me a couple of times before and sounds interesting, and a nice walk - how far does on have to go from Cambridge to start seeing interesting birds? I'd love to do the whole route but rarely have a whole day free here.
No flames: David is completely right! But of course if you are an old Cambridge hand and if you want to get away from the town for a break then some birding might not be a bad idea.
Carlos Davies
Well-known member
Hi Tom.
what I usually do is start from Waterbeach. The path between Cambridge and Waterbeach is nice if you start at dawn or earlier; any later and it tends to fill up with joggers, dog walkers and cyclists. There are also no birds seen here that won't be seen beyond Waterbeach.
From Waterbeach station you head to the river and start walking up the Western ("left") bank to Bottisham Lock (there is a wintering Goosander here at the moment and often Grey Wagtails). At this point the river can be crossed so you have to choose which bank you want to walk up. I usually go up the Eastern ("right") bank for more varied habitat and better positioning of the sun. The only advantage of the Western bank is that it will give you slightly closer views of Upware washes.
A bit further North from Upware is a small woods followed by a long lane with good hedgerows leading up to a road crossing a couple of hundred metres East of the river. This road is the only other place where the river can be crossed, so you can either double back to Waterbeach along the other bank, or carry on up the Eastern bank a few metres to Kingfisher's Bridge which has hides and plenty of good birds (I had a Great Skua here last year). Beyond Kingfisher's Bridge the path goes along a high bank through flat fenland all the way to Ely (you can see the cathedral in the distance). There aren't many new birds along this stretch but Barn Owl are practically guaranteed if it's late afternoon.
The entire walk (Camridge-Ely) takes me about seven hours and usually produces between sixty and seventy species. With limited time you can do the stretch from Waterbeach to Upware and back in about one and a half hours each way. This stretch usually has the best birds: in summer you should get Yellow Wagtail, Cuckoo, Turtle Dove, Corn Bunting, Grey Partidge, Avocet, Shelduck, lots of warblers, etc.
Hope most of this makes sense. If you look at the route on an OS map it becomes pretty obvious.
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martinf
Well-known member
Jeff,
If you haven't got long then a walk along the river to Grantchester would probably be your best bet. Lots of common birds, Green Woodpecker is easy to see here and Barn Owls are regular at dusk. Also there is a pair of Little Owls in Grantchester village.
At the end of the walk you have the Green Man pub which does good food and even better beer.
You'd end up seeing a good cross section of common UK birds
If you haven't got long then a walk along the river to Grantchester would probably be your best bet. Lots of common birds, Green Woodpecker is easy to see here and Barn Owls are regular at dusk. Also there is a pair of Little Owls in Grantchester village.
At the end of the walk you have the Green Man pub which does good food and even better beer.
You'd end up seeing a good cross section of common UK birds
TomSmith
Well-known member
I walked this stretch one way on Sunday morning and it was fantastic (although I must say I think one and a half hours is optimistic if you actually want to look at any birds...!). No Great Skua but I did get Avocet, Shelduck and Pintail; a longer report is here if you're interested.
Thanks very much for the tip,
Tom
Carlos Davies
Well-known member
Hi Tom,
glad to see you made it along the Cam. I was also there on Sunday - between Waterbeach and Upware, with a quick walk around Wicken Fen. I started at 9.15am and got back to Waterbeach for the 3.05pm train.
Good to hear the Goosander is still there. I looked out for it but couldn't find it. I also missed the Avocet but saw the Little Egret, Pintail, ten Shelducks and a couple of Oystercatchers as well as Redshanks and Snipe at Upware Washes. Avocet numbers should start building up now; there were about 12-14 here last Spring. It's usually pretty good for passage waders, with regular Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Dunlin, Green, Common (and, once, Wood) Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plover.
Wicken Fen was also productive for such a short visit: I came across the Great Grey Shrike, which I didn't realise was still there, and got views of a Cetti's Warbler, a wintering Chiffchaff, a Marsh Harrier and another drake Pintail.
glad to see you made it along the Cam. I was also there on Sunday - between Waterbeach and Upware, with a quick walk around Wicken Fen. I started at 9.15am and got back to Waterbeach for the 3.05pm train.
Good to hear the Goosander is still there. I looked out for it but couldn't find it. I also missed the Avocet but saw the Little Egret, Pintail, ten Shelducks and a couple of Oystercatchers as well as Redshanks and Snipe at Upware Washes. Avocet numbers should start building up now; there were about 12-14 here last Spring. It's usually pretty good for passage waders, with regular Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Dunlin, Green, Common (and, once, Wood) Sandpipers and Little Ringed Plover.
Wicken Fen was also productive for such a short visit: I came across the Great Grey Shrike, which I didn't realise was still there, and got views of a Cetti's Warbler, a wintering Chiffchaff, a Marsh Harrier and another drake Pintail.
TomSmith
Well-known member
Actually I think I might have been right behind you! I was at Milton by 9.10 and at Waterbeach a little later, and could see another birder just ahead of me until Bottisham, where I stopped to test the telescope: but I never quite caught up!
The Goosander was about a mile north of Waterbeach, where the path separates briefly from the main river to pass through a marina. It was almost out of sight from the path and hard to see even from the riverbank: so easy to overlook.
I thought to myself "there really should be snipe here" at Upware, but it's a bird I just don't have the knack of finding - not sure why really! The only ones I've ever seen have been found and pointed out to me by someone else...
The only place I know of is the country park in Milton. It's right outside the city.
Get the Citi 2 bus from the town centre to Milton.
Directions from the bus stop:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&h...4,0.16062&sspn=0.004586,0.010042&ie=UTF8&z=17
The place used to be clay pits, and now it's all overgrown. I went birdwatching there when I was about 11 and hated every minute of being there at 6am in the freezing cold!
Anyways, that's about all I know around my area!
Get the Citi 2 bus from the town centre to Milton.
Directions from the bus stop:
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?f=d&h...4,0.16062&sspn=0.004586,0.010042&ie=UTF8&z=17
The place used to be clay pits, and now it's all overgrown. I went birdwatching there when I was about 11 and hated every minute of being there at 6am in the freezing cold!
Anyways, that's about all I know around my area!
toonamp
Active member
There are a number of RSPB reserves in the area.
This will give you a start.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/area/county.asp
Click the drop down menu
This will give you a start.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/area/county.asp
Click the drop down menu
africangreys
New member
My Parents live on this stretch of the river in Horningsea ... such a lovely area, I'd post a picture but not sure you can ... here's a link to my Dad's website which is just a collection of photos of the animals found in the garden particularly all the birds you will see
http://www.camside.co.uk/birds.html
