Strumpshaw Fen: nostalgia isn't what it used to be....

Since I had to drop Linda off for an early train at Brundall, I carried on round to Buckenham and Strumpshaw Fen - the first time I've visited either for months. In the past both sites have provided good returns for a pleasant walk in the Yare Valley, but during the summer both were infested by dog walkers and family groups, hardly any of whom displayed any interest in the wildlife of the two reserves. Since the weather was somewhat threatening, I thought I'd probably be able to enjoy the stroll without too many distractions (Despite it being half term)

In the event I was correct in that assumption: just a few small families arriving as I left. But where were the birds? Apart from the inevitable skeins of Pinkfeet, the regular Wigeon and a Peregrine or two, Buckenham was a bird-free zone. Strumpshaw was even worse: I didn't see a single passerine in the woods or reedbeds and the only fly-overs were more Pinks. No Marsh Tits, Nuthatches, Treecreepers, King Fishers, Egrets, Herons, Siskins, Beardies - nothing! The only 'highlights' were a mixed group of white and 'black' Pheasants.

I mentioned this to the newly-arrived middle-aged volunteer at the new ticket kiosk. He shrugged and said 'Global warming, innit?' I asked him what that had to do with the lack of resident species: he just shrugged and replied that it was too warm in the Arctic for birds to fly south. I repeated my point about the lack of woodland birds, and asked if he knew where the Pinkfeet had arrived from. No reply. (I personally think that turning the once-excellent reserve into a corporate training site and a family fun park has had more than a little to do with the decline of the Fen)