Green-winged

A super day out with Chris, scouting sites for the Fen Edge holiday we're leading for Wildlife Travel in late-May. 

We started at Woodwalton Fen, which had recovered from the very deep and damaging flooding it had experienced last winter (see extra). The flora was still very behind, but there were enough interesting species to show people. The range of characteristic birds was good and included singing Garden Warbler and Cetti's Warbler, Cuckoo and Marsh Harrier, as well as Greenshank and Shelduck on the still flooded ground of Middle Farm. We also spotted two Chinese Water-deer. 

We then progressed to Upwood Meadows where good numbers of Green-winged Orchid were in flower among a multitude of Cowslips. We hadn't been sure whether to include this site in our itinerary but it's just so fabulous, with a lot to see in a very small space.

Our last visit was to Holme Fen, which proved more problematic. The very late season and dry conditions seemed to have affected this site more than the others, and it was looking quite sad. It's extremely large and the pockets of interest are quite scattered. We walked all the way through, bringing our step count up to 23,000, but this won't be possible with our elderly clientele. We're hoping we might be able to break it up into several shorter stops, as long as the coach can get to the drop-off points!