Bird report

I have often said in this column that the world of birds is full of surprises, and the past few days have been no exception.

You may well have already heard of the wandering young swan in Cottenham. This bird eventually turned up on the roof of the Village College, and presumably provided a welcome distraction for students and staff alike. This bird was finally rescued by an official of the RSPCA and no doubt returned to a more suitable place.

Another surprise was experienced by a family in the village when they heard a loud bang on a window and found that a green woodpecker had flown straight into the window and had suffered mild concussion. The bird was given some TLC and recovered.

The third surprise was when a lady in Lambs Lane rang me up to tell me that she had had a pied wagtail in her garden with a yellow head. This was a new one for me, but after some research we discovered that young pied wagtails sometimes have a yellowish head in the autumn before taking on full plumage. I also discovered that pied wagtails are really a subspecies of white wagtails which are widespread throughout Europe. Wagtails are attractive birds and the pied variety are familiar birds in the village. Less common are the grey wagtails which are confusing because they have yellow underneath are can be confused with yellow wagtails. The grey birds are quite big and are often seen by rivers and streams or in sewage works. The yellow like meadows, particularly where there are cattle. I haven't seen yellow wagtails in this area for some time.

Coal tit

It is often said that there are basically two ways of watching birds. One is by sitting and the other is by walking. At this time of year the idea of sitting in a wood waiting for birds to appear is not very attractive, unless of course you can find a bird hide. There are good ones at Anglesey Abbey, Wicken Fen and Fen Drayton Pits. However sitting at home watching birds in the garden or nearby is ideal for all of us. We have recently been disappointed by the few birds in our garden. This is partly due to the abundance of food in the countryside, but there may be another reason. With this in mind I took down our bird feeders, cleaned them thoroughly and put in fresh seeds and nuts. This was a good move and the situation has improved. There are still relatively few tits and finches, but we have had plenty of the usual wood pigeons and collared doves, but also visits from a jackdaw and a magpie, and dozens of sparrows. These sparrows have provided us with plenty of entertainment. Some of them look quite young and are presumably the offspring of a late brood. They all seem very keen on the peanuts and the feeder has to be refilled every other day. By the way I get my bird food usually from  Oakington Garden Centre, where you can help yourself to as much or as little as you want.

Chaffinch

And what about the other option for birders  -  that of walking? This has  disadvantages if you walk with other people. Firstly a group of walkers can easily frighten off birds, and secondly non-birders hate hanging around while a few enthusiasts try to identify a distant bird. But walking in itself is high profile at the moment and we are frequently being told that it is good for our bodies and for our minds. So let me recommend two easy local walks. Ever since we came to Cottenham [in 1963] we have walked "round the round", a walk which many people do, including joggers, young cyclists and horse riders. The walk covers the High Street, Rooks Street, Long Drove and Church Lane. It is just over two miles long. We did this walk a few days ago and saw buzzards, a great spotted woodpecker, a green woodpecker, goldfinches and a cormorant [flying overhead] as well as plenty of more common birds.

The other slightly longer walk is along Broad Lane, along the cut towards Rampton and back, and you can make this walk as long or as short as you wish. Some good birds have been seen here recently.There was a marsh harrier here in late August. When seen at a distance these birds look like large crows, but close to they are large magnificent birds of prey, and not uncommon in this area.Other recent sightings on this walk have been greenshank, firecrest, egrets, kingfisher, grey wagtail and corn buntings, but you are not likely to see all of these on one day!

Years ago I met a man at the far end of Long Drove and he had a large bird of prey which he was training. He told me it was a goshawk, a bird I have never seen with confidence, although I thought I had seen one lately in North Italy.I was reminded of this bird when seeing the TV programme lately called "H is for Hawk" about a local Cambridge woman training a goshawk  - fascinating.

Even though the winter birds [redwings and fieldfares] have not yet arrived in late October, Autumn Watch has started this week, so this is very welcome.