The attraction for the trip was a visit to Paxton Pits Nature Reserve as a family of Otters have often been seen recently in the early morning. True to form, a whole morning's patience was unrewarded but a consolation was a Mute Swan taking off with a rather dramatic background.

There seems to be a total absence of interesting birdlife in Cambs at present so a visit to RSPB's headquarters at The Lodge in Sandy was just a short drive down the A1 - lets see if there is anything interesting there. A male Stonechat had been reported on the heath and quickly found although rather flighty.

It seemd to prefer a particular perch among the heather so I positioned myself and waited, Sure enough, after an hour or so, it returned there giving an excellent photo opportunity. I say opportunity as the following images are not really up to the mark as I completely forgot that heathland is very springy and not a good base for a tripod. A succession of soft images resulted - these two are the best - to quote all politicians these days - 'Lessons have been learned'.

With nothing of consequence showing at the feeding station in front of the hide, I called in at Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB on the way home. As usual, nothing of interest there except for a hovering male Kestrel in the late evening sunlight.

It certainly is a very quiet time in this area for birdlife - hopefully a cold snap will bring in something to get the pulses racing!!!

More images in the Recent Additions section of this website.