While Duncan was sat idly in the garden admiring his Turtle Dove, I was putting in the graft leading a DoE group from Newmarket to Soham (which, to be fair, is something he does more often than I do). It's a walk that takes you through a number of different habitats within the Ely 10. Following the Devil's Dyke from Swaffham Prior to Reach along the chalky bank we started with Yellowhammers ("They look like parrots!") and Skylarks.
Moving on to the moody Adventurers' Fen we got a Grey Heron, a male Marsh Harrier, some Avocet and a number of Canada and Greylag Geese. Further on there were Coal Tits, Long Tailed Tits and Goldfinch.
Once out of the fen and into the hedgerows between Wicken and Soham we saw loads of skylarks, seven or eight of them, and got a good view of a Willow Warbler. The hedgerows were full of singing Robins and at least one Wood Warbler. The kids weren't especially impressed with the Marsh Harrier, which surprised me, but were really taken with a low altitude flyover of Greylags. They were also quite into the skylarks. Trying to get them interested in a Wood Warbler they couldn't see was a lost cause. I don't know, kids these days...
