34
We walked north along the flood channel, last
year frozen and alive with Water Rails, which
was living up to its name demonstrated by a
pair of Coot floating along at about 10 m.p.h.
We continued along a muddy path beside the
River Lee to the Grebe Hide which is open to
the public at weekends. After about half an
hour we retraced our muddy steps back to the
car park. The walk took us about 21/2 hours and
34 bird species were seen including Smew,
Goosander, Ruddy Duck, Goldeneye, Kestrel and
Long-tailed Tits.
A pleasant, well-attended meeting, although the
weather let us down as regards rarities.
Let's hope it snows next year!
ADRIAN VERNON
BIRD GROUP MEETING. LANGENHOE/OLD HALL MARSHES
14TH FEBRUARY, 1988
Nine members met at the new venue, Langenhoe,
in the hope of seeing Hen Harrier and Merlin.
The weather was fine, clear and mild.
We walked the northern footpath skirting the
perimeter of the army ranges, constantly
scanning the marshes. The route took us
through a variety of habitats, namely pasture,
hedgerows, woodland and finally marshland.
A pair of Kestrels kept us on our toes as they
tried to imitate Merlin. We stopped by