76 The Birds of Cambridgeshire 



the consequent extension of cultivation to large areas formerly 

 occupied chiefly by sallow-bushes, reed-beds and sedges, the state 

 of affairs has entirely changed since the beginning of the nine- 

 teenth century, and Cambridgeshire can now lay claim to but 

 little of her ancient glory as a paradise for birds of the moor 

 and morass. Wicken Sedge Fen and the surrounding grass 

 lands still provide breeding quarters for an occasional pair of 

 Montagu's Harriers or of Short-eared Owls, but instances such 

 as these only serve to emphasize to the student of the past the 

 great changes that have taken place in the condition of the 

 country and their effect upon its feathered inhabitants. 



Before entering upon a detailed account of the species of 

 Birds now or formerly found in the county, it may be well to 

 state briefly the character of the immediate neighbourhood 

 and its surroundings, which has so decided an effect upon 

 their presence and numbers 1 . 



The great 'Bedford Level/ containing the whole of the 

 ancient Fens, and including the Cam valley gault tract, occupies 

 all Cambridgeshire north of an imaginary line from about New- 

 market to Huntingdon; here large woods are conspicuous by 

 their absence, and the trees, chiefly Black Poplars and Willows, 

 either form long shelter strips only a few yards wide, with 

 occasional isolated clumps, or stand in rows along the side 

 of some watercourse ; the vegetation in uncultivated spots is 

 tall and rank, rushes are a common feature of the landscape, 

 and wide 'lodes' of water connected by narrower channels 

 constantly take the place of walls or hedges. 



Southward of this tract comes an area composed of gault, 

 chalk and chalk marl, topped by gravel or to the west by clay, 

 which extends from the Fen districts to another imaginary line 

 from near Newmarket to Biggleswade ; here are woods of con- 

 siderable size, consisting of hard-wood trees, mingled in places 

 with larch or fir, and the general appearance is that of many 

 of our Midland counties. 



1 A fuller account will be found in the Introduction to Babington's 

 Flora of Cambridgeshire. 



