Zoology 63 



In winter, besides great flocks of lapwing and golden plover, the 

 black-headed and common gulls are numerous, while pink-footed geese 

 are not infrequently found, particularly near Wisbech. Although there 

 are patches of open uncultivated fen country at Fulbourn, Chippenham, 

 Reach, Quy, and Burwell, almost the only remnant of undratncd fen is 

 at Wicken.' But, particularly because of the lack of reed beds and open 

 water, the avifauna of Wicken Fen is only a fraction of what it once was. 

 Gone beyond recall are pelican, crane, and spoonbill, that once inhabited 

 the fens. Gone too, as breeding species, are Savi's warbler, bearded tit, 

 black-tailed godwit, rutf, black tern, and the bittern. But the last three 

 or four of these are still visitors to the district, and there is a possibihty 

 that some of them irdght be induced to return if conditions were made 

 suitable. However, the Montagu's harrier and the short-eared owl still 

 breed at Wicken in most years, and the grasshopper warbler is perhaps the 

 most abundant and the most characteristic small bird of the Fen, whUe, at 

 other seasons, marsh and hen harrier, peregrine falcon, merhn and common 

 buzzard are occasionally seen. The existing open water attracts mallard, 

 shoveller, teal, garganey, tufted duck, wigeon and the pochard, the first 

 four as breeding species. But there is no doubt that the greatest need of 

 Wicken as a bird reserve is the digging ot a large mere and the encourage- 

 ment of reed beds. 



Fmally, no summary of the ornithology of the district, however brief, 

 would be complete without mention of the Cambridge Sewage Farm, 

 two miles north of the town. Regular watchuig, mainly by members of 

 the Cambridge Bird Club, has revealed an astonishing variety of passage 

 birds, particularly of waders. Of special interest are the records of yellow- 

 shank, turnstone, curlew, sandpiper, Temmincks' stint, grey phalarope, and 

 dotterel. Indeed, more wading birds have been recorded at the Cambridge 

 Sewage Farm than at any other inland locahty in Britain, and the observa- 

 tions carried on there have done much to discredit the theory that birds on 

 inland migration follow definite routes such as the courses of rivers. All 

 the observations in tliis district go to show that waders, when migrating, 

 habitually fly at a considerable height and move on a broad front across 

 country. 



REPTILIA 



These include the common lizard (Lacerta uiuipara), which seems to be 

 local in distribution, but which is plentiful in Wicken Fen. The sand lizard 

 (L. agilis) occurs about the Devil's Ditch near Newmarket, wliile the slow 



' See pp. 45 and 50 above. 



