Fulbourn Fen
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An area as the countryside used to be, where cattle graze on ancient grassland alive with flowers and insects |
The old meadows here have never been treated with pesticide or fertiliser, so they have kept the high diversity of plants and insects which traditional farming techniques produced. Six species of orchid have been recorded in the varied grassland lying over complex geology and archaeology, while the woods shelter the reserve and harbour birds and fungi.
The sweeping boughs of two magnificent oaks greet the visitor entering Ox Meadow, where cowslips carpet the ground. This is the driest meadow and the chalky soil supports calcareous grassland, where the sprays of lady’s bedstraw and the bright pink spikes of pyramidal orchid bloom among the anthills. In the adjoining Moat Meadow, the defensive earthworks of a mediaeval manor house illustrate the earlier history of the area, when the old village of Fulbourn lay over much of the current reserve.
The largest and wettest meadow is East Fen. Here, humps and dips created by freezing and melting during the last Ice Age increase the range of habitats, bringing even more diversity. Chalk-laden water from nearby higher ground drains onto East Fen and the lowest areas have water under foot all year round, making perfect conditions for fen vegetation such as rushes and water mint. Early marsh- and southern marsh-orchids thrive on the higher areas, sending up tall purple flower spikes in spring. Snipe use the area in winter, probing the soft mud for invertebrates. The sharp-eyed might spot a well-camouflaged common lizard sunning itself on a tussock, or a grass snake hunting through the rushes.
Occasional dense areas of hawthorn and bramble provide nest-sites for warblers such as whitethroat, while chiffchaff use the woods. Keep an eye on the skies for great spotted woodpeckers flying between the trees, or a kestrel hovering over the grass hunting for voles and crickets.
Plants: Hazel and pussy willow catkins, stinking hellebore Birds: Snipe Mammals: Stoat, weasel |
Plants: Early marsh-orchid, southern marsh-orchid, common milk-wort cowslip Amphibians: Common frog, common toad Birds: Willow warbler, chiff chaff, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, great spotted woodpecker |
Plants: Bee orchid, pyramidal orchid, common spotted- orchid, twayblade, gromwell, lady's bedstraw Insects: Emperor, common darter and black-tailed skimmer dragonflies, blue-tailed damselflies, ringlet and meadow brown butterflies Reptiles: Common lizard, grass snake Birds: Swallow, green woodpecker, turtledove |
Fungi: Woodland fungi Plants: Guelder- rose berries, blackberries |