| Mare Fen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Local Nature Reserve |
| Location | Swavesey, Cambridgeshire, England |
| OS grid | TL 366 698 |
| Area | 16.3 hectares |
| Managed by | Not known |
Mare Fen is a 16.3 hectare Local Nature Reserve north of Swavesey in Cambridgeshire, England. It is owned by Cambridgeshire County Council, [1] [2] and was formerly managed by the Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Naturalists Trust (now part of the Wildlife Trust for Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire), [3] but as of December 2016 it is not listed on the Trust's web site. [4] In 2015 Swavesey Parish Council expressed concern at the failure of the Environment Agency to carry out flood prevention works at Mare Fen. [5]
Swavesey is a village lying on the Greenwich Meridian in Cambridgeshire, England, with a population of 2,463. The village is situated 9 miles to the north west of Cambridge and 3 miles south east of St Ives.
Cambridgeshire is a county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west. The city of Cambridge is the county town. Modern Cambridgeshire was formed in 1974 as an amalgamation of the counties of Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely and Huntingdon and Peterborough, the former covering the historic county of Cambridgeshire and the latter covering the historic county of Huntingdonshire and the Soke of Peterborough, historically part of Northamptonshire. It contains most of the region known as Silicon Fen.
Cambridgeshire County Council is the county council of Cambridgeshire, England. The council consists of 61 councillors, representing 59 electoral divisions. The Conservative Party took control of the council at the 2017 election after four years of no party having overall control. The council meets at Shire Hall in Cambridge. It is a member of the East of England Local Government Association.
This pasture in the floodplain of the River Great Ouse is used for grazing in the summer and allowed to flood in the winter. It has wildfowl such as mute swans, wigeons, teal and shovelers, mammals include badgers and muntjac deer. There are diverse aquatic plants. [6]
The River Great Ouse is a river in the United Kingdom, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in central England, the Great Ouse flows into East Anglia before entering the Wash, a bay of the North Sea. With a course of 143 miles (230 km), mostly flowing north and east, it is the one of the longest rivers in the United Kingdom. The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam, which runs through Cambridge. Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised, to relieve flooding and provide a better route for barge traffic. Though the unmodified river probably changed course regularly after floods, it now enters the Wash after passing through the port of King's Lynn, south of its earliest-recorded route to the sea.
The mute swan is a species of swan and a member of the waterfowl family Anatidae. It is native to much of Eurasia, and the far north of Africa. It is an introduced species in North America - home to the largest populations outside of its native range - with additional smaller introductions in Australasia and southern Africa. The name 'mute' derives from it being less vocal than other swan species. Measuring 125 to 170 cm in length, this large swan is wholly white in plumage with an orange beak bordered with black. It is recognisable by its pronounced knob atop the beak, which is larger in males.
The wigeons or widgeons are a group of birds, dabbling ducks currently classified in the genus Mareca along with two other species. There are three extant species of wigeon, in addition to one recently extinct species.
There is access from Station Road.
