Hepatic morph Cuckoo at Elney Lake
It was an exciting month at the reserve with the finding of two rarities; a Red-footed Falcon which spent nearly a week around Elney Lake and a Black-winged Stilt briefly on Moore Lake. The falcon drew in quite large numbers of visitors to enjoy it. It favoured poplars around the Elney car park and would sit there in the wind and rain we've experienced this spring and sit it out until the weather improved when it would be a bit harder to pin down whilst flying around. Elsewhere, wader passage peaked with a good count of 5 Grey Plovers, 2 Knots and 4 Bar-tailed Godwits. Some large counts of hirundines and swifts were had, a welcome sight after a largely poor spring for these species. Sightings of note during the month were as follows:
Henry Cook Assistant Warden – Fen Drayton Lakes