We have been following the barn owls as keenly as ever, especially as we know this is a poor year nationally. A couple of weeks ago I saw two young birds, but recently I have seen only one. It is possible we have missed the fledging of the oldest, but at 7.40pm on Saturday I saw the remaining bird fly from the box to a branch nearby. Was this its first flight?
The young marsh harriers continue to entertain us as they practice flying, receive food from the male, and steal it from each other. I often see the male hunting over the fields around the reserve, where he seems to be adept at catching young rabbits. The juveniles are particularly photogenic - see a nice series of images on the Bird Club website: http://cambsbirdclub.blogspot.co.uk/. The harrier watchers had an unexpected bonus at the weekend when a juvenile peregrine dropped in to harass them!
There are also some good photos of turtle doves, kingfishers, and the tufted duck family. I even managed to snap a few myself, of a dunlin and the Cape shelduck. Sadly a heron has developed a taste for tufted ducklings, and there was only one left the last time I looked.
It looks like spotted flycatchers have bred this year after several year's absence; an adult was seen feeding a juvenile near Spring Hide at the weekend.
Last week we opened up a shallow pool by Reedbed Hide, and we were soon rewarded with views of a family of water rails. And speaking of views - three otters were seen from Spring Hide at the weekend so close that the lucky photographer who was there couldn't fit all of them into his viewfinder!
Whatever is going to turn up next?