Good morning. There has been plenty to see on the reserve over the last couple of days so here are some recent sightings for you:
On Friday. there were several interesting records entered into our visitor centre log book. Here they are in the order that they were written:
Thank you very much for sharing these records with us.
Yesterday morning, volunteer John went up to the Washland viewpoint and counted:
I went up to the same viewpoint mid-afternoon and added:
There was plenty going on yesterday afternoon and I saw two female merlins flying south over New Fen North. It looked like they were on migration as they certainly didn't hang around! I also saw a peregrine over Trial Wood.
Meanwhile, down the far end of the reserve, at least three great white egrets were seen and a bittern flew over. Six whooper swans also flew east along the river, calling as they went.
There were also plenty of harriers around. This included at least six marsh harriers and one male hen harrier. This is our first record of a hen harrier this year so hopefully, this ghostly bird will stick around.
I walked around Brandon Fen before work this morning and saw at least 25 redwings. A flock of at least a dozen siskins were also flying around.
As you can see, the trail is now looking rather autumnal:
As I walked along the riverbank towards the Washland viewpoint, I took a few more pictures:
Image credits: David White
I could see some whooper swans feeding on the large pool and although 13 flew off, 17 of these elegant birds were still present by the time that I got to the viewpoint. A great white egret flew west along the river, spooking three redshanks in the process!
As I was opening up the visitor centre, a kingfisher flew across the visitor centre pond which was lovely to see. Shortly after we opened up the visitor centre, volunteer Paul saw two little grebes on the river and a stoat was seen briefly on the visitor centre lawn.
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint is currently muddy in places. We recommend that you wear at least walking boots if you are planning to use this path at present.
We hope to see you soon!