Good afternoon. It has finally warmed up a bit so here are some more recent sightings:
I will begin with some lovely pictures of bearded tits that were taken on the reserve last Tuesday (24 January):
Image credits: Christine Nelson
Thank you very much to Christine for sharing these images with us.
On Friday afternoon, a coal tit was singing in front of the visitor centre which was nice to hear.
On Saturday morning, Emma saw a great spotted woodpecker in East Wood. She also saw a red kite over the visitor centre.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, volunteer saw a great white egret feeding on the washland north of New Fen North, the first area of reedbed. He saw three cranes in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint and five white fronted geese that flew west along the river. He also saw at least six bearded tits between Mere Hide and Joist Fen viewpoint.
On Monday, Suzanne saw two bearded tits and two stonechats in Brandon Fen. She also saw three goldcrests at the edge of the car park, which is a good record for here. There were two teals feeding in front of the Washland viewpoint and a sparrowhawk also flew over the viewpoint.
Yesterday, Warden Alan saw three cranes from Joist Fen viewpoint and volunteer Paul saw a male hen harrier in the same area. There was also some excitement when volunteer Nigel found two male pintails in front of the Washland viewpoint. As they are such smart birds, I couldn't resist posting a photo of a male from the RSPB's image library:
Image credit: Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)
I returned to work today after a couple of days off "down south." A woodcock flew up from the entrance track as I drove in to the reserve. Shortly after I left the visitor centre for my morning walk, I spotted a barn owl perched up near the pond dipping platform which was a great start to the day. When I got up to the Washland viewpoint, I saw the following:
I took a walk around Brandon Fen and I saw a water pipit on the bend in the river. There were also two rival song thrushes singing from nearby perches which was lovely to hear. It reminded me that spring is definitely on its way. just before I got back to the car park, four roe deer scampered past me and dived into cover which were nice to see.
As the day has gone on, three cranes have been seen from Joist Fen viewpoint along with two bitterns. A water rail has also been skulking at the edge of the visitor centre pond for most of the day.
I am pleased to report that we are no longer shutting the roadside barrier overnight so you are more than welcome to get here as early as you want and/ or stay as late as you want! We will keep you posted about this situation through just in case we have to start shutting it again though.
Just before I go, I just about have space to plug our "Winter Long Walk" which will take place on Sunday 5 February 9.30am-3pm. This is a 10 kilometre (roughly) circular guided walk around as much of the reserve as possible, including parts of the reserve that aren't usually open to the public. We currently have space for up to 10 more participants so if you are interested in coming along, please follow this link to find out how to book your place.
We hope to see you soon!