Good morning! The last couple of days have been just great here! I last blogged on Monday morning and shortly after I finished my post, a common lizard was showing near the visitor centre and several large red damselflies were on the wing.
A “spare” pair of cranes were on the riverbank north of New Fen North and an orange tip butterfly was on the wing near the Washland viewpoint.
It was also a fantastic day for birds of prey. There were at least 25 hobbys hunting in front of Joist Fen viewpoint and an osprey flew north, after spending some time fishing on the washland.
There were several early birders around on Tuesday and Jim Palfrey took these fantastic photographs of a bittern from Mere Hide:
Image credits: Jim Palfrey
While we are on the subject of photographs, David Capps, one of our regular visitors found this cracking male whinchat on the riverbank at the edge of East Wood:
Image credits: David Capps
Thank you very much to Jim and David for sharing these wonderful images with us.
I came down for a walk in the evening and although I didn't see the whinchat, I did see a lovely barn owl over New Fen North and a whimbrel flew west along the river.
It was a bit dull on Wednesday morning but I still managed to get a great view of a garden warbler singing in a bush alongside the railway line. A cuckoo also flew from East Wood to Trial Wood.
The whinchat reappeared on the washland north of New Fen North in the afternoon and we (eventually) all got to see it. A sand martin also flew over which was nice to see.
I came down yesterday evening for a walk and a yellow wagtail flew east along the river. There were at least nine hobbys over Joist Fen viewpoint along with at least 50 swifts. Another yellow wagtail flew over and there were also several sand martins fizzing around overhead.
It was a lovely morning this morning and I saw a female sparrowhawk flying into West Wood and a Cetti’s warbler was out in the open alongside the wood. A signing garden warbler was out in the open near the visitor centre and there were two drake garganeys on the washland.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!