Good morning. I will start off where I left off on Thursday with some recent sightings. Emma saw a sparrowhawk from Joist Fen viewpoint and ex-Site Manager Norman saw a selection of egrets on the washland pool north of East Wood. This included the great white egret and 10 little egrets.
Volunteer John Ingham also took this picture of the great white egret:
Image credit: John Ingham
Thank you very much to John for sharing this picture with us.
Suzanne also caught a glimpse of an otter from the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime.
It was really rather wet on Friday morning but I persevered and went for a walk around Brandon Fen before work. As I walked past the car park, I could hear some “wild swans” calling on the washland. They sounded like Bewick’s swans, but unfortunately, by the time I got to the Washland viewpoint, they had gone. However, I did see the great white egret and a kingfisher from the viewpoint, so it was worth getting wet after all!
As the day went on, two short eared owls were seen on the washland, so it’s good to know that they are still around.
Yesterday was a special day as it was 20 years since the first sod was dug to begin the creation of the reserve. In order to celebrate this, we had a special 10 kilometre “Long Walk” around the reserve. We saw two stonechats near Mere Hide and heard some bearded tits just west of Joist Fen viewpoint. A corn bunting flew south overhead and possibly a second great white egret flew east along the river.
We stopped at Joist Fen viewpoint and it was lovely in the sunshine:
Image credit: David White
We saw a roe deer from the riverbank near the viewpoint and shortly after the walk; a barn owl was seen from the Washland viewpoint. There was one last surprise when a bittern flew over the visitor centre just before we locked up.
It was really rather misty this morning for my morning walk so here are a few pictures of the reserve:
There was also a good selection of fungi to be found. Here is my favourite picture from this morning:
Image credits: David White
A kingfisher was calling near the Washland viewpoint and a grey wagtail flew over. There were at least nine little egrets on the washland north of East Wood along with a green sandpiper. A golden plover flew over New Fen North, calling as it went and a roe deer was skulking near the visitor centre.
Once the mist lifted, a kingfisher flew across the visitor centre pond and the great white egret was seen from the Washland viewpoint. Three stonechats were also seen from the same area.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!