Good morning. There has been a definite spring like feel over the last couple of days so here are some recent sightings from Monday lunchtime onwards:
Our regional director e-mailed us mid-morning to say that he was 99% sure that he had just seen a great grey shrike near the reserve entrance as he passed the reserve on the train. Several of us went looking for it but didn't see it unfortunately. I did see a drake pochard on the river near Wilton Bridge while I was out looking which was a new bird for me on the reserve this year though! Meanwhile, further down the reserve, 11 white fronted geese were seen on the river near Joist Fen viewpoint.
Several of us went down to New Fen viewpoint after work on Wednesday and it was such a gorgeous evening. I took a few photos which I hope you like:
Image credits: David White
We saw a bittern in flight and a barn owl was hunting along the riverbank. A pipistrelle bat was also feeding in front of the viewpoint at dusk which was nice to see.
On my morning walk yesterday morning, I saw a barn owl hunting in front of the Washland viewpoint and two redshanks on the washland pool north of East Wood. I also saw a water pipit on my travels.
I had to drive down to Joist Fen viewpoint a couple of times yesterday morning (long story!) and I saw a couple of things of interest. A bittern was "grunting" in front of Joist Fen viewpoint and a presumably different bird flew over Mere Hide. Two common buzzards were also circling overhead in the sunshine.
We had a pleasant surprise at lunchtime when two cranes were circling over the visitor centre. They were both adults so we are not sure who they were as this is not typical behaviour from our resident birds.
It felt very spring like in the afternoon. A comma butterfly was seen near the visitor centre and another bat was feeding in front of New Fen viewpoint in broad daylight. Judging by the description of its behaviour, it sounded most likely to be a Daubenton's bat.
Towards the end of the day, four great white egrets were seen feeding north of the river and two cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint. At least 10 marsh harriers were also hunting in the late afternoon sunshine.
I got here early this morning so decided to walk down to Joist Fen viewpoint. As I walked along the riverbank a female barn owl was hunting over the bank ahead of me and a smart male stonechat was perched up nearby. A great white egret flew west along the river and two pairs of great crested grebes were feeding in the river.
I finally managed to get satisfactory views of the white fronted geese when 13 flew low over Joist Fen viewpoint. I was pleasantly surprised to hear a stone curlew calling as I walked past New Fen North. Although I didn't see it, it was fantastic to hear my first summer migrant of the year! In order to celebrate this, I have attached our "First summer migrants" list to this blog post to give you an idea when to expect certain key species. I hope you find it useful!
As I walked back through the reserve, I could hear a red legged partridge calling in the Fen pools near the visitor centre. It eventually flew across the railway line so that was another reserve year tick for me. Hooray!
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!