Good morning. Now that our Race for Wildlife is over for another year, things are starting to get back to some semblance of normality on the reserve! Although it is a relatively quiet time of year on the reserve, here are some sightings from the last week:
Last Thursday, Warden Emma and volunteer Darren saw five great white egrets near Joist Fen viewpoint. They also saw a bittern in the same area. Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, Warden Katherine saw a hobby over the fen pools which is a late record for here.
On Saturday, three great white egrets were seen near Joist Fen viewpoint. A bittern was also seen in flight over the far end of the reserve.
Emma and I were in before it got light on Sunday morning in order to start setting up for the Race for Wildlife. A muntjac deer was skulking at the edge of the entrance track as we drove in.
I walked around the 5k route just to check all of the signs were still in place shortly after first light. On the way round, I saw a barn owl hunting near Joist Fen viewpoint and a female sparrowhawk over New Fen North, the first area of reedbed.
Unfortunately, by the time the race started at 11am, it had been raining for some time. I back-marked the 10k and despite the soggy conditions, I saw at least two great white egrets in flight on the way round.
On Tuesday, Katherine saw a great white egret feeding in New Fen North triangle. This is the area of reedbed on the north side of the main track between Mere Hide and Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was really rather foggy when I got here this morning and here is the "view" across the visitor centre pond:
By the time Suzanne had a walk around Brandon Fen, it had brightened up slightly. She saw a muntjac deer and heard a goldcrest calling in front of the visitor centre.
This was the view over the visitor centre pond shortly after we opened up:
..And for the sake of completeness, here is the view over the visitor centre pond mid-morning:
Image credits: David White
A redshank was calling on the washland and several bearded tits have been seen near Joist Fen viewpoint. A skylark and a linnet have also flown over the visitor centre over the course of the morning.
We hope to see you soon.