Good morning! Friday turned out to be a lovely day and there was plenty to see. Two water rails kept making furtive forays out into the open behind the visitor centre and bitterns kept popping up in various places on the reserve. At one point, one was skulking around right in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. There were plenty of raptors around later on in the day with five hen harriers over Joist Fen at one point. This included three males and two "ringtails". The two cranes were also seen several times over the course of the afternoon.
It was a lovely day yesterday and there was plenty going on. The two cranes were seen several times from Joist Fen viewpoint and at least three individual bitterns were seen, both from New Fen and Joist Fen viewpoints. Two kingfishers were seen at the far end of the reserve along with a treecreeper and a lone whooper swan.
I went for a walk in the afternoon and the cloud formations over Brandon Fen were just breathtaking:
Image credit: David White
There was a lovely group of lesser redpolls in the big willow near the visitor centre, including several males that were almost in their eye catching breeding plumage. A marsh tit and a song thrush were also nearby and a bullfinch flew across the visitor centre pond. The latter species is surprisingly scarce here so let's hope it sticks around!
As the day went on, more and more people headed down to Joist Fen viewpoint to watch the raptor roost. They were not disappointed with views of at least 12 marsh harriers and four hen harriers (one male and three "ringtails". The juvenile peregrine was being mobbed by some carrion crows and a barn owl was hunting over the riverbank. Several people were rewarded on the way back with fantastic views of at least six bearded tits between Joist Fen viewpoint and Mere Hide.
It was a lovely frosty morning this morning and the rising sun made the sky look just wonderful:
I walked a long the riverbank (which is frozen but still very muddy by the way) and had great views of 10 whooper swans on the washland. This included eight adults and two juveniles. They kept me entertained with their loud "whooping" before they flew off towards the Ouse Washes. When I got to New Fen viewpoint, I counted six marsh harriers were hunting over the reedbed.
I have to admit, opening up the visitor centre was a struggle as the back shutters were frozen solid! While I was trying to get them open though, a water rail swam across the visitor centre pond and a brambling was calling near the bird feeders. Its another lovely day so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!
Thank you very much Clare. It makes getting up early on freezing cold mornings like this worth the effort!