Good afternoon. I’ve got a lot to get through so without further ado, I will begin. We had an astronomy event on Wednesday evening and just after darkness fell, a stone curlew flew over the visitor centre, calling as it went. It is good to know that these charismatic birds of the nearby Brecks are starting to return for the summer.
I came in to help with the work party on Thursday and before I got stuck in, I took a walk around Brandon Fen. A great white egret was on the washland and a female marsh harrier was hunting over Brandon Fen. A lapwing was also displaying south of the railway line, which was lovely to see.
I was working between the visitor centre and the Washland viewpoint and while I was raking up vegetation, two skylarks and a yellowhammer flew over. Three buzzards were also circling overhead at one point.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, four cranes were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint and several bitterns were seen from New Fen viewpoint. A female sparrowhawk was also seen in the same area.
I went for a walk before work yesterday morning and a great white egret was showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint along with a great crested grebe. Two bearded tits were skulking near New Fen viewpoint and two unusual songs could be heard in East Wood. These were redwing and fieldfare, which we don’t tend to hear this far south very often.
A very obliging bittern was showing in front of New Fen viewpoint and I couldn’t resist sharing this sequence of this particularly showy individual:
Image credits: Martin Peake
Thank you very much to Martin for sharing these great pictures with us.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime and found a fine male pintail. A pair of great crested grebes were also displaying in the same area.
Katherine went for a walk around Brandon Fen when I returned. She saw a chiffchaff perched on the riverbank and a muntjac deer skulking around at the edge of the grazing marsh.
I saw nine roe deer grazing alongside the entrance track as I drove in this morning and when I opened the gate between the staff car park and the visitor centre, two red legged partridges took flight from the visitor centre lawn.
A great white egret was showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint and a fine male yellowhammer was perched up alongside the railway line. A green woodpecker was calling in East Wood and two marsh harriers were displaying over Mere Hide. As I walked back towards the visitor centre, a female sparrowhawk dashed low in front of me and two roe deer were skulking in East Wood.
As the morning has gone on, presumably the same bittern from yesterday was showing well in front of New Fen viewpoint and four cranes were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint. Another two flew over Brandon Fen while I was out and about with the Wildlife Explorer’s club, which was a pleasant surprise so close to the visitor centre.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!