Good afternoon. It has been pretty chilly here for the last couple of days but there has still been plenty to see nonetheless.
I will begin with a brief detour back to Tuesday, when Dave saw 23 whooper swans in one of the pools near Joist Fen viewpoint. Beginning where I left off on Wednesday, a water rail was seen from the visitor centre window and four cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was a chilly start to the day on Thursday but a barn owl was hunting over Brandon Fen first thing and I saw two water pipits from the Washland viewpoint. Meanwhile, further down the reserve, bearded tits were showing well at the southern edge of New Fen North, the first area of reedbed. Local photographer Matt Walton was lucky enough to take these photos of them:
Image credits: Matt Walton
Thank you very much to Matt for sharing these great pictures with us.
As the day went on, nine cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a Cetti’s warbler was showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint. There were also at least two great white egrets around, with one being seen from the Washland viewpoint and another from Joist Fen viewpoint.
A barn owl was being mobbed by a carrion crow behind the visitor centre during the afternoon and a short eared owl was reported from the Washland viewpoint. A peregrine was also seen from Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was again very chilly yesterday morning and a muntjac deer wandered across the entrance track in front of me as I drove in. There were treecreepers singing in all three poplar woods and a great spotted woodpecker was drumming in East Wood. A female sparrowhawk also dashed low over New Fen North, with an unidentified prey item in it’s talons. A kingfisher was showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint and later on in the day, a barn owl was hunting behind the visitor centre.
One of our regular visitors got here early this morning. He saw 24 whooper swans on the washland at first light and four cranes on the riverbank just west of Joist Fen viewpoint. He also saw a yellow legged gull and a great black backed gull over the viewpoints, which are both good records for here.
A group of around a dozen roe deer were grazing alongside the entrance track as I drove in this morning. A barn owl was hunting at close quarters over Brandon Fen and four shelducks were feeding in front of the Washland viewpoint. A great crested grebe in winter plumage was also feeding in the river just east of the viewpoint.
If you are planning to visit the reserve this week, please read Dave’s blog post from yesterday. There is currently reserve management work taking place near Joist Fen viewpoint. More details can be found here.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!