Good morning. I will begin this morning with some great images that were taken on the reserve last Friday morning, courtesy of Ron Smith:
Bearded tits:
Muntjac deer:
Barn owl:
Cranes:
Kingfisher:
Roe deer:
Image credits: Ron Smith
Thank you very much Ron for sharing these great images with us.
I will now start off where I left off with some sightings from Sunday afternoon onwards:
Three cranes flew over Joist Fen viewpoint before landing north of the river. A kingfisher was fishing at the edge of the visitor centre pond and a willlow warbler was calling near the visitor centre.
On Monday, volunteer Paul spent some time looking over the washland and saw:
Meanwhile, Site Manager Dave took his new boss Chris for a tour around the reserve. While they were out and about, they saw some cranes:
The pair that we imaginatively know as "the breeding pair" along with their newly fledged chick (which fledged on Friday 4 July):
The three "associated hangers" on from previous years:
Image credits: Dave Rogers
So all in all, Chris had a good trip around the reserve. Not only was he one of the first people to see "the breeding pair's" chick from this year fly, he also saw three "extra" birds! These extra birds are thought to be either the three young that fledged on the reserve in 2015 or 2016 respectively.
On Tuesday, Suzanne saw a common buzzard along the entrance track and a kingfisher at the edge of the visitor centre pond. She also saw a green woodpecker in Brandon Fen.
Yesterday, a kingfisher was showing well at the edge of the visitor centre pond and Suzanne saw a family of treecreepers in Brandon Fen. Dave and John also saw a family of barn owls near Joist Fen viewpoint.
I had a walk around the reserve before work and I saw a family of stonechats just west of the Washland viewpoint. A male marsh harrier was hunting over the washland and there were plenty of gatekeeper butterflies on the wing.
Local birder Steve found at least one juvenile nightingale feeding in the car park shortly before we opened. This is a great record, as this species has unfortunately been scarce on the reserve this year.
If you are planing to visit the reserve, please note that there are still cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint.
We hope to see you soon!