Good morning! The unpredictable weather has certainly kept us on our toes for the last couple of days. There was plenty to see from Joist Fen viewpoint on Friday including a bittern and at least four bearded tits. A stoat was seen along the hard track and garden slugs were conspicuous in the damp conditions.
Yesterday morning, I went bug hunting with the Lakenheath Fen Kingfishers Wildlife Explorers club. We found plenty of interesting creepy crawlies including a common green grasshopper, a Roesel's bush cricket and lots of red soldier beetles. We also heard a greenshank calling on the washland while we were up on the mound by the visitor centre.
I went for a quick walk around Brandon Fen at lunchtime and I saw my first painted lady butterfly of the year on the riverbank. There were also lots of peacock butterflies and large skippers on the wing. My personal highlight was a gigantic garden snail that I found on the way up to the riverbank. Here is a photo of one that I took in a similar area last year:
Image credit: David White
There was plenty to see from Mere Hide throughout the day and at least four bearded tits were showing from the boardwalk on the approach to the hide. A kingfisher was seen several times and a water rail was skulking at the edge of the pool. Most visitors' highlight of the day though came when a bittern flew right in front of the hide before disappearing off towards Joist Fen viewpoint.
Meanwhile, down at Joist Fen viewpoint, a barn owl was seen several times and at least two cranes were seen in flight over the course of the day. There were also at least six marsh harriers hunting in front of the viewpoint along with two hobbys.
Elsewhere on the reserve, a hobby was perched in West Wood and at least four common lizards were basking alongside East Wood. A juvenile grass snake was nearby along with a small copper butterfly. We also had a great view of a kestrel hovering behind the visitor centre.
This morning, a couple pointed out this moth resting on the viper's bugloss in front of the visitor centre:
Image credits: David White
As yet, I haven't managed to identify it but when I do, I will comment below which species it is! We hope to see you soon.
The mystery moth is a dusky sallow. Many thanks to Jeff Higgott who identified it for us via the RSPB Suffolk Facebook page!