Hello there. We have had some very changeable weather over the last couple of days so here are some recent sightings.
Although the weather did improve after a wet morning on Saturday, there were still some threatening looking clouds around:
There was also a great diving beetle hunting in the pond bed outside the visitor centre:
A family did some pond dipping and unearthed this strange looking beast from the pond:
It’s a rat tailed maggot, which is the larvae of a drone fly. This is the first time that we have ever found this bizarre looking creature on the reserve.
Our grazier went down to the far end of the reserve in the afternoon and saw all seven cranes. The four flew off north of the river and the three (the pair with a chick) skedaddled off into cover.
I walked around Brandon Fen before work on Sunday morning and there was plenty to see over the washland. This included a male marsh harrier and two oystercatchers. I also saw a red kite over the visitor centre, which was my first RSPB Lakenheath Fen red kite of the year!
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, six juvenile bearded tits were seen from New Fen viewpoint, three males and three females. A bittern was also seen from the viewpoint and three hobbys were hunting in front of the Washland viewpoint.
As the day went on, volunteer Roger saw a great white egret in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. Several lucky visitors saw an otter with a cub from Joist Fen viewpoint during the afternoon.
I walked around the reserve this morning and the morning sun was shining over the washland:
Image credits: David White
I saw four common terns over the washland and a bittern also flew east over the large pool. A chiffchaff was singing in the big willow near the visitor centre and there were several species of butterflies on the wing. This included several meadow browns, a gatekeeper and an Essex skipper.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon.