Good morning. Wow, it has been a bit breezy this week hasn’t it?!

Although the conditions haven’t been ideal recently, there still have been a few things around. I walked around Brandon Fen on Saturday morning and flushed two red legged partridges near the visitor centre. Two buzzards were circling overhead and a female marsh harrier was hunting over the washland.

I stopped briefly at the Washland viewpoint and could hear a skylark singing in the distance. Two oystercatchers and a redshank were also present.

We had a very enjoyable morning building and painting nestboxes with the reserve Wildlife Explorer’s children’s club. Here are some pictures of some of their colourful creations:

Image credits: David White

Thank you very much to Warden Emma for giving up her Saturday morning to help us with this event. The nestboxes will be put up around the Brandon Fen family trail during the next couple of weeks so look out for them!

Fast-forward to Tuesday, and a Muntjac deer was feeding alongside the entrance track when I drove in. Despite the rain, there was plenty to see from the visitor centre window. A male siskin and a marsh tit were making regular visits to the feeders. A common snipe was skulking at the edge of the pool and a cormorant made a brief appearance in the pool. I don’t recall ever seeing one feeding there in the 10 years that I have been working here so it was a bit of a surprise!

Staying on the theme of the visitor centre pond, we were treated to a visit by an exotic species yesterday: A male Australian shoveler! It was obviously an escapee and may well have been the individual that has been present at nearby Brandon Country Park recently. Two red legged partridges were also seen wandering around on the visitor centre decking over the course of the day.

I went up to the Washland viewpoint before work this morning and counted at least 40 teals sheltering from the wind. An oystercatcher, a redshank and a lapwing were also present.

I took a walk around Brandon Fen and two buzzards were circling overhead. A green woodpecker was also calling in the same area.

If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note take care in the windy conditions. We would recommend ringing the reserve office on 01842 863400 prior to your visit, just to check that all of the reserve trails are open. The path alongside West Wood is also very wet. You will need wellies if you are planning to use this path at present. All of the other reserve trails are fine.

Also, you may be interested to hear that there are still a few places left on our Ghosts of the Fens barn owl walk on Sunday 17 March, 4pm-6.30pm. The weather forecast is looking a lot better for seeing our ghostly friends on Sunday so if you would like to come along, please click here to find out how to book your place.

We hope to see you soon!