Good morning. I will be away from a week from tomorrow so before I go, here are some recent sightings from last couple of days. On Friday, three redshanks and a black tailed godwit were showing well from Joist Fen viewpoint. Warden Katherine went down the reserve and saw a great white egret near Joist Fen viewpoint. She also saw a stoat and found some otter spraint in the same area.
Yesterday morning, a great crested grebe was showing well on the river and a common snipe flew over the washland. A kingfisher was feeding near the reserve entrance and as I walked along the riverbank, I disturbed a roe deer which crashed off into the vegetation in front of me.
When I got back to the visitor centre, a kingfisher was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond which was nice to see. A small flock of siskins were also feeding in the alders behind the visitor centre.
There was plenty to see from the Washland viewpoint late morning including:
I went down to the far end of the reserve in the afternoon so here are some pictures of this rarely photographed part of the reserve at this time of year:
White I was down there, I saw four great white egrets in flight and a sparrowhawk. Meanwhile, closer to Joist Fen viewpoint, at least one hen harrier was seen (an adult male) The other individual was a probable ringtail (an adult female or a juvenile) Just as we were leaving last night, a barn owl was screeching near the visitor centre in the darkness which was a lovely end to the day.
This morning, there were around 100 whooper swans in front of the Washland viewpoint which were lovely to see and here. At least three redshanks were also present. I took a walk around Brandon Fen which as you can see, was really rather frosty in places:
Image credits: David White
I saw three roe deer near the car park and a small group of redwings were feeding nearby.
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that the riverbank Public Footpath is now muddy in places. The rest of the reserve paths are fine.
We hope to see you soon!