Good morning. It has been an interesting weekend so far but I will start with a couple of sightings from Friday. Two cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and there was plenty going on from Mere Hide. Two water rails were skulking around at the edge of the pool and a kingfisher whizzed past. Bearded tits have also been showing well and here is a photo from regular visitor Matt Walton from last weekend:
Image credit: Matt Walton
Yesterday, I was kept entertained by Roger Bacon, one of our volunteers who was working on our Brecks plant bed outside the visitor centre, which is now taking shape:
Image credit: David White
There was plenty of wader activity during my morning walk. Two noisy oystercatchers flew over Brandon Fen and there were five lapwings whooping over the washland in their bizarre display flight. Two common curlews also flew over the visitor centre, bubbling away as they went.
Although the breeze was chilly, we eventually saw a barn owl during our barn owl bonanza event yesterday evening. It was hunting over the washland at around 5.45pm. We also heard a great spotted woodpecker drumming in East Wood and saw a red kite circling distantly over Brandon Fen.
Elsewhere on the reserve, two cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a treecreeper was creeping around (see what I did there?!) in West wood. We also had our first possible sighting of a sand martin of the year. It was first seen over the washland and then over New Fen North. Unfortunately, both views were too brief to confirm identification. I am sure they will be along shortly though!
I went for my usual walk around Brandon Fen this morning and spotted a great black backed gull looking menacing on the washland. There were also two mute swans displaying and mating in front of the Washland viewpoint. It was fantastic to watch them making an elegant heart shape right in front of my eyes. Although I didn't get a photo of that pair, here is a lovely photo of a pair that I took in February:
There was also a single daffodil in flower nearby, just to add to the spring like feel:
If you are planning to visit today, there are still plenty of spaces available on our barn owl bonanza event this afternoon. If you would like to book places, please ring the reserve office on 01842 863400. We hope to see you soon!