Good morning. After we said a very fond farewell to Warden Alan Kell whose last day it was on Friday, it is now time for my last blog post before Christmas.
Dave and I had a meeting down the reserve on Friday and we saw four whooper swans on the pool just west of Joist Fen viewpoint. There were at least six marsh harriers hunting over the far end of the reserve and on the way back through the reserve, two common buzzards flew out of Trial Wood.
It was really rather cold yesterday morning and there were at least 95 whooper swans on the washland shortly after I arrived.
I walked around Brandon Fen at lunchtime at took some photographs in the winter sunshine:
Image credits: David White
While I was walking around, I heard a blue tit singing and saw a stonechat perched up which was nice. Two roe deer were also grazing alongside the entrance track.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, three bittern flights were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a small flock of bearded tits were feeding between New Fen viewpoint and Mere Hide.
In the afternoon, a kingfisher was fishing in the river and a common buzzard flew over the washland. A male sparrowhawk also made a dash across the visitor centre pond in hot pursuit of an unfortunate prey item.
It was really rather foggy when I got here this morning. However, I could just about make out a couple of hundred whooper swans on the washland that were making quite a racket!
Please note that there are still cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint. This path is also very muddy so wellies are currently recommended.
If you are planning to visit the reserve over the festive period, our opening times can be found here. Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas from the team here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen.