Good afternoon. We have had some frosty weather this week so without further ado, here are some more recent sightings:
On Sunday, volunteer Pete saw a short eared owl hunting north of the river near Joist Fen viewpoint and also a stonechat near Mere Hide.
He then led the Talon Spotting guided walk and saw the following from Joist Fen viewpoint:
I was in early on Monday morning and I could hear a tawny owl singing in Brandon Fen. As the day went on, a great white egret and five redshanks were showing well from the Washland viewpoint. Suzanne went for a walk around Brandon Fen at lunchtime. She saw a treecreeper and a goldcrest around the trail.
In the afternoon, volunteer Mark saw the leucistic wren in New Fen North. He also saw 12 bearded tits and a kingfisher alongside the interior path of the reedbed.
On Tuesday, Simon was ringing in Brandon Fen and while he was out and about, he saw 146 lapwings over the washland along with a grey heron.
There were again plenty of eyes down at Joist Fen viewpoint in the afternoon and between several observers, the following was seen from or near Joist Fen viewpoint:
I got in early yesterday morning and took some photos of the sun rising:
There were 10 Bewick's swans in front of the Washland viewpoint at first light and they all flew west along the river at 07.50. A water pipit was also calling at the edge of the washland pool north of East Wood.
As the day went on, there were three probable Caspian gulls in front of the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime and three roe deer were grazing at the edge of the entrance track. A merlin was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint during the afternoon and four cranes were reported in flight north of the river close to Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was a bit of a dull start to the day today so I though I would re-post a photo that I took on the reserve exactly a year ago today, just to compare it with the above images:
Image credits: David White
A barn owl was hunting near the Washland viewpoint and a goldcrest was feeding near New Fen viewpoint. A treecreeper was calling in East Wood behind New Fen viewpoint and when I got back to the visitor centre, a water rail was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond.
As the day has gone on, good numbers of bearded tits have been feeding near Joist Fen viewpoint. At one point, they were ambushed by a sparrowhawk. Fortunately for the "beardies", they all managed to scatter just in time! A cheeky stoat has also been entertaining visitors along the track north of East Wood this afternoon which is nice to see.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!