Well, sadly, that is May over for another year! The last day of the month, Wednesday 31 May, was also the last time that the marsh warbler was seen and heard. Unless it has moved to another part of the reserve, it may have gone which is a shame.
I will begin this morning by sharing some images that were taken on the reserve on Sunday:
Barn owl:
Bittern:
Image credits: John Gamble
Thank you very much to John for sharing these great images with us.
Suzanne and I did our latest Common Bird Census (CBC) around Brandon Fen early yesterday morning. As usual, there were plenty of common birds singing. We also saw a barn owl hunting over the river and a roe deer at the edge of the grazing marsh.
The reserve team did a bittern survey yesterday morning. The highlight came when volunteer Darren spotted a single crane flying east along the river.
As the day went on, at least six hobbys were feeding over Joist Fen viewpoint. A pair of lapwings were seen mobbing a marsh harrier over New Fen North (the first area of reedbed) and a kingfisher was feeding in front of New Fen viewpoint. Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, a smart brimstone butterfly was feeding at the edge of the lawn.
There was plenty of barn owl activity this morning. At one point, there were at least three hunting in front of the Washland viewpoint. Two oystercatchers and a redshank were also showing from the viewpoint. I walked east along the riverbank from the viewpoint and I photographed some of the dog rose that is currently flowering at the edge of the Public Footpath:
Image credit: David White
A mistle thrush was feeding in the open area in Brandon Fen and a marsh tit was also calling in the poplars. The latter species has been very elusive here this year so it's nice to know that there is still at least one around.
There were plenty of smart banded demoiselles feeding along the riverbank near Wilton Bridge. when I got back to the visitor centre, I was treated to excellent views of a garden warbler singing out in the open in the alders behind thew visitor centre.
If you are planing to visit the reserve, please note that there are currently cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint.
We hope to see you soon!