Good afternoon. It has all been a bit mad here recently with Sunday's Race for Wildlife. However, there is still plenty to see and I some pictures that were taken from and around Mere Hide at the end of last week:
Some lovely shots of kingfishers:
A female reed bunting:
A long tailed tit:
Image credits: David Kenwright
Thank you very much to David for sharing these great images with us.
We were treating to an incredible sight from the visitor centre window on Saturday: A bittern and a kingfisher in the same camera lens view at the edge of the visitor centre pond! Hopefully, some photos will follow soon!
I got in early on Sunday morning and saw a little owl on the entrance track as I drove in. A kingfisher spent most of the day fishing in the visitor centre pond and another was seen from New Fen viewpoint. There was also a large raptor soaring high over the visitor centre which was most likely to be a red kite.
The kingfisher was again present on the visitor centre pond yesterday morning. Local photographer Matt Walton was also here early and photographed an otter fishing in the river. He also saw good numbers of redwings. Images of both species will follow in Friday's blog post!
Local birdwatcher and bird ringer Lee Gregory spent some time up at the Washland viewpoint and saw a female or first winter garganey. He also saw 107 mute swans, 94 wigeons and 10 little grebes. A pair of stonechats was also nearby. The female was colour ringed, so hopefully we will be able to fund out where it has come from.
It has been a bit stormy here today but the sun is shining at the moment. The great white egret was present on the Washland along with several little egrets.
Please note that due to recent anti-social behaviour, we will be closing the roadside barrier overnight for the next week or so. It will close at 6pm each evening and open again at 8am each morning. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused.
A more comprehensive blog post will follow on Friday but until then, have a good week and we hope to see you soon!