Good morning. It’s a lovely sunny morning so here are some more recent sightings. As it is a nice day, hopefully the local hobbys will be performing like they were when these pictures were taken on Thursday 12 May:
Image credits: Phil Hacker
Thank you very much to Phil for sharing these great images with us.
I will start off where I left off on Friday. A short eared owl was seen north of the river and two common buzzards were circling over the visitor centre. Three bitterns were seen display flying from Joist Fen viewpoint and a single crane was seen in flight.
As the day went on, at least 17 hobbys were hunting over the far end of the reserve. There were also plenty of dragonflies and damselflies on the wing. This included our first records of the year of banded demoiselle and scarce chaser.
I went for a walk before work yesterday morning and I saw a cuckoo in Brandon Fen. A male marsh harrier was hunting over the washland and two tatty drake garganeys were dabbling in the pool north of East Wood. As I walked towards New Fen viewpoint, I spotted a glow worm larvae in the vegetation alongside the path.
As the day went on, a single crane was showing well from Joist Fen viewpoint along with a water rail. There were at least 12 hobbys hunting overhead and closer to the visitor centre, a female garganey was seen in flight from the river into New Fen North.
In the afternoon, some very bizarre bittern activity was reported from New Fen viewpoint: Two birds were having a bit of a squabble in front of the viewpoint and then they took flight. Suddenly, the higher bird of the two defecated on the other one. Disgusting! I have never heard of this behaviour below and to be honest, I feel bad for the bird on the receiving end of this “unexpected” surprise!
I walked down to Joist Fen viewpoint before work this morning and there were cuckoos everywhere! I saw at least five different birds. Two bearded tits were showing well just east of Joist Fen viewpoint and two marsh harriers performed a food pass near Mere Hide.
As I walked back towards the visitor centre, a bittern flew over my head (and thankfully for me didn’t defecate at that particular moment!) and it landed just east of Joist Fen viewpoint. There were also garden warblers singing in Trial Wood and East Wood.
Just before I go, I just have space to say that the pair of great tits in our nestbox with a camera in it now have at least four chicks! They can currently be viewed from the comfort of the visitor centre.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!