Good afternoon. As yesterday's blog post was quite birdy, today's is going to include a bit more variety:
Dave, Suzanne, John and I went down the reserve after work last night to look for the marsh warbler. Just before we arrived at the spot on the riverbank just west of Joist Fen viewpoint, a short eared owl was hunting over the riverbank near Joist Fen viewpoint. We did see the marsh warbler (eventually!) Dave did take some pictures of it, but as the bird was very mobile, here is his best effort:
Image credit: Dave Rogers
Suzanne and I were in early to do our latest Common Bird Census (CBC) around Brandon Fen this morning. We heard a lot of blackcaps singing and we had spectacular views of a garden warbler that was singing in the alders at the edge of the visitor centre pond.
We bumped into local bird ringer Simon who was in the middle of his latest Constant Effort Site (CES) session. He had some exciting news, as he had seen a probable adult roseate tern flying overhead. Although he heard it call, he didn't have his binoculars so he couldn't 100% confirm it unfortunately.
We made a brief stop at the Washland viewpoint and we were pleasantly surprised to see the glossy ibis feeding in front of the viewpoint. Sadly, it didn't stick around for long through as it flew west along the river shortly afterwards. We also saw several insects in the morning sun. This included a red- and- black froghopper and a smart male common blue damselfly.
When we got back to the visitor centre, a visitor reported that the marsh warbler was still present and was showing well. A spoonbill apparently also flew east along the river before landing briefly in front of the Washland viewpoint.
Emma and Alan put the moth trap out last night and here are some of the moths that were in the trap this morning:
Ruby tiger:
Treble lines:
White ermine:
A jay was hopping around on the visitor centre lawn mid-morning and a grey heron was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond.
I went for a short walk with my camera at lunchtime and took a couple of pictures:
Spider sp.:
Soldier beetle:
Image credits: David White
If you are planning to visit the reserve, here is just a reminder that there are currently cattle grazing on the Public Footpath.
We hope to see you soon!