Good morning. As promised from my blog post on Tuesday, here are the pictures that were taken on the reserve on Monday:
A redwing:
An otter showing how long it is:
Image credits: Matt Walton
Thank you very much to Matt for sharing these pictures with us.
Suzanne and John were lucky enough to spot a grey wagtail on the veranda behind the visitor centre on Wednesday. We don't see these charming little birds very often on the reserve, so let's hope it comes back again soon!
Our meeting yesterday morning was delayed which gave me a chance to have a sneaky peak up at the Washland. From the Washland viewpoint I saw at least 46 wigeons and 12 whooper swans. The whooper swans were "whooping" quietly and it was just lovely to see them for the first time this autumn/ winter period.
The local kingfishers were showing well throughout the day yesterday with sightings from both New Fen viewpoint and Mere Hide. There was also a large flock of redwings roaming between Brandon Fen and the poplars in the staff car park.
We went down to the west end of the reserve yesterday evening and there were at least 10 marsh harriers hunting over the west end of the reserve. This included at least eight females and two males.
My luck was definitely in when a female merlin tore across the sky right in front of me before disappearing beyond the west end of the reserve. Again, this was my first "speedy wizard" (or merlin) of this autumn/ period so it was great to see it.
It wasn't all about birds of prey though. Katherine saw two late swallows fly over Joist Fen viewpoint and I saw two fieldfares fly south. Good numbers of meadow pipits were also trickling through, calling as they went.
If you are planning to visit this weekend, the weather isn't looking too bad at all. Please note that due to recent anti-social behaviour, the roadside barrier will open at 8am at the latest at will close at 6pm. We hope to see you soon!