Good morning. We have had some changeable weather recently so here are some recent sightings from Thursday afternoon onwards:
On Thursday afternoon, a green sandpiper was seen from New Fen viewpoint and around half a dozen bramblings were seen in Brandon Fen. Meanwhile, further down the reserve, Site Manager Dave saw a bittern in flight over the far end of the reserve.
It was really rather chilly on Friday morning. A kestrel was hunting over the grazing marsh in Brandon Fen first thing and a stonechat was showing well from the Washland Viewpoint.
As the day went on, a grey wagtail was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond and a sparrowhawk flew over the visitor centre. Volunteer Gill saw a great white egret in flight from Joist Fen Viewpoint and several water pipits were seen from the Washland Viewpoint during the afternoon.
Yesterday morning, two grey wagtails flew over Brandon Fen early in the morning and a stonechat was feeding on the washland north of Brandon Fen. When I got back to the visitor centre, a sparrowhawk flew over the visitor centre pond. It was being pursued by a couple of carrion crows, which was rather entertaining to watch!
I went for a walk after lunch, just as the rain started. At least 32 lesser black backed gulls were present in front of the Washland Viewpoint. Rather surprisingly, at least one ruddy darter dragonfly was still on the wing on the sheltered side of East Wood.
In between showers, two common buzzards were soaring over Brandon Fen and a female siskin was on the feeders behind the visitor centre. A rather soggy green woodpecker also made an appearance on the visitor centre lawn.
Fortunately, the conditions were a lot calmer this morning in comparison to yesterday afternoon! After a lot of rain overnight last night, the water levels on pool in front of the Washland Viewpoint had increased significantly. Good numbers of lapwings were present and several duck species could be seen. These were mainly wigeons and teals, with a couple of mallards mixed in for good measure.
I took a couple of pictures of the river and as you will see from all of my pictures, the light conditions were rather challenging:
As I walked along the riverbank, a kingfisher flew across in front of me. At least six skylarks flew east overhead, calling as they went.
I stopped at New Fen Viewpoint and took a couple more pictures:
There were two very well camouflaged common snipe feeding in front of the viewpoint. A treecreeper was also feeding in East Wood behind the viewpoint while I was there.
When I got back to the visitor centre, I took one more picture, for the sake of completeness:
Image credits: David White
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland Viewpoint and Joist Fen Viewpoint is now muddy in places. We recommend that you wear walking boots if you are planning to use this path at present.
We hope to see you soon!