Good afternoon. This is going to be my last recent sightings blog post for a while so without further ado, I will begin. As usual, I will start where I left off on Tuesday. It was a lovely afternoon and Site Manager Dave saw seven common buzzards circling overhead near Joist Fen viewpoint. Katherine and I went for a walk around Brandon Fen at lunchtime and we saw two noisy oystercatchers flying around in front of the Washland viewpoint. When it came to home time, a male muntjac deer was skulking around alongside the entrance track.
It was a chilly morning yesterday morning and I headed up to the Washland viewpoint shortly after I arrived. A great white egret was showing well in front of the viewpoint and three shelducks were also present in the same area.
Despite the chilly weather, there were plenty of signs of spring to be found yesterday. A bittern was grunting (albeit half-heartedly!) in New Fen North and a coot was on a nest in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. A great crested grebe was displaying to it’s mate in front of the Washland viewpoint while an unseen skylark sang it’s beautiful song overhead.
Emma and Suzanne went for a walk around Brandon Fen at lunchtime and they saw three stonechats up on the riverbank. They were also being tormented by a green woodpecker that was “laughing” away at them but would not show itself!
It was very cold here overnight so I had high hopes of a beautiful frosty morning so I got here a bit earlier than usual. As I drove along an entirely frost free entrance track, I saw at least 11 roe deer skulking nearby.
Despite the lack of frost, I still went out armed with my camera. I captured some snow laden clouds just before we got a sprinkling of the white stuff:
Image credits: David White
On my travels, I spooked a water rail that scuttled along the path in front of me at the base of the ramp up to the Washland viewpoint. As I walked along the riverbank, I had a very close encounter with a bittern which flew up from the riverbank right in front of me before flying towards the Washland viewpoint. Two kingfishers were displaying to each other a bit further along and a male stonechat was perched up just north of New Fen North, the first area of reedbed.
As the day has gone on, all four cranes have been seen from Joist Fen viewpoint along with at least one peregrine. Two smart pintails were also showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime.
I will return in a couple of weeks time so until then, happy wildlife watching and we hope to see you on the reserve soon!