Good morning. There has been a lot going on over the last couple of days so here are some more recent sightings:
I went for a walk around the reserve before work on Thursday morning and there was plenty singing around the car park. This included a goldcrest and a coal tit. A barn owl was also hunting over the washland.
The reserve team did a bittern survey and as well as seeing plenty of bittern flights, 25 black tailed godwits flew west overhead. Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, a kingfisher made a brief appearance at the edge of the pond. Also, just as the bittern surveyors were having their lunch in the visitor centre, I spotted a bittern which flew all the way from the car park direction, right over the top of the visitor centre before landing at the edge of the pond. That was my contribution to the morning's survey!
We had a busy day yesterday as we had an Aren't Volunteers Brilliant event. We had the pleasure of accommodating around 50 RSPB volunteers from across the Eastern England region.
I went for a work before we started setting up. I heard a treecreeper singing in Brandon Fen and a mistle thrush flew over my head. At least two stonechats were feeding along the riverbank and I had a fascinating encounter with a stoat: It squared up to me on the Public Footpath by getting up on its hind legs before heading back off into the vegetation.
Emma and I led guided walks for the first group of volunteers. One of my group spotted a wood sandpiper from the Washland viewpoint and another spotted a bittern which flew west along the river before landing in New Fen North. We met Emma's group half way along East Wood who had seen six cranes flying west over West Wood. They had also seen several bittern flights from New Fen viewpoint. Although my group didn't see any bitterns from the viewpoint, we did see a kingfisher and a hobby which were both lovely to see.
Several of the local birdwatchers came in to look for the wood sandpiper over the course of the day and although it remained present, it proved to be fairly elusive. The following were also seen from the Washland viewpoint:
I popped down to Mere Hide after the event as some orchids had been photographed on the approach to Mere Hide. Here are some photos of them:
They are most likely to be pyramidal orchids but there is a possibility that they may be hybrids.
This is a very significant record for the reserve as the only other record of any species of orchid on the reserve itself was on 23 July 2008, when Warden Katherine found a single spike of pyramidal orchid on a part of the reserve that isn't open to the public. There were also bee orchids flowering on the riverbank in 2012, but they were not officially on the reserve.
If you go looking for the orchids, please stay on the path where possible and be careful not to trample any vegetation as there may be more spikes still to come.
I spent some time at or near the Washland viewpoint. On the way up to the viewpoint, I was treated to fantastic views of a Cetti's warbler singing out in the open which was wonderful to see. I also saw:
I also took some photographs of the raised beds in front of the visitor centre:
Yellow loosestrife:
Sulphur beetle:
Image credits: David White
As the morning has gone on, presumably the same six cranes from yesterday (which are apparently all immature birds) were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint. A bittern was also seen from the viewpoint and a kingfisher has been feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond for most of the morning.
Just before I go, here are some notices:
Firstly, I am pleased to say that Lakenheath High Street is now reopen to through traffic which will make access to the reserve from the south a lot easier.
Secondly, here are a couple of plugs for two of our forthcoming events: Warden Emma is leading an Early morning reedbed ramble Sunday 2 July 6am-9am. This walk will focus on reedbed specialties such as bitterns, marsh harriers and bearded tits. There are still plenty of spaces available so pleas click here for more information. Also, our annual Big Wild Sleepout camping event will take place in just over a month's time on 288-30 July. Please read this blog post to find out more about the event.
Thirdly, there are still cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint.
We hope to see you soon!