Good morning. It has been lovely and warm here this week so there has been plenty to see. The Washland viewpoint was clearly the place to be on Tuesday. The great white egret was present for most of the day and there were more waders than I have ever seen during my (almost) six years here. Over the course of the day, there were 19 lapwings, seven black tailed godwits, four green sandpipers, one greenshank and one redshank. Although this may not seem much, it is great for us!
The local photographers have also been out and about this week. Here are some of Ken Clegg's pictures from Tuesday...:
Two juvenile bearded tits on the grit tray in front of New Fen viewpoint:
A kingfisher in front of New Fen viewpoint:
Image credits: Ken Clegg
...And here are some of Matt Walton's pictures from Wednesday:
A "siege" of grey herons, little egrets and the great white egret on the washland:
A stoat with a seemingly short tail:
A common blue damselfly resting on some vegetation:
Image credits: Matt Walton
Thank you very much to Ken and Matt for sharing these pictures with us.
The reserve descended into a temporary state of organised chaos on Wednesday with the arrival of 46 staff members and volunteers from around the region for an hands-on activity day about connecting children with nature. Despite that, there was still plenty to see. The great white egret was still present on the washland along with nine little egrets first thing.
As the day went on, three avocets flew over the washland and two bitterns were seen from Mere Hide. There was a good count of 14 grey herons and 12 little egrets on the washland during the afternoon and a red eyed damselfly was entertaining the crowds in the pond bed outside the visitor centre.
The great white egret was still present on Thursday and there were nine little grebes on the washland. Two bitterns were again seen from Mere Hide and two cranes were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was a lovely day yesterday and three cranes were seen north of the river near Joist Fen viewpoint. A hobby was seen near the viewpoint and there were eight garganeys on the pool near the river bridge first thing.
Its a lovely day today so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!