Good morning. I hope you are having a good weekend!
Here are some sightings from Friday onwards. A smart male brambling was on the feeders behind the visitor centre for most of the day and Site Manager Dave saw a little egret near Joist Fen viewpoint.
I went for a walk around Brandon Fen before work yesterday morning and I had great views of a barn owl hunting over the grazing marsh. Two roe deer were skulking at the edge of the path and a green woodpecker was laughing away nearby.
When I got up to the riverbank, a great white egret flew up and I was treated to a great view of seven Bewick’s swans flying south east over my head. When I got to the Washland viewpoint, I counted:
Wigeon: 5
Shelduck: 2
Redshank: 4
Stonechat: 1
Site Manager Dave came in to do his Big Garden Birdwatch from our new(ish) photography station. He saw 15 different species in total and here are some of his pictures:
Male greenfinch:
Two greenfinches and a goldfinch:
Reed bunting:
Water rail:
Long tailed tit:
Long tailed tit and blue tit:
Blue tit:
Great tit:
Male brambling:
Image credits: Dave Rogers
Thank you very much to Dave for sharing these lovely images with us.
As the day went on, six cranes were seen feeding north of the river. Three of them eventually flew west along the river and the other three flew onto the reserve. Hopefully, they will stick around for a while.
A flock of at least 73 whooper swans were seen near Joist Fen viewpoint and a bittern was seen from New Fen viewpoint. A common buzzard also flew over the visitor centre during the afternoon.
The weather was a lot better than the forecast said this morning so I walked down to New Fen viewpoint before work. There were good numbers of waterfowl showing from the Washland viewpoint including:
Teal: 106
Redshank: 5
As I walked along the riverbank, two meadow pipits flew up in front of me, calling as they went. I stopped briefly at New Fen viewpoint and took this picture:
When I got back to the visitor centre, I took these two pictures of the visitor centre pond approximately 25 minutes apart:
Image credits: David White
As you can see, the light conditions have been rather changeable so far today!
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that the riverbank Public Footpath is now muddy in places. We recommend wearing either walking boots or wellies if you are intending to use this path at present.
We hope to see you soon!