Good morning! The recent warm weather has encouraged plenty of funky looking insects to get out exploring the reserve. Thank you very much to Simon Jeffs for sharing the below pictures that he took here and at Weeting Heath NWT reserve. Most of these species can be found at both reserves, just in case you are wondering.
A golden-bloomed grey longhorn beetle, taken here:
Stenurella melanura, a type of beetle, taken here:
Strangalia maculata, a type of beetle, taken at Weeting Heath NWT reserve:
A garden chafer, taken at Weeting Heath NWT reserve:
Volucella pelluscens, a type of hoverfly, taken at Weeting Heath NWT reserve:
Image credits: Simon Jeffs
Thank you very much to Simon Jeffs for sharing these great images with us.
The little bittern was barking in New Fen North triangle on Friday and a great white egret appeared on the washland.
There was also plenty to see from the visitor centre window. A Chinese water deer appeared at the edge of the visitor centre pond and a large skipper was feeding on the viper’s bugloss in front of the visitor centre.
It wasn't a bad day on and local photographer Matt Walton was here early. He saw an otter fishing in the river and a barn owl flew in front of the Washland viewpoint. He also saw a roe deer near the visitor centre.
There were several people who were lucky enough to see bitterns in flight over the course of the day. There were also good numbers of four spotted chasers on the wing.
As the day went on, a kingfisher was fishing in the visitor centre pond and several emperor dragonflies were patrolling over the pond.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, the little bittern was barking in its usual place, just east of Joist Fen viewpoint. A great white egret was also on the washland.
It’s been a lovely morning so far this morning and a rather ragged red admiral has been flying around outside the visitor centre. Katherine and I also had a surprise when we returned from taking the truck to the garage: A grey squirrel ran along the entrance track in front of us! Surprisingly, this is only a second record for the reserve.
The weather is looking nice and sunny for the week ahead so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!