Good morning. It has definitely felt very autumnal over the last couple of days. Although it was a nice day yesterday, it was quite breezy. I went for a walk around Brandon Fen before work and a female stonechat was perched on the riverbank. There were also a couple of goldcrests feeding at the edge of the car park.
I popped up to the Washland viewpoint and I saw six little egrets and a lapwing. When I got back to the visitor centre, a grey wagtail flew over and a kingfisher was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond. As the day went on, a hobby was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and several bearded tits were showing well near Joist Fen viewpoint.
It was really rather foggy this morning for my walk but the reserve did look pretty atmospheric:
Image credits: David White
Although the visibility was pretty poor, it was obvious that there was plenty on the move. Three song thrushes flew west over the visitor centre and and at least eight redwings flew south over East Wood. There were several goldcrests "whispering" away in East Wood and I flushed three common snipe from the riverbank.
As I walked down towards New Fen viewpoint, I could hear a small flock of bearded tits feeding in New Fen North and as I got to New Fen viewpoint, a kingfisher whizzed over the pool. Sadly it was only a silhouette in the fog though. As I walked back towards the visitor centre, spiders were conspicuous, especially four spotted orb weavers and marbled orb weavers.
Just to reiterate, the interior path around New Fen North, the first area of reedbed is now open. Please note that the surface on this path is uneven in places. Also, the cattle have now been removed from the riverbank Public Footpath. The surface on the path is currently passable with walking boots so just avoid the cow pats!
Also, please note the that our Race for Wildlife on Sunday 16 October is now FULLY BOOKED. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate those who have registered in advance. Please also note that consequently, the reserve is likely to be extremely busy on Sunday 16 October between 10am-3pm. If you are planning to visit the reserve on that day, we recommend you get here early or come later in the afternoon!
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!