Good afternoon. I am not going to be here for most of this week, so I thought I would provide an early afternoon update of what has been going on here over the weekend so far.
When I arrived yesterday, I was unlocking the date and a marbled orb weaver landed on my hand which was lovely to see. As the morning went on, a barn owl was seen from the Washland viewpoint and a kingfisher was seen from New Fen viewpoint.
It proved to be another "red letter day" for kingfishers yesterday as not only was one seen from Joist Fen viewpoint, another perched on one of the window ledges in Mere Hide! The lucky couple who spotted it sat transfixed as it perched there for a couple of minutes before flying off. How lucky was that?!
As the day went on, a black tailed godwit flew north over the reserve and a sparrowhawk flashed low over the visitor centre pond. The great white egret was also seen on the washland north of West Wood, the furthest poplar plantation.
It was a lovely morning this morning so I decided to go for a walk around Brandon Fen before work. I spooked a female roe deer at the edge of the path and a treecreeper was calling at the end of the new trail ramp. As I walked along the riverbank, a juvenile marsh harrier was hunting in front of me. As It flew over the grazing marsh, it flushed a redshank which flew off towards the washland, calling as it went.
As I walked towards the Washland viewpoint, a group of bearded tits popped up at the top of the reeds next to the path. This included at least one adult male, which I got a really great view of. A little egret flew west along the river and two swallows were feeding over the large pool.
A meadow pipit flew south over the Washland viewpoint and there were plenty of common darters on the wing near the pond dipping platform. Volunteer Roy headed down the reserve and saw two kingfishers from Mere Hide. There were also plenty of migrant hawkers on the wing, including several that have perched up obligingly like this:
Image credit: Tim James
The great white egret has also been seen from the Washland viewpoint which is a great sign, as it hasn't been seen that close to the visitor centre for several weeks. Here is a picture of it that was taken a few weeks ago:
Image credit: Ian Tulloch
The weather forecast for this week isn't looking too bad so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!