Good morning. I will begin with some good news: Our third crane chick fledged yesterday. How exciting! This is the first time that our resident birds have fledged young on a second nesting attempt in the same breeding season on the reserve. We are all really pleased that we have reached this significant milestone!
As usual, I will begin with a photograph that was taken here on Wednesday:
Juvenile cuckoo:
Image credit: Tony Rawson
Thank you very much to Tony for sharing this great photo of a slightly unusual looking bird!
I took a couple of photos myself on Friday and here they are:
Small red eyed damselfly:
Common carpet moth:
Site Manager Dave saw four cranes in flight west of Joist Fen viewpoint on Friday. He also saw a bittern from Joist Fen viewpoint. Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, two red admirals were feeding on the buddleia near the visitor centre.
I had a walk around Brandon Fen before work yesterday morning and I saw the sad sight of a dead mole on the path. There were plenty of ringlets on the wing and I photographed my first marbled orb weaver of the year on the riverbank:
A kingfisher was fishing in the visitor centre pond shortly after we opened and a red underwing moth was found roosting on the side of the visitor centre. A juvenile nightingale was also seen in the bushes near the visitor centre.
Site Manager Dave and ex-Site Manager Norman saw “Little & Large’s” crane chick fly for the first time just west of Joist Fen viewpoint mid-morning. A common sandpiper was seen feeding along the riverbank and at least six bearded tits were seen in a similar area.
I lead a very successful “Summer Long Walk” yesterday afternoon and we saw all seven cranes. We saw three just west of Joist Fen viewpoint and the other four in flight over the railway line. We saw two bitterns in flight and two juvenile bearded tits along the riverbank.
We saw at least five marsh harriers over the far end of the reserve and a hobby was calling south of the railway line. We also saw two roe deer down at the far end of the reserve.
It was a lovely morning this morning and a siskin flew over the visitor centre shortly after I arrived. I photographed this gatekeeper in Brandon Fen:
Image credits: David White
I was very pleased to see a spotted flycatcher feeding at the edge of a car park. Shortly after I opened the visitor centre, a kingfisher was feeding in the visitor centre pond.
As the morning has gone on, three cranes were seen from the train and two bitterns were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint.
Please note that if you are planning to visit the reserve next weekend, the roadside barrier will be closed at 11pm on Friday and Saturday night. It will reopen before 7am on the following mornings.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!