I really love this time of year, as the reserve really seems to come to life. There is jut so much going on and all I want to do is spend as much time out on the reserve as possible. Of course, as I have a job to do, I can't........but I can still enjoy the reserve when I can nonetheless!
On Tuesday morning, I walked down to New Fen viewpoint and spent a glorious 45 minutes out in the sun before work:
Image credit: David White
While I was there, I heard two bitterns booming. One was in front of the viewpoint and another was slightly further down the reserve. There were also three marsh harriers soaring around in the morning sunshine. They were busy nest building and displaying to eachother. Also, a marsh tit was singing in East Wood and a mistle thrush flew over the viewpoint.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, local photographer Matt Walton photographed this bittern in front of Joist Fen viewpoint:
Image credit: Matt Walton
He said that it was basically wandering around at his feet so that must have been an amazing experience!
We had a meeting later on in the day and fortunately, some of that meeting took place outside to discuss the tweaks to the paths. While we were outside in the sun, there was a lovely selection of butterflies on the wing. This included several small tortoiseshells, a peacock and a male brimstone. We were also lucky enough to see a grass snake swimming rapidly across the visitor centre pond.
On Wednesday morning, I went down to the car park to put out the coach parking signs and heard two lovely sounds: The first was my first singing willow warbler of the year and the other was a goldcrest calling. This certainly helped to get me in the mood for the day!
The local marsh harriers were out in force on Wednesday and here are some lovely photos of them by volunteer Les Bunyan:
Image credits: Les Bunyan
Many thanks to Les for sending these lovely images over! As well as the marsh harriers, there were also three common buzzards over Joist Fen viewpoint and a merlin was seen at the far end of the reserve.
There is plenty going on out on the reserve at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!