Good morning! Although we have had some rain this week, it has been pretty warm which is great news. I went for a walk on Sunday morning and saw two cuckoos in Brandon Fen which was very nice, as they will shortly be heading back to Africa. Meanwhile, further down the reserve, Darren, one of our volunteers, was in Mere Hide for five minutes and saw a bittern. Now that's what I call good luck! He also saw two juvenile hobbys over East Wood which is a great sign.
On Monday, a barn owl was hunting in front of the visitor centre which was great to see. Suzanne saw three recently fledged kestrels on the entrance track on Tuesday and there were also two coal tits nearby.
Also on Tuesday, local photographer Matt Walton was out and about and took these lovely pictures:
A juvenile bearded tit:
A ringlet:
Image credits: Matt Walton
Thank you very much to Matt for sharing these pictures with us.
It was a nice day on Wednesday and Roy saw plenty on his travels. He saw a bittern from Mere Hide along with six bearded tits and two marsh harriers. When he got down to Joist Fen viewpoint, he saw five marsh harriers, around 40 swifts and four common terns. That sounds pretty good indeed!
Although volunteer Les has now moved up to North Norfolk, he came to visit us yesterday. Here are some of his pictures:
A juvenile marsh harrier:
A green-veined white:
A female common darter:
Image credits: Les Bunyan
Thanks very much to Les for sharing these pictures with us!
He also saw 81 mute swans on the washland and a common tern from New Fen viewpoint. I also had a quick walk down to Joist Fen viewpoint yesterday morning with a colleague. Although we were mostly talking about work, we saw several marsh harriers. I also saw three bearded tits in front of the viewpoint and a kingfisher from New Fen viewpoint.
The rest of the team were out doing a bittern survey yesterday and although bitterns were conspicuous by their absence, the cranes were making a lot of noise north of the river early on and Ali saw two house martins over Joist Fen viewpoint.
The weather forecast is looking a bit unpredictable for this weekend so if you are planning to visit, I would recommend packing your waterproofs just in case! We hope to see you soon.