Good morning. As it is a bit damp out this morning, I will begin with a few pictures that I took last week in slightly brighter conditions:
Image credits: David White
I went up to the Washland viewpoint before work yesterday morning. I was pleasantly surprised to find a flock of 64 whooper swans, which is a great count for here. They were joined by the following:
At least two water pipits were also feeding in the same area.
As the morning went on, a barn owl was hunting in front of New Fen viewpoint and a little grebe was in the same area. A male marsh harrier was also being mobbed by a carrion crow overhead.
The sun came out in the afternoon and bearded tits were showing well in various places across the reserve. This included the Washland viewpoint and on the approach to Mere Hide. A late migrant hawker dragonfly was also feeding in front of the visitor centre.
A television crew from ITV Anglia News came to interview Site Manager Dave about the reserve later on in the day. The piece will hopefully be aired on the Monday evening edition, so tune in if you can! While they were filming, one of the reporters was lucky enough to spot a bittern skulking at the edge of the visitor centre pond.
A common buzzard flew over the entrance track as I drove in this morning. Although the water levels on the washland had come up overnight after the rain, I still saw the following from the Washland viewpoint:
As I walked along the riverbank towards the road, a marsh harrier was hunting nearby and two stonechats were perched on a hawthorn bush. When I got to the edge of the car park, a chiffchaff was flitting around which was nice to see.
Shortly after we opened, a small group of goldcrests were feeding in the bushes in front of the visitor centre and a kingfisher flew over the visitor centre pond. A fieldfare also flew over, calling as it went.
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that there are currently cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint.
We hope to see you soon!