Good morning. We have a busy weekend ahead with our Big Wild Sleepout event this weekend so before the chaos begins, here are some recent sightings.
I went for a walk yesterday morning and a kingfisher flew over the washland. A female marsh harrier was hunting over the second washland pool and three common terns were feeding over the washland. As I walked down the path towards New Fen viewpoint, a juvenile kestrel flew out of East Wood and a spotted flycatcher was feeding in the willows just north of the viewpoint.
As the day went on, four cranes were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint and there were seven bittern sightings in a couple of hours from the viewpoint. A hobby was feeding over West Wood and two juvenile bearded tits were feeding on the grit tray in front of New Fen viewpoint.
During the afternoon, a barn owl was feeding over Brandon Fen and I counted 18 little egrets feeding in front of the Washland viewpoint. There were also two red admirals feeding on the hemp agrimony near the Washland viewpoint.
It was lovely first thing this morning and two siskins flew over the visitor centre shortly after I arrived. There were 11 little egrets showing well from the Washland viewpoint and there were also several waders present, which was nice to see. This included four redshanks, two green sandpipers and a common snipe. A kingfisher flew over the large pool and when I got back to the visitor centre, a coal tit was on the peanut feeders in front of the visitor centre.
As it was so lovely in the sunshine, I took some pictures of the plants in the Fens plant bed. I hope you like them:
Great willow herb:
Marsh woundwort:
Redshank:
Water mint:
Yellow loosestrife:
Image credits: David White
Please note that if you are planning to visit the reserve this weekend, the roadside barrier will be closed at 11pm on Friday and Saturday night. It will reopen at around 6am on the following mornings.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!