Good morning. Here is some late news from Thursday: Our first sedge warbler of the year was singing at the west end of the reserve. Here is a photo of one:
Image credit: Tim James
I have to admit, sedge warblers have always had a place in my heart. This is mainly because they remind me of me: Loud, eccentric and rather unpredictable!
Katherine and I headed north of the river on Friday afternoon to have a meeting and while we were discussing all things work, we were being serenaded by a skylark which was lovely to hear. Katherine spotted a cracking male yellow wagtail trotting around in one of the fields and a group of 11 linnets were chattering away nearby.
Meanwhile, on the Suffolk side of the river, a bittern flew from Joist Fen viewpoint towards Mere Hide and several lucky visitors saw an osprey over Joist Fen viewpoint. Here is a photo of one that was taken here last September:
Image credit: Ken Clegg
I had a lovely walk down to Joist Fen viewpoint in the sunshine before work yesterday morning. There were several bitterns booming from deep in the reedbed and the local marsh harriers were soaring around over the reserve. There were plenty of bearded tits pinging in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed and a redshank was on the washland north of Joist Fen viewpoint.
Later on in the day, a red kite was over the washland and Roy was lucky enough to actually see a Cetti's warbler alongside Trial Wood. Here is a photo of one from a couple of years ago:
Image credit: David Carr
There were also lots of peacock butterflies on the wing which was lovely to see:
Image credit: Katherine Puttick
I went for my usual walk around Brandon Fen this morning and despite the weather being distinctly gloomy, there was plenty to hear. A common buzzard was calling over the visitor centre and a blackcap was singing in the poplars. I had brief glimpse of a marsh tit and I spotted a sedge warbler skulking at the edge of the washland.
Just before I got back to the visitor centre, I had a great view of a pair of kestrels displaying to eachother and eventually mating. Once again, here is a photo of one from a couple of years ago:
Image credit: Mike Hoare
We hope to see you soon!