Good morning. We have been treated to some lovely weather here over the last couple of days so here are some more recent sightings from Saturday afternoon onwards:
A little ringed plover flew across the large pool in front of the Washland viewpoint and landed briefly at the edge of the pool. Two cranes circled over the viewpoint for a while and the little gull remained present in front of the viewpoint for the rest of the day.
I had a brisk walk around Brandon Fen early on Sunday morning and heard a blackcap singing. A group of five lesser redpolls were feeding in the tall poplars near the car park and a redwing was singing it's unusual song in the same area.
Meanwhile. further down the reserve, local birder Paul saw four garganeys on the washland along with a great white egret that was coming into breeding plumage. He also heard our first singing willow warbler of the year in East Wood.
As the day went on, a common buzzard flew over the visitor centre and a small white butterfly was on the wing in front of the visitor centre. I photographed the marsh marigold in the Fens raised bed:
Image credit: David White
...And this stunning emperor moth was photographed on the riverbank near the Washland viewpoint:
Thank you very much to Harry Laurence Child for sharing this image with us!
On Tuesday, Alan found our first yellow wagtail of the year feeding in the grazing marsh in Brandon Fen. Suzanne saw an oystercatcher along the riverbank and a bittern over the far end of the reserve.
I saw a roe deer at the edge of the entrance track as I drove in yesterday morning. I saw my first blackcap of the year in Brandon Fen and I also saw two water pipits from the riverbank. Shortly after I got back to the visitor centre, I received a message from local birder Jonny saying that there were two avocets showing from the Washland viewpoint. Needless to say, I made my way up there rather quickly as this species is tricky to catch up with on the reserve.
A bittern made a brief appearance at the edge of the visitor centre pond mid-morning and I led a guided walk around the reserve before lunch. We saw two stonechats perched up along the riverbank and two marsh harriers from New Fen viewpoint. There were also plenty of butterflies on the wing including a very smart comma that was feeding at the edge of East Wood.
As the day went on, local birder Steve saw a male peregrine and three sand martins from Joist Fen viewpoint. Suzanne also saw a Cetti's warbler near the Washland viewpoint. We all worked late for our start of season volunteer social and here is a picture of the visitor centre pond at dusk:
I came in earlier than usual this morning to help out with the bittern listen. I was stationed at the Washland viewpoint. I heard booming three times in total, at 06.57, 07.10 and 07.25 respectively. Although it was difficult to pinpoint especially where the bird was booming from it was somewhere north west of the viewpoint. I took a couple of photos while I was up there:
Image credits: David White
Here are a couple of highlights from my morning's vigil:
06.39: Two avocets flew north, calling as they went
06.40: A kingfisher flew along the river
06,46: Sedge warbler singing behind the viewpoint
06.48: Brambling: 2 flew north over the viewpoint
07.53: Cetti's warbler singing right out in the open just west of the Washland viewpoint.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!