If you read Sunday's blog post, you may have thought that it was a bit off the wall. Well, hopefully, today's post will be a bit more serious! On Sunday, a great tit was singing in front of the visitor centre in the sunshine which was lovely to hear. Site Manager Dave also came in for a walk and he saw a bittern from New Fen viewpoint. He also photographed the water rail at the edge of the visitor centre pond:
Image credit: Dave Rogers
I also took a photo of dusk over the visitor centre pond:
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, a peregrine was reported from Joist Fen viewpoint.
Yesterday morning, volunteers Simon and Pete were ringing in Brandon Fen and while they were out and about, 10 whooper swans flew over. A mistle thrush was singing nearby and they also ringed this sparrowhawk:
Image credit: Emma Cuthbertson
Thank you very much to Dave and Emma for sharing their images with us.
Pete went down to Joist Fen viewpoint in the afternoon and he saw 21 marsh harriers, including one adult male. He also saw a "ringtail" hen harrier (which is either a female or a young male if you haven't come across this term before.)
It was really rather foggy this morning and here is some of the "scenery" in Brandon Fen first thing:
Image credits: David White
I heard a song thrush singing and also a water pipit calling on the washland. As I opened up the visitor centre, the water rail was feeding at the edge of the visitor centre pond which was nice to see.
Warden Katherine went to do a litter pick along the entrance track this morning and saw a woodcock. She also saw a couple of goldcrests that were feeding with a flock of long tailed tits.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime and saw:
Herring gull: 1 adult
Common gull: 1 adult
Lesser black backed gull: 5 adults
Suzanne walked around Brandon Fen at lunchtime and had really good views of a male bearded tit. She also saw a kingfisher and a great white egret flew east overhead.
Finally, here is one more plug for local wildlife artist and reserve volunteer Rob Dyke's art exhibition which will begin in the visitor centre tomorrow afternoon. Please read this blog post for more information.
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!