Good morning, now that that the weather has warmed up and the snow has disappeared, there has been plenty to see so here are some recent sightings from Sunday morning onwards:
There was plenty to see over the course of the day and Ex-Site Manager Norman saw four cranes in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint. A green sandpiper flew along the river and a single golden plover flew over the viewpoint, which is a good record for here.
In the afternoon, a bittern was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a female pochard was feeding on the river. Five pintails flew into the far end of the reserve and a yellowhammer flew south overhead, calling as it went.
Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, two Bewick's swans were on the washland for a while and two redshanks were calling nearby. At least three bank voles were also feeding underneath the visitor centre feeders.
There were seven whooper swans on the washland first thing on Monday morning. I heard a couple of water rails alongside East Wood and saw a green woodpecker by New Fen viewpoint. When I got back to the visitor centre, a chaffinch was singing in the visitor centre alders which was lovely to here.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime and saw my first redshank of the year on the reserve. Two common buzzards were soaring over the visitor centre and three male pintails were feeding in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed.
A barn owl was hunting in front of the visitor centre just before we closed up in the evening. A blackbird was also singing it's fluty song at the edge of the visitor centre pond which was lovely to hear.
A treecreeper and a single crane were seen from the visitor centre window on Tuesday.
These great photographs were also taken on the reserve:
Otter from the Washland viewpoint:
Bittern in flight:
Image credits: Nicky Garrett
Thank you very much to Nicky for sharing these images with us.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint before work this morning and saw a great white egret in flight. A single whooper swan was also present and a couple of crossbills flew over huigh overhead. I walked around Brandon Fen and heard a treecreeper singing which was nice to hear. I also took these photos which I hope you like:
Image credit: David White
Notices:
Please note that the riverbank Public Foiotpath is still extremely muddy. You will need wellies to negotiate it at present.
Also, if you haven't already heard, we will be changing from a car parking charge to an entrance charge for non-members of the RSPB on Sunday 1 April. Please read this blog post for more information.
We hope to see you soon!