Good morning. There has been plenty to see here over the last couple of days so here are some more recent sightings:
I will begin with some late news from Thursday (2 March). Volunteers Norman and Linda were down at the far end of the reserve at dusk. They saw two cranes and a merlin. They also saw at least three barn owls and 130 pied wagtails flying to roost.
On Saturday afternoon, there was a good count of eight curlews from the Washland viewpoint. I was down at Joist Fen viewpoint until dusk with a local author to look for hen harriers. Although we didn't see any, we saw a peregrine and two barn owls so it was definitely worth staying late for!
I took a walk around Brandon Fen before the rain came on Sunday morning and took a few photos:
Image credits: David White
A mistle thrush was singing in Brandon Fen and a stonechat was perched up on the riverbank. There was also a small flock of pipits feeding on the washland including at least eight meadow pipits and a water pipit.
As the day went on, four cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint along with two bitterns. At least eight marsh harriers were hunting in front of the viewpoint and two barn owls were hunting in the same area.
Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, a black tailed godwit was showing from the Washland viewpoint along with four redshanks. A bittern made a brief appearance at the edge of the visitor centre pond and a nuthatch was seen in the big willow near the visitor centre. The latter is a surprisingly rare bird here, with only a couple of previous records in the reserve's 21 year history!
We managed to (mostly) dodge the showers during the crane talk & walk event in the afternoon. Although we unfortunately missed seven cranes perched up on the riverbank west of Joist Fen viewpoint before we got that far, we did see two in flight from the viewpoint which was a relief!
We also saw the leucistic wren in New Fen North and two barn owls from Joist Fen viewpoint. A sparrowhawk flashed across near Joist Fen viewpoint and a male stonechat was perched up nearby. As we walked back through the reserve, a mistle thrush was singing in Trial Wood.
On Monday, local photographer Martin Peake photographed two cranes in flight over Mere Hide:
Image credit: Martin Peake
I went for a walk before work this morning and saw five redshanks on the washland. A smart great crested grebe was feeding in the river and a blackbird was singing in Trial Wood. A kingfisher was feeding in front of New Fen viewpoint and I was very please two hear a bittern booming quietly in the reedbed. This is definitely a sign that spring is well on it's way!
If you are planning to visit the reserve over the next couple of days, please note that there is currently a lot of reserve management work taking place so some of the paths are temporarily closed. Please ask on arrival for more information.
We hope to see you soon!