Good afternoon. Well, we have had some typical January weather over the last couple of days haven’t we?! It has been damp, wet and cold. However, there has still been plenty to see nonetheless.
Katherine went up to the Washland viewpoint on Wednesday and she saw an unidentified wader. It was either a golden plover or a grey plover. Unfortunately, she wasn’t certain though.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint at lunchtime and was very pleased to find a stunning drake goosander. This is the first record of this species here for a couple of years so it coaxed everybody out of the office to see it. While Katherine, Emma and I were admiring it, a flock of 12 Bewick’s swans flew over which were also great to see.
Katherine and I went down to New Fen viewpoint in the afternoon for a chat. A water rail flew over and a Cetti’s warbler was skulking around nearby. Meanwhile, further down the reserve, volunteers Simon and Pete counted at least 25 marsh harriers in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. This included three adult males and “LL”, a first winter bird that was wing tagged here as a juvenile during the 2015 breeding season.
The weather wasn’t great on Thursday and the highlight of the day came when 10 whooper swans flew over the Washland viewpoint, calling as they went.
There was some interesting looking fungus growing in front of the visitor centre yesterday so here are some pictures:
Image credits: David White
It was very chilly yesterday morning and a Cetti’s warbler was showing well in front of the Washland viewpoint first thing. A great white egret was feeding alongside the river along with a couple of water pipits. A male tufted duck was feeding in the river and a common buzzard was hunting overhead.
A flock of at least 15 lesser redpolls were feeding in Brandon Fen along with a couple of male bramblings and a marsh tit. Two roe deer were also skulking around in the same area.
As the day went on, a female peregrine was hunting over the Washland viewpoint and at least two, probably three great white egrets were seen near Joist Fen viewpoint at dusk.
One of our regular visitors went down to Joist Fen viewpoint at first light this morning. He saw six whooper swans in front of the Washland viewpoint along with two water pipits and eight meadow pipits.
He saw a group of four cranes in flight north of the river just west of Joist Fen viewpoint. He also saw a bittern and a couple of bearded tits from the viewpoint itself. Additionally, a probable short eared owl was seen from the viewpoint, but it was not seen for long enough to confirm it unfortunately.
I will leave you this afternoon with a brief update on the current state of the paths on the reserve. All of the interior paths are fine and can be negotiated wearing walking boots. The riverbank Public Footpath is strictly speaking wellies only as it is currently very muddy. The water level on the washland has also come up significantly over the last couple of days, as these images show:
There is plenty to see at the moment so why not come and visit? We hope to see you soon!