Good morning. I will begin this mornings post with some images that were taken on the reserve on Thursday:
Marsh harriers:
Great tit:
Bittern on the boardwalk approaching Mere Hide:
Image credits: Pam Taylor
Thank you very much to Pam for sharing these great images with us.
I also took a photograph of the visitor centre pond at the end of the day, just to show the recent damage to the crack willow at the edge of the pond. Although we know it was weather related, we are now sure what caused this damage and it must have happened overnight on Wednesday:
Image credit: David White
I will now pick up where I left off with some sightings from yesterday morning onwards.:
I had a quick look from the Washland viewpoint before work. I saw three black tailed godwits and an avocet. A barn owl was also hunting at the edge of the large pool.
My colleague Drew and local birder Steve spent a lot more time looking over the washland over the course of the morning and between them, they saw:
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, three cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and several bitterns were seen in flight in the same area. Bearded tits were showing well from both Mere Hide and Joist Fen viewpoint. A grasshopper warbler was also reeling intermittently in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed.
In the afternoon, two common buzzards were soaring over the car park and a kingfisher was fishing at the edge of the visitor centre pond. Our first clouded yellow butterfly of the year was also seen on the wing along the riverbank.
I spent some time looking over the washland and I saw the following:
A wood sandpiper was also seen at around 6am, but I couldn't find it myself unfortunately.
While I was up on the riverbank, a marsh harrier flew towards the visitor centre and a smart gatekeeper butterfly was on the wing in the morning sunshine.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, a single crane has been seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint along with at least three different bitterns.
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that there are still cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint.
We hope to see you soon!