Hello and welcome to our latest blog… my apologies for it being several weeks since our last one- this is by no means a reflection of the quietness of our wildlife or lack of sightings but more a result of me taking a couple of weeks leave! It is lovely to be back and to plunge into a reserve absolutely BURSTING with spring sightings, so without further delay… One of the most conspicuous of our summer residents is now here in good numbers- the cuckoo. When I arrived this morning there was one calling from vaguely in the direction of Brandon Fen, but there are several calling males dotted around the reserve, including this individual photographed by Cathy Ryden on 27 April, calling and catching insects from its lofty perch in the thick western end of the wedge that is Trial Wood. We haven’t spotted any dusky brown females yet, which are much quieter and known for their ‘babbling’ calls (which couldn’t be more different from the males’ ‘cuckoo’ call) but they do tend to arrive a week or two later and in a much more discreet fashion, slipping into the vegetation without much fanfare. Photo credit: A calling (and hunting) male cuckoo by Cathy Ryden in Trial Wood on 27 April 2021. Hobbies are here too now- numbers have built to perhaps 10 or so birds, but these are much more conspicuous on a warm, sunny, calm day, where they currently seem to be feasting on the abundance of leggy black (but harmless) St. Marks flies that fill the air on a warm day. These insects are all over the place and seem to fill the dietary gap between the hobbies’ arriving and the dragonflies and damselflies emerging later in May. The hobbies may also go after the swallows, sand martins and house martins that are here now. We have swifts too, but these are even faster and more agile and present a bit more of a challenge to a hunting hobby. The swallows, martins and swifts are now a common sight anywhere on the reserve, but seem to concentrate especially over the Visitor Centre and the Washland. Other migrant songbirds include plenty of whitethroat, sedge warbler and chiffchaff with reed warbler and lesser whitethroat beginning to trickle through now. Here’s a list of our spring bird arrival dates so far: Sand martin – 27 March
Willow warbler – 31 March
Sedge warbler – 31 March
Common whitethroat – 31 March
Swallow – 1 April
Hobby – 7 April
Cuckoo – 7 April
House martin – 15 April
Reed warbler – 20 April
Grasshopper warbler – 23 April
Swift – 25 April
Lesser whitethroat – 27 April
Nightingale – 30 April
We tend not to include dates for blackcap and chiffchaff as both species often overwinter in the UK, so the first singing male of either species does not necessarily reflect a migrant bird arriving here, and we had occasional ‘chiff-chaff’ snippets heard throughout winter, but our first singing blackcap was recorded on 30 March in Botany Bay. The nightingale has taken us all a little by surprise as we don’t often have them as guests here, but one has been singing quietly for a couple of days from within West Wood. If you head down here for a listen, please keep to the paths as you do so. The Washland has been extremely busy with passage waders and terns, and has seen more variety that a packet of revels. Our avocet numbers are now up to twenty-two, as of 29 April, and they have been joined by several black-tailed godwits (4 on 24 April, 3 on 29 April), one bar-tailed godwit (29 April), a single dunlin and whimbrel with two greenshank (30 April), a wood sandpiper (29 April), common sandpiper (21 April), four snipe (22 April), four redshank (24 April) and one oystercatcher (28 April). The oystercatcher (sometimes there are two, three or four) are a bit more sedentary than the passage waders. We have had three species of tern through now- starting with arctic terns on 21 April, a common tern on 27 April and two little tern on 28 April. It’s only the common terns that may stay local to us and breed, so if you plan to visit over the summer, keep an eye out for them fishing over the Washland. If we are lucky we should soon see some black terns on passage, again these will be tempted to hunt over the Washland, but this species is an insect-eating tern rather than fish-eating, so look for these mixed in with the hobbies in the style of swallows and martins almost anywhere on the reserve. Hopefully they’ll begin to appear in a week or two. If we’re lucky we may see five or so at once! As mentioned, the avocets now number 22 (29 April) and other wader species that could stay to breed locally include the redshank, lapwing and curlew. The garganey ducks that have attracted lots of attention in recent weeks and on 29 April five were reported. They tend to swim about at the back of the Wash (from the viewpoints’ perspective) dipping in and out of the vegetation, so scan the back carefully if you look for them- on first glance it can seem as if they aren’t there, and be prepared for them to ‘disappear’ too! They melt into vegetation quite easily. Other ducks of interest on the Washland include up to ten shelduck (28 April), lots of shoveler, one pochard (drake (male)), and a handful of teal, mallard, gadwall and tufted duck on any day, in any weather. Not quite on the Washland was a little ringed plover (17 April) and an osprey (27 April) both in flight over Joist Fen. Now onto our ‘Big 5’- we have already discussed the hobbies a little, and the best place to look for these tends to be the riverbank footpath, where you can scan the skies around you in both directions; it’s a great vantage point. Look out too for our cranes which may be seen in flight over the reserve or feeding in arable fields to the north of the Washland footpath, or south of the railway line. Bitterns are booming on warm, calm days and delighting some visitors with sightings, such as this one poking his head out from the reeds recently: Photo credit: Julia Burton, taken on 24 April 2021. Bearded tits are quite active and vocal at the moment, with early mornings on warm, still days being the best time to visit to hear or see them in reedbed areas. They have been a frequent sight on the early morning bittern surveys. At the time of writing, although we haven’t seen our first damselflies of the year, we are sitting on eight species of butterfly now, with peacock, small tortoiseshell, brimstone, small white, green-veined white, orange tip, comma and red admiral now on our list. The species most likely to next make it onto our list include large white, small copper, holly blue or green hairstreak- watch this space! I plan to run a moth trap overnight in the coming week, as soon as the nights warm up a little, but here is a stunning photo of one of two male emperor moths seen at the Visitor Centre this week: Photo credit: A male emperor moth by Dr. Clive Sheppard, photo taken on 24 April 2021. Wildflowers to look out for at the moment include the sunny yellow catkins of goat willow (of which there are still a few about attracting plenty of bees), common field speedwell, ground ivy and common stork’s-bill (the foodplant of brown argus butterflies). There are a few cowslips on the reserve and colt’s-foot shines buttercup yellow along the riverbank footpath. I hope you have enjoyed this weeks’ blog. Here’s a quick reminder of the facilities we have on offer for visitors at the moment: Car park and trails open daily, from dawn until dusk. We have a small path closure south of Trial Wood, but this does not affect a visitors’ ability to do the long circular trail to Joist Fen through the reserve and back via the riverbank). Toilets (including an accessible one) available from 09:00 to 17:00 in the week, 09:00 to 16:00 at the weekend and bank holidays. Outdoor, COVID-secure ‘Meet & Greet’ at the Visitor Centre from 09:00 to 17:00 in the week, 09:00 to 16:00 at the weekend and bank holidays. Takeaway refreshments, pin badges, greetings cards and local wildlife prints from our Visitor Centre available 09:00 to 17:00 in the week, 09:00 to 16:00 at the weekend and bank holidays. Binocular hire and disabled parking facility (at New Fen) subject to availability on the day but on offer from 09:00 to 17:00 in the week, 09:00 to 16:00 at the weekend and bank holidays. With best wishes for a happy and healthy week, Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).