The lovely, sunny weather has returned and our local wildlife has been out and about enjoying it recently. After a very successful Brecks bonanza event on Sunday, I went for a walk down to Joist Fen viewpoint with several colleagues. We saw the absolutely incredible sight of hundreds of mother of pearl moths feeding on the riverbank thistles. If you are not familiar with this pretty moth, please click on its named and you will be whisked away to a moth website!
Although it was fairly quiet at Joist Fen viewpoint, three green sandpipers and a common snipe flew over. We could also hear some cranes bugling north of the river. We made a brief visit to New Fen viewpoint on the way back and were rewarded with a lovely view of a kingfisher fishing in front of the viewpoint. There were a few waders on the move yesterday including two green sandpipers and three whimbrels that flew over Brandon Fen while Simon was ringing nearby.
Its a lovely day today and Katherine went down to the far end of the reserve to see what was going on and she found plenty of raptors enjoying the sunshine. This included an impressive count of eight common buzzards and one hobby over Botany Bay. She also took some fantastic pictures of some insects and here they are:
A pair of ruddy darters omniposting. Image credit: Katherine Puttick
A peacock butterfly feeding on some burdock. Image credit: Katherine Puttick
A small tortoiseshell feeding on some hemp agrimony. Image credit: Katherine Puttick
Several bitterns have also been seen over the course of the day and a kingfisher was seen at New Fen viewpoint. We hope to see you soon!