You'll be pleased to hear that the bench replacement work has begun! Last Thursday, after our weekly bittern listen (more on that later) we loaded up the truck and trailer and headed off to Joist Fen viewpoint. Surprisingly, for this time of year, the sun was out and it was nicely hot for such back-breaking work. Once you see the photos of the new benches you'll understand why it was back-breaking - these benches are HEAVY! They came to us in flat-pack form and while some were constructing the benches, others were digging the holes ready for insertion. As always with flat-pack furniture, it took a while to work out why part A wouldn't connect to part B. Katherine luckily came to the rescue with the suggestion of putting the bolts through the holes in the other direction. Despite repeated explanations, I don't think I'll ever understand why, when holes drilled through two pieces of wood are lined up, a bolt will go through in one direction but not the other....I'm not going to lose any sleep over it though and for some reason it worked and the benches went together! Here is some evidence of our work:
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Katherine, Dave and volunteer Rob start the cementing in process
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - The second bench goes in
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Volunteers Phil, Rob and Roger confidently test out the new installation
I think you'll agree the benches look pretty sturdy and they should last us a good long time. They are very comfortable too! We'll be putting another two in at Joist Fen viewpoint tomorrow before the rain arrives, then we'll focus our attention on New Fen viewpoint seating.
On to the bitterns and since my last blog we've carried out two surveys. We're still trying to confirm whether our number of booming males is four or five - lets hope its five! Display flights have been seen and hopefully they'll be pairing up very soon. We'll then start monitoring the feeding flights. During my bittern survey this morning I saw a single bird and later a pair in flight, which was a lovely sight on a pretty chilly morning! I also saw a pair of cranes, heard and saw a cuckoo and was easily distracted by a sky full of swifts. Marsh harriers were particularly busy and I saw food drops and nesting material being transported. Our volunteers around the Joist Fen reedbed reported that the bearded tits were being very visible, so if this is a bird you keep missing try heading down to that viewpoint. Very exciting times!
In other news our busy visitor period continues, with Sunday topping the last Bank Holiday Monday as our busiest day ever! The red-footed falcon, which is still here and enthralling everyone, is really pulling in the crowds and we're all on hand at the weekends to marshall in the car-park and help out in the visitor centre. Our volunteers are being as amazing as always and working harder than ever so that we can provide the service our visitors expect, even with the numbers we're getting in. Our star bird is eliciting comments such as 'surely it's radio-controlled' - the performance it's putting on for everyone is that perfect. I got my best view of it yet this morning on the way back to the visitor centre from the western end of the reserve - it was perched happily atop a dead tree in Trial Wood, the middle poplar plantation, posing for the many people stood beneath.
The brushcutters have been wielded this week and our focus was on the bays we have cut into the reed edge, on the southern edge of New Fen North reedbed. These bays provide great views into shallow water, with plants and insects being the main attraction. As David has mentioned previously, some of the bays have beautiful water violet on display so be sure to take some time to look for that. They will also be good places to see dragonflies and damselflies when they start appearing in higher numbers. They've been a bit slim on the ground, as with many things this spring so far, but we have had reports of variable, azure and large-red damselfly plus hairy dragonfly. Keep your eyes open for those over the coming weeks too - there's so much to see you won't know where to look first!