Now we are well into Spring, it is a joy to be on the reserve, especially on warm sunny days like today. It’s a bit breezy but that hasn’t stopped the chiffchaffs from singing- there is one near the Visitor Centre (by the bug hotel) and it’s difficult to go for even a short walk without hearing one now! We have had a few sand martins spotted in flight over the Washland too, and the migrant garganey are being seen regularly on the water there. Garganey can be very tricky to find amongst dozens of larger, more lively shoveler, shelduck, teal and mallard. They tend to stick together (ours are being seen as a two or a three) and to drift in and out of the swampy vegetation at the edges of the water, looking for insects and plant material to eat. They tend to be silent, and the brown female is very easily overlooked. At present, we seem to have two drakes (males) and one duck (female) so look for the male’s distinctive white eye-stripe, small size (roughly teal-sized) and creeping habit. Another highlight of March has been the birds visiting the feeders at the Visitor Centre and the Photo Station- at this time of year, plumages are bright and fresh and there’s a fair bit of singing and (often subtle) courtship behaviour to observe between the birds as they take a quick break from feeding. Greenfinch, chaffinch, reed bunting, great spotted woodpecker, siskin, long-tailed tit and goldfinch are frequent visitors, with the odd marsh tit too. The beautiful photos below were sent in by Anthony Stripp from his recent visit to us: Photo credits: Some beautiful photos of small birds on the reserve by Anthony Stripp. The top photo shows a long-tailed tit and the next three a blue tit. Look out for blue tits with yellow bills- dusted with pollen from willows- as they love feeding on it in early Spring! Some of you may have heard that in mid-March we started our early morning surveys on Tuesdays- looking and listening for bittern and marsh harrier activity out in the reedbeds. Around 8 volunteers and staff members team up to site themselves at strategic vantage points across the reedy parts of the reserve to listen for booming bitterns and to watch for marsh harrier activity. Tuesday 28 was the second survey of the season and we have five male bitterns- four of which are ‘booming’ and one is making grunting noises instead. Grunts are precursors to booms and this male is either not quite strong enough to make the impressive (and energy-demanding) booms, or he is still building up his throat muscles prior to booming- as all birds go through this warm-up process as a kind of ‘training’ programme in early Spring. A male bitterns’ body mass can increase by 30% as he transitions into booming- and this extra weight is all muscle- required in the throat area to generate the booms!
Other highlights from the surveys include two barn owls- one over New Fen and one further west from Joist Fen, as well as a tawny owl calling from West Wood. As well as owls, early morning on the reserve can be a great time to look and listen for bearded tits, especially on a calm day. The stretch between Joist Fen and New Fen- with reedbed either side of the main track- can be a good place to look, as well as the boardwalk leading to Mere Hide. On Wednesday (29 March) visitors enjoyed watching a kingfisher from the hide itself. A great spectacle has been had for a couple of weeks now at New Fen- as a pair of great crested grebes in full breeding regalia have been displaying to each other in the pool there. For great crested grebes, courtship is a very complicated business with a lot of mimicry and synchronised actions involved- mutual turning of the heads, swimming towards each other with necks parallel to the water, and even the giving of food as gifts. The culmination of the display is often the famous ‘weed dance’ where each bird gathers a suitable piece of plant material and rears up, paddling furiously to meet each other breast-to-breast, exchanging the plant material in their bills. The synchronised behaviour is thought to be a test of trust and commitment- if the other bird copies, it’s a sign of having their full attention!
Photo credit: One of the stunning great crested grebes from New Fen. Photo taken by Anthony Stripp. Other highlights include a rare Reeve’s pheasant spotted by warden Katherine on the entrance track this morning (30 March) along with a red kite in flight over the Visitor Centre. On Monday (27 March) our first report came in for 2023 of a willow warbler singing in the car park, and on Wednesday (29 March) a ‘ringtail’ hen harrier was spotted in flight over the Washland footpath near the viewpoint. A ‘ringtail’ is exactly that- a hen harrier with conspicuous dark rings along the length of its tail, making it either a female or juvenile bird (which look very similar) as opposed to the light grey males. I hope you have found this sightings blog useful- as always we are very grateful for your wildlife sightings from your visits to us, so please do drop in before you leave or let us know via Facebook, Twitter or e-mail if you prefer. With best wishes from the reserve, Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).