Good afternoon. Apologies for the lack of updates recently, I have not been spending much time at the reserve recently.
I did come down for a walk on Tuesday evening and I had fantastic views of a hobby hunting over Mere Hide at around 7pm. There were also several cuckoos calling and there were good numbers of banded demoiselle damselflies on the wing along the riverbank.
On Wednesday evening, volunteer John heard a few notes of nightingale song near the visitor centre. This was probably the same bird that was heard last Wednesday.
Suzanne and I did a survey around Brandon Fen early on Thursday morning and we had great views of a barn owl hunting. We also heard a garden warbler singing near the photography station.
As the day went on, two black terns were reported from Joist Fen viewpoint. A kingfisher made a brief appearance at the edge of the visitor centre pond and volunteer Lawrence saw a stonechat near the Washland viewpoint.
Yesterday, local photographer Alan Reynolds photographed this bittern on the reserve:
Image credit: Alan Reynolds
Thank you very much to Alan for sharing this wonderful image with us.
A male Montagu’s harrier flew over New Fen viewpoint just after 8am this morning which is a good record for here. A bittern flew over the visitor centre pond mid-morning which was a nice surprise.
A pair of garganeys have been seen in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed. A family of bearded tits have also been seen near New Fen viewpoint.
I will leave you today with a couple of pictures of some invertebrates that have been taken here recently:
Black tailed skimmer dragonfly:
Puss moth caterpillar:
Image credits: Greg Dickens
Thank you very much to Alan and Greg for sharing these great images with us.
We hope to see you soon.