How on earth is it December already? This year really seems to have flown by!
I've got another busy week ahead so here are some more recent sightings for you:
I went up to the Washland viewpoint on Thursday afternoon and a winter plumaged great crested grebe was on the river. A mixed flock of siskins and redpolls were also feeding in the alders behind the visitor centre.
It was a nice morning yesterday morning and I saw plenty on my walk before work. A muntjac deer was feeding on the riverbank in Brandon Fen and a white pheasant (which was either a hybrid or leucisitc) flew up in front of me.
Good numbers of whooper swans were present in front of the Washland viewpoint and I counted at least 56 at one point. An extremely smart adult Caspian gull was present in front of the viewpoint and several waders were present. This included 27 lapwings, three redshanks and two dunlins. A female merlin also flew east overhead which was a nice surprise at this end of the reserve.
As the morning went on, a red kite flew over the Washland viewpoint and a sparrowhawk flew over the visitor centre. In the afternoon, three great white egrets were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and at least five marsh harriers were also hunting in the same area.
Unfortunately, the weather hasn't been great this morning so far and here is a picture of the visitor centre pond shortly after we opened up the visitor centre:
Image credit: David White
However despite the weather, at least 64 whooper swans were present in front of the Washland viewpoint along with three redshanks. At least one brambling also flew over, calling as it went.
If you are planning to visit the reserve, please note that the Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint is now muddy in places. We recommend wearing at least walking boots if you are planning to use this path at present.
As it is now December, I will leave you with our Christmas opening times, which I have attached below. If you can't download the file, the relevant information can also be found here.
We hope to see you on the reserve soon!