Hello and welcome to the latest blog from our little piece of Fenland. We have been gifted with some really beautiful days here in February so far- we've had lots of sunshine but some cold starts to those sunny days! And the past couple of days have seen plenty of wind, which the marsh harriers love- at least eight were in the air across the reserve yesterday when Dave, Luke and myself went out on a drive through the reserve to get odd jobs done yesterday (16 February). We saw several males flying low and deliberately over their reedbed territories and on 11 February (a particularly balmy day) the first sky-dancing males of 2022 were reported too- one was over New Fen reedbed at lunchtime with another alongside the river near the Wilton Bridge. We are not quite sure what tomorrows' Storm Eunice has in store for us- having just seen that the Met Office has upgraded our weather warning from Yellow to Amber- but we will cross our fingers and hope not to lose too many trees and branches. The reserve will be closed to visitors- for their own safety- as there is a very high chance of falling branches and even trees, many of which sit adjacent to paths. Whilst we cannot stop visitors walking the trails tomorrow, we strongly recommend that they come back another day. Although any reserve with trees is at risk, a high proportion of our trees (and nearly all of those in West, East and Trial Woods (as well as Brandon Fen)) are hybrid poplars which are tall, brittle and have very shallow rootplates, so they topple over easily. Generally, if trees and branches fall within a wood and well away from a path, we leave them to rot down naturally to increase the amount of deadwood available for wildlife such as beetles and birds.Today (17 February) produced our first bittern sighting in a while, of an individual stalking through the rough vegetation on the northern bank of the river, north of East Wood. It shouldn't be long before we start to hear their booming calls carry across the reedbed. Also today was a single oystercatcher and curlew on the Washland, with around 60 lapwing, 160 teal, 3 shelduck and 10+ shoveler. On calmer days than today recently the beautiful bubbling call of the curlew and the lapwings 'pee-wit' have been heard by visitors on the riverbank footpath, both of which are beautiful calls and a real sign that Spring is just around the corner. It is common to see both goldfinch (feeding on teasel seedheads from summer 2021) and a stonechat or two along the riverbank, and a cormorant in the river itself, fishing for a meal. Other signs of Spring include the furry buds of goat willow beginning to open; particularly where it flowers in sunny, sheltered spots, and the odd bumblebee queen slowly buzzing past you on calm days now. We have yet to see our first butterfly of 2022 but a female drone fly came out of hibernation yesterday and rested on a visitor's knee to warm up!Other recent Washland highlights include 16 wigeon on 15 February (10 today!) as well as 9 avocet on 16 February. We first got our avocet back on 4 February, when three were spotted on the edge of the Washland. Since then, the little gang has risen to 5 birds, then 7 and now 9. They should be here now for the breeding season and we may well see a few more turn up yet. Do look out for a pair of pintail on the Washland which were last seen on 11 February, and at the start of the month we had six up there. You can often see kestrel, buzzard and marsh harrier hunting over the Washland and river and on warm days the buzzards (sometimes up to four) can be admired as they climb higher and higher through the thermals above the reserve, 'mewing' as they go- a real sign of Spring. A red kite was seen over New Fen reedbed on 11 February- a bird that is slowly becoming more frequent as a record for us- a few years ago we might receive one record per year, roughly, but now one per month or two is more usual.Other highlights from this week include several chaffinches and a greenfinch on the Visitor Centre feeders, as well as a reappearance from the water rail at the Photo Station feeders. Reed bunting, long-tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker and marsh tit can often be spotted at any of the feeders too. Moving from some of our smallest to our largest resident bird- the common crane- February has produced almost daily sightings of between two and seven birds (most often three or four) distantly from Joist Fen. We believe our crane pairs are more or less resident with us now and should be here most days until they (hopefully) settle down on eggs in April. It is crucial that for the next few weeks we keep disturbance to an absolute minimum, so please respect the barrier in place at Joist Fen Viewpoint- it is in place year-round, but it is especially important that we all keep the right side of it at the moment! If you can't see the cranes from the viewpoint, you could try walking along the riverbank for a short distance, as the elevated height may give you a chance to see them.Although I can't yet write of insect records (!) I can mention mammals- and a stoat was filmed dragging his rabbit prey along a path with considerable exertion at New Fen on 11 February- check our Twitter page for this video- whilst muntjac deer have been delighting visitors with close encounters most days.Developments on the reserveAside from the wildlife, it is worth me mentioning (especially as it is half-term) that pond-dipping is now an option for visiting families! About ten days ago we were able to start abstracting (removing) water from the river and topping up the reserve's capacity, ready for the summer ahead. As a result of this, the water level on our dipping pond is now ideal and perfect for small (and tall!) people to lean over to safely dip! We are only permitted to abstract during the winter, when water levels are naturally high, and this year we were required to install a meter to take daily measurements of our abstractions, so there has been a delay in beginning to siphon off water. If you would like to borrow a pond dipping kit, these will be available between 9am and 5pm during the week, from the Visitor Centre, for £2. Your donation will support the reserve as well as helping us to fund replacement kit as it wears out! We hope to be able to pond-dip for months to come, but we will see what Mother Nature has in store for us and how quickly the pond dries out!From 1 March our Visitor Centre and toilets (and takeaway refreshments) will be available from 9am until 5pm each day instead of 9am to 4pm as has been the case during the shorter days of winter. Today's Thursday work party has been at Cavenham Heath, a nearby reserve where a portion of it is managed by the RSPB. They have been carrying out habitat improvement works for stone curlews; creating brash piles suitable as shelter for rabbits and young stone curlews. The dry grassland there is quite exposed and it is hoped that these shelters will increase the attractiveness of the land for rabbits (thereby encouraging grazing) and that the young stone curlews will have some shelter from the sometimes-intense sun and from predators too.With best wishes for the week ahead,Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).