Today it's fairly windy outside but on better weather days there's plenty to see on the reserve at the moment- and perhaps the most obvious thing is the myriad of singing warblers here to greet you as you walk the trails. Whilst Chiffchaff have gone quiet (they will be raising their first broods now), Blackcap, Willow warbler and Cetti's warbler are particularly vocal, as they compete for territories and mates. If you walk alongside the railway track, to the south of East Wood on your way to New Fen, you can hear a series of Common whitethroat singing from the Elder bushes bordering the railway. The first of these were spotted a week ago (12 April)- with three birds going in and out of the brambles by the Washland Viewpoint- and they have quickly settled in. Cuckoo are a very popular target species for our visitors and we now have at least two birds here, and numbers should build over the next few weeks. Photo credit: Common whitethroat. We are not sure who's image this is- so if it's yours, do let us know and we can credit you properly!Yesterday (18 April) Garden warblers arrived with a bang and could be heard singing in multiple places- there is one that likes the area behind the raised beds at the Visitor Centre, so listen out on your next visit here. Their song is very similar to that of a Blackcap, but a little scratchier, faster and not so fluty. If you want to compare the songs and get familiar, then the excellent website https://xeno-canto.org/ is a library of birdsong- a mixture of contact calls, alarm calls and songs from birds around the world, and therefore a great place to start. Also turning up yesterday were the first House martins, who were flying a level higher than the Swallows and Sand martins they were with over the Washland in the afternoon. Their white rumps, dark-blue plumage and stockier build help to separate them from the Sand martins. Photo credit: Garden warbler by Cheryl ClossOn calmer days, Bitterns are easily heard and on our most recent survey (3 April) the team recorded 17 booming males. Also in the reedbed areas of New Fen and Joist Fen are multiple pairs of Marsh harriers, who are now in the stages of nest-building and food passing. Whilst paired females may not have eggs yet, their males will pass caught food items to them in mid-air as practice for a time when they will have a young family to feed. A well-fed female is also more likely to lay eggs, and more of them. We have received the odd report of Hobby here now, but nothing confirmed yet- it's still a little early and we expect to see them reliably towards the end of April, before numbers build up in May.One of our other specialities which are quite popular with visitors are Grasshopper warblers. We have had one record so far- there was one singing in Field 5026, which is the rather plain name for the meadow beyond the Photography Station. This was on 13 April and although there may well be more than one here now, the weather hasn't been favourable for hearing them sing this week. 13 April also saw our first Reed warblers- one was heard by volunteer Paul on the riverbank. Numbers of these built up quickly although Sedge warbler (an earlier arrival) still feels more numerous. We are very pleased to have welcomed back at least a couple of Nightingale again this year- which is always a triumph given their sharp and ongoing decline in the UK. The first bird was recorded from West Wood on 13 April, and a day later one was heard singing from Brandon Fen by a visitor walking along the riverbank. Photo credit: Sedge warbler by Tim James. Reed warblers lack the strong eye-stripe and distinctive facial markings.Up on the Washland, Garganey are getting trickier to find with no reports for a few days- however this is to be expected as paired birds now focus on breeding, which they will do very discreetly in small marshy pools around the reserve. More open areas like the Washland are generally avoided during breeding. However, good numbers of Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Wigeon can be admired on the Washland, as well as one or two Great crested grebes, Little egret and Great white egret too. Around the edges of the water you may see broods of Coot, Moorhen and Mallard too, and there's a few young Little grebe at New Fen Viewpoint too.Insect lifeFor those of our visitors interested in butterflies, we now have seven species here- Peacock and Brimstone were first (and both are still a common sight, although the Peacocks are looking a little worse for wear). Small tortoiseshell is quite tricky to see- there aren't many around- but Orange-tip, Green-veined white and Red admiral are more recent additions and easier to find. Last week (11 April) we also added our very first damselflies in the form of a couple of Large red damselflies. Our first dragonfly of 2024, a Hairy dragonfly, was spotted in the car park by our butterfly survey volunteers on Sunday afternoon (14 April). It's a pretty early record but we'd had a few very warm days so not unexpected. Photo credit: Hairy dragonfly by Chris GomersallReptilesIt's not often we have the luxury of being able to talk about recent reptile sightings but Grass snake records have been quite frequent lately, with a large adult seen crossing the path on the approach to Mere Hide, and a Common lizard was seen basking the sun on the boardwalk there yesterday (18 April). On Monday 8 April we had a report of an Adder, which would be very unusual for us and so if it was you that saw it, or you know who did, we'd really appreciate being able to discuss the sighting further with you. The week aheadWe expect to see numbers of all of our migrant birds rise in the next week, although the change will not be very dramatic if the weather forecast is true- winds are predicted to be from a northerly/north-westerly direction which impedes migration. Many birds will choose to wait for easterlies or winds from the south, as it makes their journey here much easier, and therefore safer. The exception to this rule can be Swifts- research suggests they are so aerodynamic in flight that there is very little wind resistance even when they fly into a headwind. First arrival dates for Swift are:2020 - 29 April2021 - 1 May2022 - 28 April2023 - 25 AprilSo whatever the date, it probably won't be long!Upcoming eventsWe have many exciting and unusual events coming up in the next few weeks. Some brief details of the closest events are below, but further information and to buy tickets, please click here.Guided Pond Dipping - Saturday 4 May and Saturday 1 June (12 noon - 1:30pm)Treasures of the Moth Trap - Friday 31 May and Friday 28 June (10-11am)Spring Wildlife Walks - Wednesday 1 May, Sunday 12 May, Sunday 26 May (9:30am - 12:30pm)Beginner's Photography Workshop - Saturday 22 June (10am- 4pm)Hopefully this blog has provided a good idea of what is going on at the reserve at the moment. We hope to welcome plenty of visitors in the next week to enjoy the wonders of Spring in peaceful surroundings.With best wishes,Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer).