Now that we are in the last month of winter, you can see signs of a change in the seasons when you walk around the reserve- Reed buntings are singing from sheltered locations in reed and scrub, and on the pools many ducks are paired up- yesterday (1 February) I counted six pairs of Gadwall at New Fen, and one pair of Tufted duck. It’s a similar situation on the Washland- volunteer Paul counted two Shoveler, three Teal, 70 Gadwall and 29 Wigeon- many of these are settling into pairs too. Paul also saw six Mute swans and around 30 Coot, but both these species are generally later breeders and take their time in the Spring- there’ll be much arguing and territorial dispute to come first! In the past few days, Great crested grebe have returned to the reserve again- with one on a pool near Joist Fen, seen by our warden Katherine yesterday (1 February) and another has been on the Washland for two days running. Great crested grebes tend to be absent from inland sites during early and mid-winter, as sheltered freshwater pools freeze readily and threaten their ability to reliably find food. So they head to the coast- where conditions are milder and brackish (slightly salty) water or seawater freezes at a lower temperature. In February, along with Kingfishers, they tend to return to inland reserves more suitable for breeding. A single Kingfisher was spotted flying along the river by volunteer Lawrence at lunchtime.
Our Common cranes were heard by a visitor at Joist Fen Viewpoint on 1 February, and this follows a pattern of up to five being seen or heard most days in recent weeks. Although water levels at the nearby Ouse and Nene Washes RSPB reserves are subsiding, the higher-than-average water levels seem to have triggered our birds to spend more time in their summering grounds with us, which are drier and may provide more opportunities to find food. Some visitors see two birds (likely to be Pair A2), three birds (likely to be Pair B2 with their 2023 chick) or five birds (both families together) and in no particular location- often flying over the reserve. Over 40 Siskin and a single Lesser redpoll were found by two visitors on 1 February feeding in an Alder in Brandon Fen, and these should also be easy to see most of the time in the Alders beside the balcony at the Visitor Centre. Here, a Sparrowhawk flashed through early this morning (2 February), whilst Reed bunting, Long-tailed tit and Marsh tit have been regular visitors every day. Down at the Photography Station, two Water rails are fairly reliable visitors to the spilt seed underneath the feeders, whilst shier species such as Greenfinch and Great spotted woodpecker are frequent. One of our regular visitors, Cheryl Collier, took these superb photos at the Photo Station on 28 January: Photo credit: All photos by Cheryl Collier- taken at the Pat Rolph Photography Station on 28 January 2024. Kestrel and Buzzard are regulars over the Washland area, and a Barn owl was spotted in flight in Brandon Fen early on 1 February- our first record for a few weeks. The Washland and the rough grassland between the Visitor Centre and the car park are favourite hunting places, so if you’d like to try and spot it, try visiting at dawn or dusk when they will be most active. Our other commonly-seen raptor is the Marsh harrier, with a single bird in flight over the Washland this morning (2 February). Numbers of these elegant raptors into roost at dusk does vary, but viewing from Joist Fen Viewpoint should reward you with 10-20 at different locations. Light or moderate winds and mild conditions offer the best chances. Wardens Katherine and Haydn have just returned from a trip down the reserve and have seen a total of three Great white egrets- this is probably in addition to the two that frequent the Washland area. They also had a single Raven flying overhead and yesterday (1 February) whilst working on Cowles’ Drove earlier this week they also saw two Jack snipe and two Woodcock. The weekend ahead looks dry and mild so this bodes well for visitors coming to see us this weekend- and I hope the sightings above have given you an idea of what you may see if you visit us. Certain areas of the reserve are a little muddy underfoot, but most paths are dry and easy-going at the moment- we haven’t had much rain for a couple of weeks now. Other news from the reserve – Pin badges and cherry bakewells! This week, John W moved his pin badges back onto the wall from the mobile display, and they look really impressive- and it should make it easier for visitors to browse them before buying. We also widened our vegan offering in the catering area with some gluten-free, vegan cherry bakewell tarts which we hope everyone can enjoy. Meanwhile, outdoors the work parties have continued to clear scrub from the reedbeds, and we are about to begin sprucing up the trails ready for Spring. In the next few weeks we will redo the painted tops of the coloured posts around the reserve (orange, yellow, green and purple to match the trails on the paper map) and also bring in any tatty or worn chalkboards for a re-paint. Hopefully, by the end of February they will all be back out again and useful to our visitors in the warmer months to come. We also have plans afoot to create a hibernaculum for Common lizards in the wildlife garden in front of the Visitor Centre, and Emma has sown some plots near the Bug hotels with Flixweed seeds. This annual plant is the foodplant of the Grey carpet moth, a scarce species which has been found here before and who we hope to help by encouraging more Flixweed to grow in sunny spots. I hope this blog has been a useful read, and we hope that you have an enjoyable weekend- whether that includes a visit to us, or not! With best wishes, Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer).