This week, raptors have been a bit of a theme- we've had two Hen harrier spotted from Joist Fen viewpoint- our warden Henry had a beautiful male fly past him and then he also had a ringtail (female or juvenile) too. This was at dusk- a time when you can currently see multiple Marsh harriers flying in from all directions to roost in the reedbeds. Some are quite distant, but if you stand at the viewpoint and look roughly westwards, towards the setting sun, you should see them slowly assemble. When I joined a roost count earlier in November we had somewhere between 10 and 15 Marsh harriers, so you should see a number within this range, unless we have wet weather. The calmer, colder evenings of late are well suited to watching the harriers. Henry also saw a Merlin- the first of the season, so look out for this raptor too. If you haven't seen one before, they look like mini Peregrines. They prey mainly on small birds and are attracted to winter roosts by the arrival of species such as Reed buntings and Blue tits who also seek the safety of the roost, much like the Marsh harriers do. For this reason, it's not unusual to spot a Sparrowhawk knocking about too. This is unrelated to the roosts, but our Site Manager Dave spotted a hunting Peregrine on Cowles Drove this afternoon- so they're about too! He or she had a Lapwing for lunch. Earlier in the day I had seen a flock of 140+ flying around so perhaps it had caught one of these.Numbers of Whooper swans roosting on the Washland have been lower this week, seemingly since the cold weather arrived a few days ago. The Washland is very shallow and freezes over quickly, so it may be that this has discouraged them from assembling here, although numbers were falling before the first frost of the Autumn arrived. It's quite normal for numbers to fluctuate widely as Whooper swans do seem to prefer to use roost sites closer to their daytime feeding grounds- and as these sources of food are short-lived (often they clear up discarded crops in harvested fields), so are their roosts. Still, on 20 November we had a count of 74 and on 22 November we had just 20; and since then it's been just single figures. However, two each of Great white egret, Little egret and Grey heron have been daily sightings on the Washland. Yesterday (28 November) I was admiring the regular pair of Stonechat perched on the riverside vegetation from the bench when the usual male Marsh harrier glided over the water- he flushed three Common snipe and 10 Wigeon which had been hidden out of view until then. And for two days running, a small group of Bearded tits have been somewhere in the small patch of reeds in front of the bench- audible, pinging every five minutes or so, but not visible. So look out for those too! On our volunteer Paul's most recent count of the waterbirds using the Washland (this morning, 29 November) he saw 12 Gadwall, 35 Wigeon, 5 Shoveler, 3 Mallard and- in the river- 4 Little grebe, as well as the herons and egrets mentioned earlier. On 22 November Paul spotted 4 Redshank too.In this recent cold snap, the Sparrowhawk has been a frequent ambush predator at the Visitor Centre feeders, which are attracting lovely species like Coal tit, Marsh tit and Long-tailed tit, as well as a Great spotted woodpecker and a couple of Greenfinches. Water rails have begun to appear- chilly weather often brings them out. On 24 November one of our volunteers had one creep across the Visitor Centre pond, on the frozen ice, and another has begun to clear up spilt peanuts at the Photography Station. Bird feeders in wetland reserves in winter can offer a really good chance to see these beautiful birds which are normally shy and elusive, and you often get long enough to admire their stunning blue, black, white and red plumage. Sometimes, as happened last week, you may be lucky enough to spot a Kingfisher fizz past you whilst at the Photo Station- it seems an unlikely spot but they are partial to shortcuts- and it seems to be part of the quick route from the riverbank to the ditch along the railway line- as it happens every now and again when someone is around to see. However, this week the Visitor Centre pool has been a popular spot (with two birds at once on 27 November) and another at Mere Hide too, along with an Otter. Now we have had a couple of days where water on the reserve has frozen over, we may find that we see a sharp drop in Kingfisher sightings- they can't go long without food and certainly can't afford to hang around for ice to melt. So, as soon as we get a cold snap, our Kingfishers often leave us for coastal sites that won't freeze over. If this has happened, then we may not see them much again before Spring, when the winters' survivors return to inland wetlands for breeding attempts. But, time will tell if they have left us yet...In Brandon Fen, small groups of Siskin and much larger flocks of Redwing are a common sight at present. The Siskins love Alder trees, where they feed on the cones, and if you look carefully you will see Goldfinches and perhaps the odd Redpoll too- we had our first record of the winter a few days ago. Siskin are also commonly seen flying around the Visitor Centre too, and we hope to tempt some down onto our nyjer feeder in the coming weeks. The Redwings love to rummage through the fallen poplar leaves in Brandon Fen- turning them over to look for bugs to eat- and there can be several hundred all feeding together or resting higher in the trees in between feeds, often in the sunshine.Despite it being November, we are not without a Bittern sighting this week- one was seen from the riverbank yesterday (28 November). This can be a good spot for them in the colder months, perhaps because the river keeps flowing and with it, the opportunity to find food even when still water bodies have frozen over. Surprisingly, we have not gone without a sighting of our Common cranes either- six were seen by our grazier as well as some passengers on the train on 26 November, and heard by our warden Henry too. These winter visits are lovely surprises when they happen- every now and again as either a visiting group passes through or perhaps 'our' breeding pairs come back for a day to check all is in order with their territories and breeding grounds.If you plan to visit us this weekend, the weather is looking dry and not too cold, with only light winds. Our harrier roost is well worth a watch- try to be at Joist Fen viewpoint for 3:30pm if you want to see this- and it's fairly likely that the Hen harriers (if any arrive) will come in quite late, when it is fairly dark. On the way back, you may even hear species like Tawny owl or see Woodcock flying out of places like West Wood as both are common here in the winter. If you come during the daytime, you may well still see Marsh harriers but Water rail and Bearded tits are worth looking for too!With best wishes for the weekend,Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).