Good morning. It is now warmed up so hopefully, we have seen the last of the snow that the "Beast from the East" has bought us!
We had one more dose of snow on Friday night so the reserve was looking very wintery as I drove in yesterday morning. A common buzzard flew over the snowy entrance track which was nice to see.
I went up to the Washland viewpoint and saw a great white egret in flight. There were five whooper swans present and a male marsh harrier was hunting just east of the viewpoint.
I then walked around Brandon Fen which looked very pretty in the snow:
Image credits: David White
When I got back to the visitor centre, a great spotted woodpecker was drumming in the staff car park and a smart male brambling was on the visitor centre feeders. At lunchtime, a stonechat was showing well from the Washland viewpoint along with two water pipits.
Meanwhile, further down the reserve, four cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint. A probable bittern also flew over East Wood, towards the visitor centre.
There were two roe deer grazing on the entrance track as I drove in this morning. A great white egret was showing well from the Washland viewpoint along with five whooper swans.
There were also some interesting gulls present. This included two adult great black backed gulls and an adult yellow legged gull in amongst the more common species.
As I walked along the riverbank, a skylark was singing overhead and a couple of water pipits flew up. A treecreeper was singing in East Wood and a marsh harrier was hunting in front of New Fen viewpoint.
Notices
Firstly, please note that some of the reserve paths are currently slippery and muddy so please take care if you come to visit. We recommend that you bring wellies if you have them.
Secondly, if you are planning to visit the reserve tomorrow (Monday 5 March), please note that the toilets will be closed for part of the day. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Please read here for more informaiton.
Thirdly, please note that we will be changing from a car parkng charge to an entrance charge for non-members on Sunday 1 April. Please read here for more information.
We hope to see you soon!