Let’s face it; the weather on Friday just wasn’t that great! However, several things were seen over the course of the day. Ali saw her first ever garden warbler alongside East Wood and some colleagues saw a bittern and some bearded tits from New Fen viewpoint.
There was an intriguing report of a great white egret from Joist Fen viewpoint later on in the day. Although these birds are still very rare visitors to Britain, they are increasing. A birdwatcher from Canada came in to the visitor centre and reported it. As she saw them most weeks in her home country, we were pretty convinced by her report!
It was a grey and non-descript morning yesterday but I went for a walk anyway! I heard both male and female cuckoos in East Wood and there was a sprinkling of garden warblers singing in various places. I saw a silver-ground carpet moth south of Trial Wood and a male blue tailed damselfly alongside East Wood. A lucky couple also saw a turtle dove alongside the entrance track as they drove in.
The New Fen viewpoint was definitely the place to be yesterday. The pick of the bunch were the bearded tits that were feeding on the grit tray in front of the viewpoint. There were at least three and Dave got some lovely photos of them:
Image credit: Dave Rogers
Roy saw at least three bittern flights from the viewpoint and a hobby flew very close to the viewpoint at one point. It wasn’t all going on at Joist Fen viewpoint though as a grass snake swan across the pool in front of the viewpoint. One of our volunteers was at the west end of the reserve and was lucky enough to see a pair of water rails with a chick and also a family of Chinese water deers. A lucky couple also saw an otter in one of the bays alongside Trial Wood.
I was very fortunate to lead the “Aren’t bitterns brilliant” guided walk this morning. It was a brilliant walk and there was so much to see. On the way down to New Fen viewpoint, we stopped to look at some nice plants that were starting to come out. We same plenty of common mallow:
Image credit: David White
And plenty of tufted vetch that was very popular with the bees:
We had a fantastic view of five juvenile bearded tits feeding on the grit tray in front of New Fen viewpoint and a barn owl was hunting along the riverbank. A male and female and cuckoo flew over the reedbed and we had an excellent view of a bittern that flew out from right in front of the viewpoint before flying the whole length of the reedbed.
A grasshopper warbler was reeling between Trial Wood and West Wood and we saw several blue tailed damselflies. At least two large skippers were feeding on the viper’s bugloss alongside East Wood.
A kingfisher flew over New Fen North and a hobby was sparring with a kestrel over West Wood. A group of four common curlews flew over Joist Fen viewpoint and a bittern flew right in front of the viewpoint. It was so close that you could tell what it was with the naked eye!
As we walked back along the riverbank, volunteers Mark and Liz spotted probably the same bittern feeding on the riverbank right out in the open. I spotted a female scarce chaser that whizzed into West Wood and there were several azure damselflies on the wing:
All in all, it was a fantastic walk and it just highlighted how much wildlife the RSPB has Given Nature a home to over the last seventeen years. For more ideas about how you can help to Give Nature a Home near you, please click here.
We hope to see you soon.