Firstly, the roadworks on the B1112 are complete, and access to and from the reserve is now much nicer!
Now on to more interesting things! I'm quite lucky working as a Warden on a fantastic nature reserve. My job means that I have, fairly unrestricted, access to every nook and cranny of the reserve, and this can often provide opportunities for getting extremely close to wildlife.
Take last Monday for example. I needed to go and get a water level from a sluice at the western end of the reserve. After crashing through the undergrowth to get to the sluice and then measuring the water level, I turned round to head back, and noticed a shape on the edge of the reeds behind me. On closer inspection, the shape turned out to be a bittern, and after a few moments of me looking at it, and it looking at me, I began to wonder whether it was sick or injured. So I did what I'm sure anyone would do, I reached out my hand with the intention of checking its state of health, but before I could touch it, it issued a croak of disgust and flew off into the depths of Norfolk Fen - oops! As I stood watching it, I felt quite astounded at how close I'd come to touching a bittern, and at how I'd managed to walk right past it to get to the sluice. It was a fine tribute to its amazing camouflage and incredible ability to mimic a reed! And no, I didn’t have a camera – bah!
It's not just staff who get good close up's of bitterns though, as this photo from Tim James, taken last year, shows!
In other birdy news, I'm delighted to say that after an absence of many months, both pairs of cranes are now back on-site, and can be seen and heard almost daily from Joist Fen viewpoint. One pair has been around on and off for the past few weeks, but the other pair have been absent for nearly six months!! Emma has been using a trail camera near Humphreys paddock to try and get some crane shots, hopefully she'll be able to post some soon! Up to two great white egrets are still around, and quite often can be seen from the washland viewpoint. Marsh harriers are starting to warm up in preparation for the forthcoming breeding season, with one bird recently spotted carrying around bits of reed! He's obviously keen to get started!
Great White egret by Matt Walton
That's all for the moment. It's the monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey - organised by the BTO) count tomorrow, so I'll update what's around with a recent sightings blog then.
Cheers,
Katherine