Barn owl by Elizabeth Dack
Seeing as we are all able to move about a bit more as restrictions are raised, it seems like a very good time to restart the sightings blog.
This is the time of the year when we start welcoming back our breeding birds who have travelled from distant shores, the sights and sounds of the woodland and reedbed are transformed by these spring migrants and it heralds a very definite change in season. Throughout the past two weeks in particular the birds have been returning as follows;
The first migrants were seen on 24 March, these were roosting sand martins, which are traditionally the first sub-Saharan species to occur.
The first wave of chiffchaffs and blackcaps arrived on 24 March, where the woodland and riverbank were transformed into the sound of spring.
This was followed by sedge warbler, willow warbler and house martins all returning on 31 March.
April arrived with our only sub-Saharan migrant duck species to grace the pool in the Tower Hide area, a minimum of eight garganey have taken up residence in the area, which are most welcome.
A real surprise grey phalarope spent the afternoon on Rockland Broad following strong northerly gales, this species has only been recorded a couple of times in the Yare Valley in the past 20 years, so was well watched in its all too brief appearance.
Back to more expected migrants, 13 April saw the first common whitethroat and reed warbler singing from the reedbed.
While all the migrants are arriving, our resident birds are also thriving and are certainly not being overlooked. We have a good number of displaying and nest building marsh harriers on site as well as two booming bitterns, kingfishers are busy along the riverbank and can often be seen whizzing past at full speed. Bearded tits can be heard pinging from all over the reedbed, showing us that they have survived the winter and we hope that they have a much needed decent breeding season, with numbers still not back to pre ‘beast from the east’ numbers, early indications are promising for this year. As is often the case at this time of the year, we have had semi regular visits from common cranes, these bugling beauties often circle the fen announcing their presence, occasionally touching down in the reedbed to inspect our work and then continue on their way, so if you are lucky you may just see some of these Broadland wanderers.
Male marsh harrier by Elizabeth Dack
Cetti's warbler by Murray Smith
At Buckenham the waders have been busy preparing for the nesting season with displaying lapwings, redshank and oystercatchers hard to miss along with the beautiful backdrop of the ever singing skylarks. The wigeon and teal have almost all departed now being replaced by the occasional garganey. At least one and sometimes two great white egrets can be seen on the marshes, these elegant white herons are hard to miss if present and are a new species which appears to be in the process of ‘doing a little egret’ and becoming a fixed part of our avifauna.
The woodland and Fen Trails are open at Strumpshaw Fen, however due to the amount of flooding we have received in recent months, the Lackford Run is particularly muddy in places, if attempting the Fen Trail circuit please wear waterproof footwear and be aware of the rising tide levels, the circuit is not currently suitable for wheelchairs, pushchairs or any wheeled devices (the woodland trail is far better). The Fen Boardwalk remains closed and all hides on the reserve are closed until at least 17th May. The Meadow Trail should also be opened at a similar time in mid-May once it has dried out a little more.
In the next week or so I would hope that the first cuckoos have been heard, the reedbed should start to fill up with the sounds of sedge, reed and grasshopper warblers and the invertebrate explosion of life which Strumpshaw fen is famous for should be in full swing. Its great that this year we are able to welcome everyone back to enjoy the special nature that calls this reserve home, many visitors who have not visited for a long time due to Covid have been so clearly excited to return to the fen and overjoyed to be back seeing the specialty species we have on show….and that’s enough to satisfy any warden.