A week of easterly winds from Russia, cloud with occasional showers is certainly a forecast you want to see in October if you are after migrant birds... and they have started arriving.

The star bird of the week has to go to a fine great grey shrike; myself and the work party found this bird by coincidence while walking into a plot of reed that was due to be burnt, it just so happened to be in the tree as we walked past…

I have been away for two weeks and it looks like autumn has arrived in my absence! The trees have started to get a bronzy tint and leaves are starting to fall in the wind already. Yesterdays grey sky and showery rain compared to today’s bright blue sky and chill in the air confirms the autumnal feel.

 Since my last update there have been a few changes with regards to the wildlife at the reserve; the bearded tits…

A very mixed bag of weather once again this week with some bright sunny spells along with a fair amount of rain, particularly on Wednesday when it didn’t appear to stop all day.

The fen speciality species are still showing well from around the fen, these include kingfishers, bitterns and bearded tits. Kingfishers have been showing quite reliably all week from reception and Fen Hide. Bearded tits have been seen…

The past week has seen some more subtle changes of season. The warblers are slowly thinning out in number while the overhead passage is just starting to commence. The overhead passage has mainly consisted of the first trickle of siskins and meadow pipits, this will increase over the coming month.

The classic species have been showing well for the past week, just yesterday a bittern was showing very well from reception…

A largely pleasant week of sunny spells although Wednesday will be remembered for its very heavy rain, which flooded nearby roads and topped up the fen a bit!

 We still have the great white egret in residence, it has remained very faithful to Tower Hide Broad for the past 7 days and is still happily fishing there as I write today. Also on the broad at Tower hide are eight or so ruff as well as three eclipse plumage garganey…

A fine mid August week with a good amount of sunshine, overcast humid conditions and a small amount of rain on Thursday night.

This weeks star bird was a great white egret, this grey heron sized egret came in from the east on Monday morning and spent three days fishing at tower hide. It was seen very well with little egrets as a superb size comparison, many people commented on just how big it…

A short update I’m afraid this week due to other work pressures.

 The highlights of the week included a single swallowtail butterfly seen on Saturday. This could be the first of the second brood or it could be the entire second brood! Last year we saw just 3-8 butterflies for second brood and with the late onset of the first brood this year I would think numbers will be low, but there is at least one to aim at.

Yet another mixed week of weather, with below average temperatures, cool nights, showers, wind, as well as warm sunny spells to remind us of the season. Despite the weather we have had some good sightings over the week.

 We are pleased to see that the second bittern nest is still active from Fen Hide, this bird is almost certainly a re-lay nest after an earlier nest failure. This is most probably one of the few remaining…

A sunny start to the week with dark rain clouds building as I write, this has produced a week of butterflies, dragonflies as well as some bird species featuring on this weeks round up.

 Swallowtail caterpillars can be seen in all stages of their development from the small black and white stage right through to the big juicy green and orange striped stage. These can be found on the milk parsley plants around the boardwalk…

This week started off overcast and drizzly and ended up hot and windy, so once again we have seen a range in weathers bringing a range of sightings.

Now is the traditional quiet time for birds at the fen. The birds have had a very busy time for the past 3 months singing, feeding young and in some species case having three broods, so they can be forgiven for being quiet and not particularly energetic in the mid summer…

Wow what a hot week! The weather here at Strumpshaw has been up to 31 degrees on Wednesday, with warm sunny spells to continue into the early part of the weekend at least.

 The hot weather has certainly had a large affect on the wildlife here at the fen. The invertebrates have had yet another explosion and a very large number of beetles, hoverflies, butterflies and dragonflies have emerged with this warm spell…

This week has seen some warm sunny weather and some cold windy weather, so the sightings for the week have been up and down with the weather conditions playing a large part in what is seen each day.

Swallowtail butterflies are past their peak now, so the chances of connecting with this magnificent butterfly are dropping by the day. However, if the weather is warm, calm and there is a good amount of sun there will still…

When the sun shines the fen comes to life! Thursday was a very nice sunny day and rewarded visitors with good views of many swallowtails, Norfolk hawkers, scarce chasers as well as marsh harriers and bitterns!

 The adult marsh harriers are still busy feeding their young, with many food passes occurring over the fen. The bittern nest is still going strong, regular feeding flights can be seen from Tower Hide, it looks like…

Another mixed few weeks of weather here at the fen, with cloud, blazing sunshine and lightning storms as well as the odd day of non-stop rain! The traditional British weather has brought out some of our much loved Broads specialities.

 The main attraction of swallowtails has had a very good supporting cast over the past week with many dragonflies, butterflies and insects of all kinds exploding in numbers on the warm…

When the sun shines these rare gems fly!

Unfortunately the weather has not been overly kind so far, however they are being seen with increasing frequency each sunny day.

Today I have seen two from Fen Hide and the individual pictured above taking advantage of our nectar garden by the reception.

So if swallowtail butterfly is on your 'want to see' list come down to the fen on a warm sunny day in the next couple of…

Four-spotted chaser and mother shipton moth, Ben Lewis 

Finally a decent looking forecast for the weather for a bank holiday weekend. The next week looks like it will be kind to the swallowtails (and swallowtail watchers). They have begun their emergence now so there should be a decent chance of seeing one as long as there is sun and not too much wind. They have been seen for the past 4 days now, but a certain element…

Just a quick post to let you all know that the first swallowtail butterfly of the year was seen this afternoon briefly flying past the path between the fingerpost and the reception.

They are three days late this year, but given the weather I think we'd better let them off and enjoy their company once again.

We will need a few more warm days this week to encourage more individuals to emerge and then they will hope…

We are still awaiting our first swallowtail butterfly of the season, they are currently running late, but that’s not too surprising given the recent cool weather conditions. You can almost always set your calendar to the 14^th May for Swallowtail emergence so fingers crossed next weekend should see a few of these beauties on the wing.

Birds at the reserve have continued to make the reedbed a lively place with all…

The weather has picked up and today is certainly a fine spring day with warm sunshine and large black clouds moving by. The outlook is good for the weekend and following week too, so it could be a great time to come and visit. 

The fen has certainly moved up a gear in terms of migrants with all expected migrants now present. Birdwise the fen is now hosting cuckoo, hobby, reed, sedge, cetti’s and grasshopper warblers.…

Spring has moved up a gear since last week, the fine weather this week with warm sunshine has caused many invertebrates to emerge. The same can be said for bird migration which has been helped by high pressure systems and some southerly winds.

 At the fen we have had two bitterns booming with multiple sightings of birds flying around the reedbed, including a couple doing several laps of the fen before going down together…

Cetti's warbler; Ben Lewis

First of all, an apology for the lack of recent sightings updates for the past few weeks, there was an update to the community pages which prevented one blog, since this date the phone lines have been down due to a tree falling on the two weeks ago so we have been without internet too.

Since the last update the spring migrants have been passing through in small numbers. The last few…

What a difference a week makes! In stark contrast to last week it has been cool, overcast and had a moderate breeze from the North and East, dropping the temperature and insect life considerably.

 The fen has had a selection of stand out species such as two cranes today, these flew in and landed in front of Fen Hide giving the visitor inside superb views along with a selection of comical shots as they stared eye…

A fine mainly sunny week with temperatures rising up to near t-shirt weather and a very spring like feel .

The bright sunshine had certainly caused the birds in the woodland to up their volume, today this included a very fine chorus from the redwing, this is usually a rare occurrence as they migrate North before properly singing. Other species which have been added to the woodland chorus over the past week include…

    Another week of weather contrasts, we have had pleasant sunshine, cloud, lots of wind and a morning of rain, however the weekend is rumoured to be sunny and double figures which could make lots of birds and insects very busy. 

    Strumpshaw Fen has seen the return of the black-headed gulls this week, this is usually a good indicator of spring, their loud calls and territorial behaviour is always interesting to watch…

If so, I can tell you that it is an awesome experience. I am currently one quarter of the way through my residential volunteering placement at RSPB Strumpshaw fen, and would definitely recommend it.

Every morning I take my coffee outside and am serenaded by the sound of blue tits, great tits, bullfinches and drumming woodpeckers amongst other glorious sounds. I have seen otters in the river, barn owls over the meadows…