A week of mixed weather, ranging from 24 degrees and full sun right through to cool and cloudy by the end of the week.

The highlight of the week was the fourth record for Strumpshaw of red backed shrike. A female was seen from Fen Hide and Reception on Tuesday, unfortunately the news did not get out for more to enjoy this rare visitor.

Other highlights included sightings of bittern from reception, four hobbys and two…

Well, that’s a bit more like it! Spring has arrived at last; a week of warm weather and sunny spells.

Warblers were particularly evident this week, finally getting a decent amount of weather to advertise their presence through singing. All migrant warblers are in and being seen regularly; lesser whitethroat being the most difficult to connect with. Grasshopper warblers were once again heard at the river end of…

Cold air still hangs over us, but the suns warmth is clearly strengthening, the temperatures are predicted to rise soon.

This week has seen the last of our expected migrants return, namely garden warbler. We now have the full set on our sightings board, even if a hobby just put in a brief flyover appearance on Saturday. There is at least one cuckoo singing along the riverbank, while common terns have become a more…

Another week of contrasting weather; warm sunshine at times followed by thunderstorms and persistent rain on Friday, quite a typical spring week.

The birds have been continuing to arrive from Africa throughout the week with additions including reed warbler, grasshopper warbler and common tern. The grasshopper warbler has been reeling all week from its usual spot at the end of Sandy Wall, if you hear a grasshopper at…

A week consisting of typical April weather, mild and sunny days interspersed with cold winds and heavy showers, there was even a pretty impressive thunderstorm one evening.

It has been another good week for unusual species on the reserve, with the penduline tit taking up the star position. The penduline tit has been showing well on occasion just after the sluice and at the viewpoint before Tower Hide, however it has…

A week of spring sunshine, with some interspersed cloud. Enough warmth in the sun to bring out some insects.

The highlight of the week was the penduline tit, after two months it finally gave itself up for the morning on Thursday being faithful to the area just beyond the first sluice. It was particularly good for me having been here six years and finding two of these birds by call it was great to finally see and photograph…

This week has seen some good birds at the site again; the penduline tit has been busy keeping people waiting throughout the reserve. It has now been seen either side of Tower Hide, half way along the riverbank and from the river end of Sandy Wall, so it does get around a lot, but it is possible to see. Other good bits included a firecrest briefly along the riverbank, remember that male goldcrests also have orange crowns…

High pressure has brought a fairly settled week of weather, mainly mild and dry during the day with cool nights. The northerly and easterly winds have kept temperatures down and also held back some of the early returning migrants, although there was some evidence of migration.

This week did see some good birds across reserve; the penduline tit was heard calling at the river end of sandy wall on Tuesday and then seen…

A snowy start followed by a mild and sunny end to the week with the promise of a mild dry weekend ahead.

This week has seen many of our more regular birds showing well. Marsh harriers have been talon grappling, displaying and calling well in recent days; the first few sticks have been seen being carried around to impress the females. Snipe have been seen in good numbers with a rent a warden walk on Thursday notching…

A week of all weathers, we have had blue sky and sunshine, full cloud, warmth, cold and even heavy sleet, you could say it has been a typical late winter/early spring week.

This week’s highlight was a fine male penduline tit, seen and photographed well by a single observer for just five minutes from Fen Hide, unfortunately it has not been seen again, but is almost certainly still around somewhere. This species…

A week of relatively settled weather with fairly cool calm conditions.

This week has seen a good increase in wildfowl numbers, today from reception; 112 gadwall, 12 pochard, 18 shoveler and nine tufted ducks. These ducks are busy pairing up and displaying making their interesting mating calls.

On Thursday a common chiffchaff was seen near the sluice, a female hen harrier flew over the meadows and a bittern was seen…

Another pleasant week with sunny spells, a few showers and in contrast to recent weeks, it was mostly calm.

Avian highlights this week have included the Siberian type chiffchaff seen and heard on Thursday, most probably Wednesday too. This intriguing bird has sparked a bit of a debate as it has far more yellow on its wings, tail, flanks and vent than a typical Siberian chiffchaff should have, but sounds nothing like…

A very similar week to last week weather-wise; strong winds to begin followed by a calm spell of pleasant early spring weather.

One of the key themes of the week has been departure: flocks of fieldfare and redwing have been seen throughout the week, mostly at dawn and dusk. These birds appear to be gathering in preparation for moving back north, my peak flocks have been 46 redwings on Tuesday and 63 fieldfares on Friday…

This week has been mostly dry, mild and earlier in the week very windy.

The star bird this week was the Siberian chiffchaff, which returned briefly on Saturday and Sunday along the riverbank. The bird stayed long enough for a few people to see it and then it was gone, until I heard it again in the middle of the fen on Wednesday. This might explain why it has not been seen for a whole month, if you are keen to see it…

Wet, mild, and very wind to end, just about sums up this weeks weather! It has not quite decided which season it should be at the moment, so unsurprisingly the wildlife is also beginning to feel a little confused.

Sightings from the fen this week have included a hen harrier, a juvenile male seen Monday to Wednesday. This is the first hen harrier we have seen since October so hopefully it will stick around for a little…

A freezing start to the week brought ice to much of the reserve, but with clear skies it was a most pleasant until Friday when a mass of warmer air arrived, bringing cloud and rain to the fen.

The colder conditions did not push the hoped for wildfowl to the area, perhaps it was too little too late? However we did get the drake pintail back at Reception Hide, where it continued to display to the female mallards. The…

Winter has finally arrived! As I write this sightings blog the sky is blue, the air is crisp and Reception Broad is covered in ice apart from a 15m hole containing over 50 ducks of varying species. A cold snap has come as quite a shock to the system, but a welcome and quite needed shock.

 The avian highlight of the week came on Friday when 4 cranes flew over reception hide, these birds’ territories are edging slowly…

With the mild weather still with us, it has at times, felt quite spring like over the past week. While we have calendars to tell us that it is in fact still December, some birds have really started to sing rather well in recent days.

 The classic fen species are all being seen with some frequency from various places around the fen. Marsh harrier numbers are still holding on with at least 25 individuals into the roost…

Another incredibly mild week, with night time temperatures holding at 12 degrees! This mild weather has caused a slight lull in winter bird movements.

 The highlight (for me) this week was finding an intermediate phase snow goose with the pink footed geese on the 11^th at Buckenham, this bird did not hang about for long and quite oddly has not been seen again elsewhere in the country yet. The Ross's goose hybrid with the…

This week has been quite mild, but as is the usual story the wind has been quite relentless at times. The stand out days of the week were Wednesday and Friday where the sun shone all day and the temperature of around 13 degrees felt quite mild.

The week’s highlights have included many of the usual, but special, suspects including bitterns, bearded tits on Tuesday, kingfishers have been seen on and off all week…

A brief blog this week I'm afraid.

The main events of this week were a short eared owl on wednesday seen in the meadows and  a female goosander on the Reception Broad on the same day.

We have had a report that the taiga bean geese have arrived back at Buckenham and Cantley, on Thursday 22 were reported and today 17 were seen.

Bitterns, kingfishers and bearded tits have been seen daily this week, as well as otte…

A very mild start to the week, with southerly winds followed by Barney, the first depression of the late autumn period; gusts of 50mph+ were recorded in the area. The end of the week has seen a drop in temperatures and it looks like that is set to continue through the weekend and then due to rise again next week.

 Despite the strong southerly winds, winter birds did continue to arrive. Redwings and fieldfares are much…

Another mild week with mixed weathers, there is even a hint of November in the air today, but its still nice and sunny, a bit windy though.

This week has seen a steady flow of winter migrants, mostly winter thrushes, but also siskins and redpolls flying over. The siskin flock has broken up a little now but there are still upwards of 30 birds present near the reception.

The classic fen birds are still very much present…

A very mild week with a mixture of fog rain and patchy blue skies. The winds have predominantly been from the southern half and have veered from southwest through to south east throughout the week.

The fen has taken on a more wintery assemblage of species despite the mild weather. Fieldfare and redwing numbers are increasing, with both passing through in regular flocks of 30+; the redwings are stripping berries from…

The clocks have changed and all of a sudden the evenings are dark, however it does mean that there is more light before work for wildlife watching.

Birds are certainly on the move at the moment; there has been a fairly steady stream of chaffinches, siskins and redpolls over the reserve over the past few mornings, add to these a handful of grey wagtails, yellowhammers, fieldfare, redwing and song thrushes and you get…