The day started in an interesting fashion with a dove seen hurtling towards Boulderwall Farm aided by an extremely strong tail-wind. It went by so fast that I was unable to identify it, but was pleased to receive a call on the radio a few minutes later saying that there was a turtle dove below the bird feeders near the workshop. I managed to get a quick look at it before it headed off towards the ARC site. This was my first turtle dove of the year - a sad reflection of how scarce these lovely birds are becoming.
On the way down to the Visitor Centre we were treated to the sight of a magnificent male marsh harrier hunting over the reeds just a few yards from the track. Elsewhere on the reserve hobbies continued to entertain and a bittern was seen at Denge Marsh. No reports of the purple heron today but considering the strength of the wind that's hardly surprising.
Our Bee Fest comes to an end this weekend with a talk and walk by Short-haired bumblebee project officer Dr. Nikki Gammans on Saturday and a walk with Site Manager, Martin Randall, on Sunday (see our events pages for details). The forecast looks good for tomorrow at least so now's your chance to find out more about our wonderful bumblebees.