It is amazing that we are almost at the end of January. Wherever does the time go?! There are plenty of things to update you on but first things first here is a belated report from Saturday. One lucky visitor saw two otters playing in the channel near the pumping station at the west end of the reserve. It is a long walk to this area but if you are interested we will be visiting it on our “long walk” on Sunday February 26. Please see: http://bit.ly/AfCLHC for more details.
On Sunday morning, there were treecreepers and marsh tits in East Wood. All six cranes were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a short eared owl was seen north of the river. Our barn owl walk was very successful as at least two were seen from Joist Fen viewpoint. Perhaps another bird was seen from the riverbank on the way back to the centre. The group were also treated with great views of a single crane from the viewpoint.
As I write, it’s currently snowing here. However, there were still a few good birds around this morning. At least three marsh harriers were hunting over New Fen North and a sparrowhawk flew into West Wood. A single corn bunting flew over and several bearded tits were pinging from deep in the reedbed. A kingfisher flew through the murk in front of New Fen viewpoint. As usual, a sighting of one of these jewel like little birds really brightened up my day. We hope to see you soon.