The RSPB Community

Busy times

David White — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:11:00 GMT

Firstly, we would like to aplologise for the lack of updates this week. We have been very busy and hopefully normal service will resume this week. Anyhow, don’t you just love May?! Several factors conspired to make this past weekend the busiest of the year so far. Not only had at least one golden oriole arrived, the rather smart male red footed falcon was still around and entertaining visitors:

Photo credit: Ian Goodall

The male golden oriole was singing away intermittently in West Wood on Friday and a peregrine was seen south of Joist Fen viewpoint.

On Saturday, the red footed falcon was showing well over New Fen viewpoint along with six hobbys. There were at least 60 swifts over the car park and two avocets flew over Brandon Fen. A stoat was also seen near the Fen pools and a bank vole was also photographed:

Photo credit: Phil Smith

Les was luck enough to get some great pictures on Sunday including the red footed falcon:

And a cuckoo:

Photo credit for both images: Les Bunyan

There was an intriguing report of a female golden oriole in the poplar woods yesterday which is a really encouraging sign.

I went for a walk early this morning as I hadn’t heard a golden oriole yet this year. Although I didn’t hear one, there was plenty of other things to see and hear. There were noticeably more garden warblers around then the last time that I had walked around the reserve. There was at least one singing in each of the poplar woods and another one in the bushes alongside the railway line. A blackcap was also singing in Trial Wood just to keep me on my toes.

The local cuckoos were very vocal with at least three individuals out and about. One was calling in Brandon Fen and another was in West Wood. I also saw one in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint.

The local marsh harriers were conspicuous and one was carrying prey in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. I heard at least three bitterns booming and I saw the same bird several times in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint. There were plenty of Cetti’s warblers singing away and I saw a mute swan with five cygnets which was rather nice.

A hobby was perched in West Wood and a grasshopper warbler was singing between Trial Wood and West Wood (the furthest two poplar woods.) I also heard a probable spotted flycatcher calling in Trial Wood and a golden oriole was singing in West Wood just after I got back to the visitor centre. The red footed falcon was also perched up in West Wood.

There was fantastic news this morning when we discovered that the great tits that feature in our nestcam are now feeding young! It seems like all five eggs hatched on Sunday evening and both adults are now very busy bringing food in for the little ones. It is absolutely fantastic to watch!

We have several lost property items from this weekend. If you were here over the weekend and you are missing some car keys and/ or a camping chair just give the office a ring on 01842 863400 and we will see what we can do to get them back to you. We hope to see you soon!

Golden oriole

David White — Fri, 17 May 2013 08:54:14 GMT

Just a quick note that a golden oriole was cat calling and making a few subdued fluty sounds In West Wood this morning. Better late than never! Here is a picture of a male from last year:

Photo credit: Paul Foster

What a busy week!

David White — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:14:00 GMT

It has been another amazing week here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen. It was hard to know where to base yourself on Sunday: On the one hand, you could be at New Fen viewpoint watching the male red footed falcon pelting around the sky with the local hobbys. On the other hand, you could stay around the visitor centre, where we had three cranes and a red kite circling overhead (although not at the same time unfortunately!) Two turtle doves also flew over nearby, although you had to be a bit further down the reserve to see them!

On Monday, Suzanne returned for her holiday and soon cured the fact that she was the only staff member that hadn’t seen the red footed falcon yet. It was feeding over New Fen North with at least eight hobbys and fifty swifts which must have been a sight! Two common terns were also on the washland.

It’s amazing what being busy does to you. I spent most of my day off on Tuesday sorting things out at home. I decided to pop down to the reserve for a walk. Although most of you won’t believe me, I had honestly forgotten about the presence of the red footed falcon until I arrived here. On the way down the riverbank, a turtle dove flew over the visitor centre. I quickly picked up the “red foot” feeding low in front of New Fen viewpoint with at least five hobbys. This was the first time that I had actually had a good view of it. I could even see its red eye and feet! It was truly a wonderful bird to watch.

It was really rather windy on Wednesday morning and there were 12 tufted ducks on the second washland pool along with two shelducks. A hobby was briefly hunting over New Fen North before perching up in Trial Wood (the middle poplar wood.) A barn owl was also hunting in front of the visitor centre slightly later on. The red footed falcon spent most of the morning perched up in West Wood (the furthest poplar wood) before hunting over New Fen viewpoint once again.

I did my bird survey yesterday morning and took my camera out to get some early morning shots. Here are two of my favourites:

Brandon Fen in the morning mist:

A garden snail:

Photo credits: David White

I was extremely lucky to see a dog otter on the riverbank near the visitor centre at around 06.30 and amazingly, Dave also saw one from New Fen viewpoint while he was doing the bittern survey around an hour later. Other highlights from yesterday morning included two garden warblers singing in East Wood and a willow warbler singing in the poplars near the visitor centre. A nightingale was also singing in Brandon Fen

The red footed falcon appeared at around 09.30 and was feeding over New Fen viewpoint with up to 15 hobbys. A whimbrel was seen north of the river and a pretty little green hairstreak butterfly was fluttering around near the public car park. One lucky couple also saw a stoat on the prowl in Brandon Fen.

Yesterday was also notable for several reports of those elusive golden orioles. There were reports of both “cat calling” and singing in West Wood, the furthest poplar wood. There was also a report of a male flying out of West Wood and across the river. These are all great signs so hopefully we will be able to confirm the presence of these beautiful and rare birds over the next couple of days. Rest assured, when we know, we will put the word out as soon as practically possible. We hope to see you soon!

Flying low

Ali Blaney — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 GMT

Not a reference to any sort of trouser malfunction you’ll be pleased to hear but rather the feeding frenzies taking place over the reedbeds at the moment. The weather is the cause – low pressure and the low cloud base are bringing the insects down and in turn the bird species that feed upon them. At New Fen North in particular with the poplar woods on three sides, the predators and their prey are taking further shelter from the breeze and flying below tree height. This is all leading to one thing – spectacular views of swifts, swallows, house and sand martins, all swooping low over the reeds and our heads! And let’s not forget the hobbies and our welcome guest the red-footed falcon. The falcon has moved down to the reedbed closest to the visitor centre over the past few days, which meant not only have visitors been getting closer views but we could finally get to Joist Fen viewpoint and do some strimming without disturbing too many people!

Photo credit: David Carr - hobby

It’s fabulous to stand at either of the viewpoints and have swifts flying literally around your head, especially at Joist Fen as they move between the reedbeds either side of the shelter. It's surprising how large swifts are – it’s the classic ‘is it small, or just far away’ conundrum! When you normally see them so high up in the sky, it can be difficult to judge their size so being able to get amazing close-ups of these graceful flyers is a real treat. Although it does sometimes feel like they’re playing a game of chicken with your head! I have complete faith in their aerial ability however. If you afford the reedbeds just a quick glance then it’s easy to think the skies are empty so stand a moment and make sure you don’t miss this spectacle taking place just above the reeds.

In other reserve news, Tuesday morning saw Katherine and I following a trail left by cattle. We were slightly surprised to find ‘evidence’ of cow by the staff gate and therefore had to try and work out which cows might have paid us a visit and where they were by that time. Following the trail we discovered a small number of cattle had enjoyed quite a trip around Brandon Fen, look out for the evidence yourself if you’re in the area! The puzzle was solved when Katherine approached the kissing gate on the riverbank to discover it was swinging wide open. The cattle were found and safely returned to the riverbank by our grazier. Signage is now in place by the kissing gate to politely remind visitors that livestock are on the riverbank and gates should be kept firmly shut!

Despite the changed plans for Tuesday morning, we still found a window of opportunity before the heavens opened to start our regular spring and summer strimming plan. The vegetation is shooting up fast and we’ll become a familiar sight with our brushcutters as we work to keep the trails open and viewpoints tidy. Trial Wood path was our main target – even the new raised section needed a trim. Although there is still bare earth in places, this trail is open so if you haven’t been round it before why not take a look?

Yesterday we took delivery of some new benches and with the help of our volunteers these will soon start appearing at the viewpoints and other locations. We have had to remove some of the older benches already so new seating will be welcomed I’m sure! The first instalments are planned for this afternoon, after we carry out another booming bittern survey first thing in the morning. We're hoping that the survey will finally help us pin down the exact number of boomers as a couple of the reedbeds may hold more than one. We'll also be focusing on the marsh harrier behaviour to get our nest count sorted. Updates will follow as always!

Dawn patrol

David White — Sun, 12 May 2013 09:08:00 GMT

Firstly, please excuse me if I don’t sound completely coherent this morning, I have lead two dawn chorus walks in the last two days! As you will hear later though, they were both rather good! I will begin though with a quick summary of the end of last week:

The weather was distinctly patchy on Friday but it was rather bright in the morning. I couldn’t resist going to take some photos of the water violet that is currently in flower alongside Trial Wood:

While I was out, I heard a grasshopper warbler in New Fen North and there were at least 20 swifts over the reedbed. A garden warbler was also singing in East Wood which was rather nice.

A crane was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a bittern flew between New Fen North and Joist Fen viewpoint. A ringtail Montagu’s harrier also flew west along the river just north of West Wood (the furthest poplar plantation.)

The male red footed falcon appeared over New Fen North at around 1.30pm and spent a happy afternoon tearing around the sky with around eight hobbys. Les took this record shot of it:

Photo credit: Les Bunyan

I did dawn chorus number one yesterday with our Wildlife Explorers club. As we didn’t start until 6.30am, I sneaked out for a little walk beforehand. It was a good job that I did, as I saw my first turtle dove of the year flying over the visitor centre. A cuckoo was perched at the edge of the car park and a barn owl was over the washland.

We had a very pleasant dawn chorus walk and we heard a bittern booming in New Fen North. We were also entertained by the antics of two common terns that were feeding at close quarters in the second washland pool.

When we got back, a muntjac deer was wandering around at the edge of the visitor centre pond and our first female hairy dragonfly of the year was seen alongside Trial Wood. The red footed falcon appeared over the washland at around 10.30am before relocating to the skies above New Fen North. Once again, it was tearing around the sky with at least 10 hobbys for most of the afternoon. A water vole was seen in a ditch alongside the railway line and three arctic terns flew over Joist Fen viewpoint.

I lead dawn chorus number two bright and early this morning and things started rather well: A bittern flew over East Wood and landed almost in front of us just west of the visitor centre. Another bird was booming in New Fen North and a male marsh harrier was hunting over the reedbed.

A cuckoo was calling just south of Joist Fen viewpoint and a single crane was north of the river just north of Joist Fen viewpoint. We counted at least eight marsh harriers over Joist Fen. As we walked back along the riverbank, a hobby flew out of West Wood and a barn owl was hunting over the washland. We retired back to the visitor centre for a well deserved continental breakfast shortly after! We hope to see you soon.

Bigging up the little things

Ali Blaney — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:29:00 GMT

A noticeable change has taken place at Lakenheath over the past week or so – insect numbers are definitely on the up! This is good news for all those insect eating animals out there and they are of course fascinating individuals themselves, so I’m weaving some appreciation of the smaller creatures into my blog this week.

Last weeks volunteer party started with an early morning bittern survey, listening out for those booming males. At the moment we’re confident we have four booming males across the reserve with another possible two or three to try and pin down. I’ve been mainly listening at New Fen North reedbed so far and the boomer there isn’t the best I’ve heard I have to say – he tends to do one loud boom, which catches your ear so you listen to try and locate it properly.... and nothing else follows. He certainly likes giving us just one boom at a time! Maybe a grunt or two before or after if you’re lucky so you have to listen hard for that one. The male nearest the Joist Fen viewpoint is much more vocal! Further display flights have been seen which is great news too.

After the bittern survey we continued with the trail maintenance, laying down more limestone dust to top off our pot hole repair work. And what a beautiful day to be working outside – butterflies were the thing to see and while walking back from New Fen North I took a picture of a lovely green-veined white:

Photo credit: Ali Blaney – Green-veined white butterfly

The bank holiday weekend was extremely busy for us and during these peak times we all lend a hand in the visitor centre and out in the car park. The lovely weather and the arrival of the infamous red-footed falcon meant we were a very popular place to visit and Monday was one of our busiest days ever, with Katherine on car park duty recording a peak count of over 140 cars. Volunteer Janet and I were manning the visitor centre and unsurprisingly ice cream was the big seller of the day – who could resist after a nice walk out in that strong sunshine!

Our work this week has been mainly focused on having a bit of a tidy up at the viewpoints (the grass is starting to grow very quickly now!) and over Wednesday and Thursday our time was spent looking after three groups of lovely people who kindly donated funds toward our land purchase at the end of last year. We took everyone over to the new land and talked about how we intend to revert it from arable to wet grassland. The groups on Wednesday were very lucky to see cranes including the one-legged individual, who we wintnessed being turfed out of a field by one of our resident cranes who was being very territorial! Back on the main reserve we saw bittern, marsh harrier, hobbies, swifts and even the red-footed falcon. Some guests had never visited Lakenheath before – what an introduction to the site! The hobbies were great to watch as they caught insects with their feet, there were St Marks flies around and plenty of small flying insects buzzing just above the water at the viewpoint pools – the fish were jumping and making the most of an easy feed. David saw his first common millipede of the year and although this picture isn’t of that particular individual, I too saw one today and managed a quick photo - you can just about see the 'waves' of the many feet moving along.

Photo credit: Ali Blaney – Millipede near the visitor centre

Yesterday saw a marked change in the weather and the wind was whipping up the peaty top soils of the fens – I think it’s the worst ‘fen blow’ I’ve seen so far. Our group braved the elements though and were treated to views of the one-legged crane again as well as hobbies, although the wind was keeping the insects down so hobby numbers were lower too. Despite returning from the excursions with a slight gritty taste in the mouth, wind-swept hair and a covering of fine, peat soil, everyone had a great time and as always we were more than happy to show off the reserve and talk about the work we do here.

Today the fen blow has thankfully died down, although there is still a stiff breeze around. Dave and I carried out our territory surveys regardless this morning and it was certainly worthwhile even in the wind. Cuckoos could be heard from quite a distance and I a witnessed a buzzard being chased off by a rook. Whitethroats were making themselves known and the wheatear was still present on the Brandon Fen grazing marsh. I also had a good count of robins today, a couple were carrying food so there must be hungry mouths to feed somewhere. Insects are lying low from the wind and we spotted this lovely cinnabar moth hunkering down right outside the visitor centre, staying put for the meantime anyway!

Photo credit: Ali Blaney – Cinnabar moth

Flowers are springing up all over the reserve, adding a splash of colour in amongst the grasses. Speaking of grass, my brushcutter is calling me away from the computer and out onto the reserve to start strimming our overflow carparking areas – if this weekend is anything like the last one then we’ll need all the space we can find!

These are the days!

David White — Wed, 08 May 2013 10:27:00 GMT

The last couple of days here have just been magical! The weather has been fantastic and there has been plenty to see. Things started well on Sunday morning with a grass snake swimming across the visitor centre pond. Here is a picture of one from later on in the day:

Photo credit: Tim James

The ring ouzel was seen in Brandon Fen and there was a report of a lesser whitethroat singing near the washland viewpoint. A grasshopper warbler was singing in Brandon Fen and the female wheatear was also present nearby.

I had the pleasure of leading the hobby walk and it was just fantastic. There was so much to see. It proved to be the first time that I have lead a guided walk and seen a bird that I have never seen before. If you follow our blogs recently you will have probably guessed that it was the red footed falcon. Here is another rather nice picture of it from Tim James:

Photo credit: Tim James

It was feeding with at least 25 hobbys just west of Joist Fen viewpoint. Although it was quite difficult to pick out at times, we did get some great views of it. While we were in the area, we also saw the one legged crane north of the river and at least eight marsh harriers were over the west end of the reserve. When we got to the viewpoint, we were treated with a fantastic view of an adult crane flying out of the reedbed before heading north of the river.

When we got to New Fen viewpoint, a pike was showing well in front of the viewpoint and we just missed two grass snakes swimming across the pool. Later on in the day, a red kite flew over Joist Fen viewpoint:

Photo credit: Tim James

Our first large red damselfly of the year was also seen at the west end of the reserve.

Bank Holiday Monday continued on in a similar vein and the red footed falcon was seen by many visitors along with at least 12 hobbys. The purple heron also made a brief appearance over New Fen North. A barn owl was over Brandon Fen and the female wheatear was also present nearby. Two red kites flew over the washland and two whimbrels flew over the west end of the reserve. A male whinchat was also seen near Joist Fen viewpoint.

I came for a walk with a colleague from The Lodge yesterday morning and it was just fantastic. There were three common terns over the washland and a grasshopper warbler was singing in New Fen North (the firs area of reedbed.) A male barn owl was hunting along the riverbank near Joist Fen viewpoint and several bitterns were booming nearby.

We eventually picked up the red footed falcon although it was rather elusive. Our highest hobby count was at least 23 birds which was great to see. Both the one legged crane and one of our resident adults were feeding north of the river which was lovely to see.

I went out for a little walk this morning and heard a nightingale singing near the ramp on the new trail. A male cuckoo also flew over my head. A colleague from The Lodge was also very lucky to see a male Montagu’s harrier flying west along the river. As I type, there has been no sign of the red footed falcon today so far or any hobbys. It is rather chilly though so there can’t be much for them to eat. Hopefully they will reappear soon though. I have just seen my first common milipede of the year in the mens loo though! We hope to see you soon.

Caught red footed!

David White — Sun, 05 May 2013 06:38:00 GMT

Well, it turned out that Friday was definitely a day to be out on the reserve with lady luck on your side. Things started exceptionally well with a ringtail Montagu’s harrier flying west along the river which is a rare spring record indeed. Those of us who were in the office had to be contented with great views of a grass snake swimming across the visitor centre pond! This, of course was fantastic to see.

A kingfisher was feeding in the Fen pools near the visitor centre and there was plenty of bittern activity over New Fen North. The highest count was three birds flying together with another booming in the reedbed. Here is a picture of two of them courtesy of Tim James:

Photo credit: Tim James

Tim was also very lucky to get this lovely shot of the Brandon Fen ring ouzel:

Photo credit: Tim James

The female wheatear was also still present in the same area.

Things than got really exciting when we received a report of a male red footed falcon feeding over New Fen North at lunch time. It spent some time over the first area of reedbed before joining at least 15 hobbys that were feeding over Joist Fen viewpoint. Here is a picture of this magnificent bird:

Photo credit: Tim James

Sadly, it hasn’t been seen since Friday afternoon but let’s hope it reappears with the hobbys later on today or tomorrow in the warm sunshine. On a personal note, I am definitely hoping to see it as I have never seen one before and I started working here in October 2008. This was only around four months after a male and female “red foot” spent over two weeks here. I might as well admit that I am very jealous!

There was also an intriguing report of a Mediterranean gull over the washland that was feeding with a group of black headed gulls later in the afternoon. I headed down to Joist Fen viewpoint in the evening and saw several great bittern flights, probably involving the same bird. First, it flew from New Fen North into what we call New Fen North triangle. It then flew from there, right in front of Joist Fen viewpoint before landing near the bog oak.

There was plenty of crane activity and we saw two flights from single birds. This included the one legged individual. There was also a grasshopper warbler reeling between Joist Fen viewpoint and the riverbank.

It was really rather windy yesterday morning and I saw a bittern fly from Joist Fen into New Fen North. The poor bird was blown sideways as it ambled through the gap in the poplar woods! A female sparrowhawk dashed into Trial Wood and a treecreeper was singing in East Wood.

Later on in the day, the one legged crane was seen north of the river near Joist Fen viewpoint and two garganeys flew into New Fen North. There were around five hobbys pelting around the sky and a red kite flew over Joist Fen viewpoint. Several bearded tits were also seen in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. Some lucky visitors also saw a stoat running along the hard track alongside Trial Wood.

It was a beautiful evening yesterday once the wind had dropped. Over 100 swifts were hunting over Joist Fen viewpoint and a hobby was steaming around in the distance. I saw both of our resident male barn owls. One was hunting along the riverbank near Joist Fen viewpoint and the other was over the washland. What a great couple of days and lets hope our luck continues!

Red footed falcon!

David White — Fri, 03 May 2013 15:32:15 GMT

This is just a quick note to say that a male red footed falcon appeared on the reserve at lunchtime. It was first seen over New Fen North at around 1pm. It then spent some time feeding with the hobbys over Joist Fen viewpoint. If you are not familiar with this species, its basically the Eastern European equivalent of the hobby and a very rare bird here indeed! Here is a picture of the female that was seen here in May 2008:

Photo credit: Ian Goodall

Lets hope it sticks around!

Come what(ever) May

David White — Fri, 03 May 2013 08:28:00 GMT

I will begin this morning with two record shots of the purple heron from Tuesday evening. Many thanks to Ian Goodall for sending them over:

Photo credit: Ian Goodall

The bird was seen again on Wednesday evening at around 6.30pm. It was seen in flight between Joist Fen viewpoint and the railway line in a roughly south easterly direction.

As usual, there has been plenty going on here this week. The ring ouzel and wheatear in the Brandon Fen family trail have stuck around and were both still present yesterday afternoon. Eight bar tailed godwits flew over the same area on Monday which was a great record. A male whinchat was also photographed north of the first area of reedbed on Monday evening.

I walked down to Botany Bay at the west end of the reserve on Tuesday evening. Both chiffchaffs and willow warblers were singing in small numbers and a common buzzard flew over. A cuckoo was calling nearby and a bittern was booming from the reedbeds.

It was a lovely day on Wednesday and there was plenty to see from New Fen viewpoint. A grass snake swam across the pool and a pike was also seen in the pool lurking around threatingly.

Meanwhile, hobby numbers were picking up gradually throughout the day and the peak count was 18 birds. Hopefully numbers will continue to pick up as I am leading a hobby walk on Sunday. There are still places available so if you would like to book on, just click the link above. Some of you may know that on May 4 2011 we counted at least 65 over the reserve at the same time!

We did a bittern listen yesterday morning and although it was cold, there was plenty going on. We counted at least four booming males which was a pretty good result. Several of us were based in and around New Fen viewpoint and there was plenty going on. A family of coots with three young were pottering around on the pool and two cuckoos flew over the reedbed.

A barn owl was over the washland and the ring ouzel was showing itself on and off in Brandon Fen. A short eared owl was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint in the evening and a yellow wagtail flew over.

I went for a little walk in the warm sunshine this morning and the “New Fen North” bittern was booming very well. A grasshopper warbler was reeling well at the edge of Trial Wood. I also got a rubbish picture of a roe deer skulking about in East Wood. Its mainly a question of whether you can actually spot it:

The early birders came back reporting two nightingales singing by the road bridge and a drake garganey on the washland. That pesky purple heron was also seen in flight over New Fen North (the first area of reedbed) at around 8am. There is plenty to see at the moment so we hope to see you soon.

Ssssurveys, ssssurprises, ssssunshine and ssssnakes

Ali Blaney — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:13:00 GMT

I'll start off with the ssssnakes (and the dragonfly of course), just to keep you happy! The benches are finally in place and they look amazing, even if we do say so ourselves! Katherine and our volunteers installed them nice and securely by the dipping platform last week:

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Katherine with volunteers Phil and Robert

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Dragonfly bench

I think you'll agree they look great. The photos don't do them justice either, as they don't show the amount of detail that has been painted onto the dragonfly wings. The dragonfly has been painted to look like a southern hawker and thanks go to volunteer Rob for his artistic control over the dragonfly! Everyone who got involved has done a grand job.

Staying on the subject of snakes, grass snake sightings are on the increase which is exciting, and some of our visitors were lucky enough to see a large individual in front of New Fen North viewpoint this morning. It swam across the pool, slithered out onto the bank right in front of them, travelled a short distance then went back into the water and swam off. My only grass snake sighting this year has been a very small, young snake trying to get into the gents toilets - hopefully I'll be lucky like those visitors and have a better sighting soon!

We've been completing the work at the fen pools near the visitor centre over the past few days. While we finished the physical work of creating the viewing portals into the pools with the railways sleepers a couple of weeks ago, the pools have unfortunately remained dry. So we've been pumping water out of Brandon Fen and into the pools and they've been filling up nicely - as you'll see in the photos below it wasn't long before we had visitors!

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - pumping the water in

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - The Fen Pool Appreciation Society

We've pumped in more water than it appears we need really, but as the ground is so dry we need to get it saturated first before the pools will hold water for any length of time.

I'll move on to a brief overview of our surveys. Territory surveying continues and things are definitely hotting up. I saw and heard many blackcaps and whitethroats around Brandon Fen and it was lovely to stop for a while and appreciate their song. I then encountered my survey surprise - I'd been thinking it strange that I hadn't seen a blackbird by that point, then I thought 'aha, there's one' - but it turned out to be the ring ouzel! And I didn't just see it the once - although it had flown off, once I'd completed my loop it had returned to its original position and I saw it again! It was still being spotted today too. I also spotted the wheatear in the grazing marsh which was lovely to see, it's a very obliging wheatear that has been showing well so do make a point of going down to see it in Brandon Fen if you're coming for a visit. Suzanne and Dave saw and heard a cuckoo during their survey at the western end of the reserve and also saw a lot of bittern action, which although not part of their transect, is still worthy of note. Suzanne saw three bitterns in flight over Norfolk Fen whilst also hearing another individual boom at the same time. We then had another report of two bitterns in flight at the same time over New Fen North - so we have at least six birds on site, including some females! We have another booming bittern survey tomorrow so we'll see how things go then.

Last but certainly not least, onto the sunshine. It's been such a lovely day here today that I couldn't not mention it. I led our weekly, free guided walk today known as the Wednesday Walkabout and it was very nice to be out around the reserve, talking about the work we do and pointing out the flora and fauna of Lakenheath to our visitors. Butterflies were everywhere today, with many peacocks, brimstones and green-veined whites about. We also saw a male orange-tip and a small white. Warblers were warbling with gusto, particularly the whitethroats which seemed to be everywhere! We had a a good number of visitors today too and everyone was enjoying the fine weather. It certainly lifts the spirits to feel the sun on your skin, see butterflies aplenty, hear beautiful bird song all around and get close to nature. And what better way to end such a walk than with a delicious ice cream back at the visitor centre. I went for Norfolk gooseberry - very refreshing (but I still prefer the chocolate fudge brownie)!

Nocturnal nature camp out: Friday May 3 CANCELLED

David White — Wed, 01 May 2013 09:21:49 GMT

Please note that the nocturnal nature camp out on Friday May 3 has been CANCELLED due to lack of bookings. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. There are still placed available on the following camp outs:

If you are interested in booking places, please follow the links above.

A purple haze?!

David White — Wed, 01 May 2013 08:14:01 GMT

Just a quick one: There was a distinctive hazy mist when I drove into work this morning. I had a good feeling about today. It’s May 1 and we have had a touch of east in the wind. This usually brings in something unusual. Sure enough, when I turned my computer on, I found an e-mail with some photos of a purple heron that was taken here yesterday afternoon. Well fancy that!

If you are not familiar with these birds, they breed as close to us as Holland and a pair even nested at RSPB Dungeness a few years back. They are a scarce but regular visitor to Britain during April and May each year. Here is a picture of one that was taken here in May 2009:

Photo credit: Lee Gregory

According to the description, the bird was seen in flight close to the railway line just this side of Joist Fen viewpoint. If it is seen again, rest assured that we will let you know.

A touch of the north

David White — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 10:45:00 GMT

There has been a distinctive northern feel to some of our sightings over the last couple of days. Three northern breeding summer migrants have featured rather prominently: A ring ouzel, a wheatear and two whinchats.

The ring ouzel, which is presumably the same male that has been around on and off all week was seen around the Brandon Fen family trail on Friday morning:

Photo credit: Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Shortly afterwards, a couple came back reporting four wheatears on the riverbank just north of East Wood:

Photo credit: Tom Marshall (rspb-images.com)

Meanwhile, further down the reserve, four cranes were seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint and a common buzzard was over the visitor centre. Katherine went for a walk around Brandon Fen just before closing time and saw the ring ouzel and a female wheatear feeding together. How lucky is that!

I went out early yesterday morning determined to see the ring ouzel and sure enough, I did. Third time lucky! It was feeding in some path side ruts near where the new trail branches off in Brandon Fen. I enjoyed a fantastic view of it through my ‘scope for at least five minutes.

While I was admiring the ring ouzel, I could hear a grasshopper warbler reeling in the distance. I eventually located the pesky little warbler and enjoyed views of it singing right out in the open which was fantastic. A couple got some fantastic video footage of it shortly after I left. As I plodded along the riverbank, I saw two shelducks on the washland near the ramp and a barn owl was hunting at very close quarters over the river. Very nice indeed!

We kept dashing out between us between rain showers and a female wheatear was located in Brandon Fen. It was perched on the newly excavated mounds in the middle of the grazing marsh. It was soon joined by the ring ouzel, so the two could be seen together once again! A hobby also flew over the visitor centre at lunch time.

There was great excitement when presumably the same two whinchats from earlier on in the week were seen feeding in teasels on the riverbank just north of New Fen North (the first area of reedbed):

Photo credit: Mike Langman (rspb-images.com)

I am sorry to say that at this point, I abandoned what little dignity I had left and “hastened” down to the appropriate spot. I was treated to fantastic views of both male and female whinchat which was fantastic. They were not only the first whinchats that I had seen for over two years, they were also my first ever Lakenheath Fen whinchats. How exciting!

I lead the marsh harrier & bittern walk this morning. Moreorless as soon as I got out of the car, I heard a bittern booming from New Fen North. The walk started well with fantastic views of a barn owl hunting over the washland pool. Our resident whooper swan was on the river along with a mute swan and an Egyptian goose.

As we walked further along the riverbank, we could hear a bittern booming in the distance. I located the two whinchats near the start of West Wood and we had a superb view of the male through my ‘scope for quite some time. As we walked alongside West Wood, we were also enjoying the distinctive aroma of the poplar blossom and leaves. Although it is difficult to describe, it will always remind me of here!

When we got to Joist Fen viewpoint, there were at least seven marsh harriers ducking and diving high over the reedbed. We could hear at least three individual bitterns booming and a Cetti’s warbler was “shouting” away near the viewpoint. We also had a great view of a common whitethroat perched on the top of a bush. Sadly, most of the group missed two cranes flying over as we left the viewpoint. As we walked back, we saw two coots with three young in front of New Fen viewpoint.

Just after we got back, at least three hobbys took to the air and two were photographed perched in West Wood. There were also at least 20 swifts pelting across the sky over the reserve. The male ring ouzel was also relocated in Brandon Fen. Plenty of butterflies are also out an about including plenty of peacocks, orange tips and green veigned whites. A stoat was also seen running along the hard track. There is plenty to see at the moment so we hope to see you soon.

Marsh harrier & bittern walk this Sunday: FULLY BOOKED

David White — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:09:13 GMT

Please note that the marsh harrier & bittern walk on Sunday is FULLY BOOKED. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. The next early morning guided walks with places available are:

If you would like to book places on either event, please click on the event name for more details.

So much to see, so little time!

David White — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 09:06:00 GMT

There has been so much going on here over the last week! I will try to update you on the most exciting bits! Things started well on Sunday with a group of ten bar tailed godwits circling over the washland. This included two birds in their eye catching brick red breeding plumage. A greenshank was on the river just west of the washland pool and two cranes were visible near Joist Fen viewpoint.

There was a little trickle of swifts passing through in the afternoon and a hobby was over the washland. A red kite was over Joist Fen viewpoint and a lesser whitethroat was singing near the big willow. The latter is a scarce bird here so it was a great record. I also saw my first common lizard of the year toddling across the path near the visitor centre. The final report of the day was of 10 whimbrels flying south of the Joist Fen viewpoint.

Probably the same two whinchats from Saturday were seen just north of New Fen North on Monday morning before being flushed by a common buzzard. A grasshopper warbler was singing between Trial Wood and West Wood (the furthest two poplar woods.) I also saw my first comma of the year at Joist Fen viewpoint. Here is a photo of one that was taken here last year:

Photo credit: Gerry Studd

On Tuesday, two cranes were visible from Joist Fen viewpoint. There was also great excitement when Katherine and Ali found a male ring ouzel in Brandon Fen. There was also a good count of eight great crested grebes on the washland.

I had a lovely view of a male barn owl hunting over the Brandon Fen family trail on Wednesday morning. Suzanne heard a cuckoo in Trial Wood and Roger heard a nightingale singing by the reserve entrance at around 7am. Simon, our local bird ringer heard and saw our first turtle dove of the year at the eastern end of the Brandon Fen family trail.

There were two bar tailed godwits briefly on the washland north of New Fen North and three yellow wagtails flew over the same area. There was a rather humorous moment later on in the day when a grass snake tried to get in to the mens toilets. How bizarre!

I did my Common Bird Census (CBC) in the beautiful sunshine yesterday morning. A barn owl flew over Brandon Fen and I could hear a bittern booming in the distance from New Fen North. I also saw my first cuckoo of the year which flew over the visitor centre and headed south of the railway line.

Meanwhile, further down the reserve, two cranes were visible from Joist Fen viewpoint and two bitterns were displaying in front of New Fen viewpoint. Suzanne and I went out for a walk at lunchtime and there was a great count of ten great crested grebes on the washland. A coal tit was singing in Brandon Fen and we had a lovely view of a brimstone and a green veigned white.

We returned to then visitor centre to find out that we had missed presumably the same ring ouzel from Tuesday in Brandon Fen. Oops! Meanwhile, there were at least eight hobbys over Joist Fen viewpoint and seven swifts were tearing around in the sky above Brandon Fen.

This morning the blackbird in East Wood was keeping me on my toes by repeatedly doing very convincing golden oriole impressions. Pesky bird! He has certainly ramped up his effort recently hopefully in anticipation of some “real” orioles arriving in the next week or so! When they arrive, we will let you know!

Talking about mimics, a jay kept doing impressions of a common buzzard in Trial Wood. In fact, I kept seeing groups of these colourful birds this morning. A group of four flew between West Wood and Trial Wood and two flew north over New Fen viewpoints. One of the latter was doing impressions of a herring gull as it flew over. Very strange!

When I opened up the visitor centre, two great tits were busy building a nest in our nestbox with camera which was great to see. A muntjac deer has also been wondering around at the edge of the visitor centre pond for most of the morning. We hope to see you soon!

They're almossssst ready

Ali Blaney — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 14:25:00 GMT

The benches that is....but more on those later!

This week has been a mixture of office work (never the popular choice as spring is springing outside!) and a good bit of survey work to cheer us up. Dave and I have finally finished the Annual Report, which summarises everything that happened at Lakenheath Fen in the financial year 2012/13. Let me tell you - a LOT happened! It covers not just habitat management but events, visitors, memberships and of course the success of our breeding birds as well as other information. It's been an interesting experience to be involved in writing up the summary of my first year here. We were busy! It also helps us to focus on the new year that has just begun and I can tell we're going to be just as manic, if not more so!

We started this week with an early Monday morning for most of us, as we carried out our second bird territory survey. I encountered many blackcaps along the way and was pleased to be able to identfy them by song before backing up my identification with a visual. All but one that is, who seemed to be doing a remarkable impression of a whitethroat. And I thought I only had to worry about telling blackcaps from garden warblers! Luckily, the bird showed himself so I was able to record correctly on my map. Otherwise, it seemed strangely quiet on Monday morning - perhaps it was too early even for the birds!

This morning we coaxed our volunteers in for 7.30am to help us with our first 'proper' bittern listen, after our attempt last week was thwarted by the strong winds and the 'fen blow' that was whipped up by them. David mentioned the experience in his blog last Friday. It's not something I'd encountered until the past month or so and it's quite a sight - standing at Joist Fen viewpoint looking south and seeing a huge brown cloud coming your way! Needless to say, after an hour or so of not being able to hear anything and getting rather gritty eyes, we called it a day. I'm pleased to say that todays attempt was much more successful - apparently the bittern at Joist Fen viewpoint wouldn't shut up! So far we definitely know we have three boomers, possibly as many as six. Unfortunately the wind hasn't completely died down so we struggled to pinpoint all the grunts and booms. Next week we'll shuffle ourselves around again and listen from different points to try and get a clearer picture. What I did hear though was my first cuckoo of the year which was very nice indeed. I also admired some ground ivy growing on the riverbank where I was sat (there are flowers about at last!) and discovered a pair of oystercatcher were feeding directly behind me on the washland. Although it was quite exposed to the wind on the riverbank, when the sun came out you could feel its strength and it felt very pleasant (at times!)

While we've all been very pleased to see some sunshine in the recent days, from a water level management point of view we could do with some rain. I know, we're never happy.... We've had the odd shower but nothing substantial and the strong winds have helped accelerate the evapotranspiration (long word for you there!) With the work that we were finishing off in Brandon Fen and the fen pools in the last couple of months we had to have low water levels and they haven't quite regained the level we want. Luckily, we've been able to open the tap from the river again to help us top things up, so you'll notice the new wet features in Brandon Fen getting wetter again and the dipping pond breathing a sigh of relief. The fen pools near the visitor centre will need a bit more help so we'll be getting a pump going from Brandon Fen into those pools sometime next week hopefully.

Now that the annual report is done, we'll hopefully have some more exciting reserve updates to follow as we can get on with some practical work. This will start nicely with our volunteers joining us again tomorrow for a work party day, when we'll be installing the new bench sculptures. I'll end with a couple of teasing shots of them in the workshop - the final coat is going on as I type! I'll put in more photos of them next week when they are ready to be sat / scrambled on.

Photo credit: Suzanne finishing off the dragonfly

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - Ssssnake bench waiting to escape the workshop!

A day to remember

David White — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 07:09:00 GMT

Yesterday was certainly a day to be remembered yesterday. Although it was really rather frosty first thing, the sun shone for most of the days and by the afternoon, it was really rather warm.

There was plenty to be seen on the reserve. The early bird (ers) and photographers saw two cranes and our first cuckoo of the year from Joist Fen viewpoint. I went out for a walk around the new trail off of the Brandon Fen family trail and had a superb view of a male barn owl hunting over the riverbank. While I was watching it, I was being serenaded by the beautiful song of a male blackcap in Brandon Fen. It rarely gets any better than that as far as I am concerned.

There was a noticeable arrival of warblers as well and the creaky song of several reed warblers could be heard from the reedbed. To compliment this, the scratchy, hyperactive song of good numbers of sedge warblers could also be heard. My personal highlight though had to be several common whitethroats that I encountered singing right from the top of bushes. I have said it before but they remind me of myself: Loud, excitable and conspicuous!

Roy re-found the male garganey on the washland. It must have been sheltering from the wind for the last week or two. Perhaps the most unusual report of the day was of two whinchats on the riverbank north of East Wood. These charming little birds are now becoming really rather scarce in southern Britain unfortunately. There were three hobbys over Joist Fen viewpoint and our first grasshopper warbler of the year was heard singing at the west end of the reserve.

There were several bitterns booming on the reserve including one in front of Joist Fen viewpoint. There was plenty of marsh harrier activity at Joist Fen viewpoint and several bearded tits were seen from New Fen viewpoint.

I went out for a walk with a mixture of colleagues, Lakenheath Fen volunteers and Fen Drayton Lakes’ volunteers in the afternoon. A muntjac deer ran in front of us as we walked around the new trail and there were plenty of butterflies on the wing. This included some beautifully bright brimstones and also:

Plenty of peacocks:

Photo credit: Katherine Puttick

And even more small tortoiseshells:

Photo credit: David White

When we got to New Fen viewpoint, we were treated to the lovely sight of a pair of coots with three young. They were great fun to watch as they bobbed around the water. Several reed buntings were showing themselves well and a few lucky members of the group saw a short flight from a bittern. We all retreated back to the visitor centre for a well-deserved and enjoyable ice cream. I think we could all do with more days like this, thank you very much! We hope to see you soon.

The answer is blowing in the wind

David White — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 14:09:00 GMT

It has been rather windy this week hasn’t it?! I will start with posting some pictures of yesterday’s rather spectacular Fen blow:

This amazing phenomenon is caused by high winds whipping up the peat and turning the sky almost brown. Yesterday’s “blow” was certainly the most spectacular one that I have seen since I have worked here.

Despite the wind, there has been plenty to see recently. There were some interesting wader records over the weekend with a ringed plover flying east along the river and a golden plover flew north west over Joist Fen. A common curlew also flew south east over the reserve.

A hobby was being mobbed by a kestrel north of West Wood on Sunday and a red kite was over Joist Fen viewpoint. Our first yellow wagtail of the year flew over on Sunday and a wheatear was in Brandon Fen on Monday. Several common whitethroats have also now arrived and can be readily located by their scratchy song.

I did my CBC (Common Bird Census) around Brandon Fen yesterday morning. It was extremely windy which made hearing bird song rather difficult. However, there were willow warblers singing near the visitor centre and in East Wood. A sedge warbler was singing just east of East Wood and a yellow wagtail flew out of the grazing marsh in Brandon Fen.

I sneaked out for another walk later on and was rewarded with a great view of a red kite over Brandon Fen and two water pipits along the riverbank. Reserve staff were out doing a “bittern listen” and needless to say, the birds weren’t making much noise in the wind (and even if they were, it would have been so hard to hear them anyway!)

Our local cranes continue to be seen from time to time either from Joist Fen viewpoint or north of the river. The local marsh harriers also remain very busy displaying and nest building. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there have not been many bearded tit sightings this week as it has been so windy! Let’s hope it drops a bit soon!

The weather is looking rather nice this weekend so why not come and visit. We hope to see you soon!

Warbler tuning

Ali Blaney — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:01:00 GMT

I'm starting with a quick note to all readers - the blog is about bird song, if you're not familiar with the songs of the birds mentioned, click the links and you'll be taken to a page where you can listen to a brief audio clip - much recommended!

It's time to start tuning in to the new warblers that are singing around the reserve. As I approached Botany Bay down the western end of the reserve this morning, I stopped and listened for a couple of minutes. We know the sedge warblers have arrived and I could immediately hear a couple of those singing away nearby. A chiffchaff started up (always lovely to hear and a welcome sign of spring!) and as I approached the start of the footpath down into Botany Bay, a cetti's warbler song exploded from the reeds on the right. No matter how much the cetti's shouted at me, I couldn't spot it - the reeds were swaying about so much in the wind it was hard to pick out any other sort of movement at all! I was just about to head off down the footpath, thinking I'd heard all that I expected to, when I suddenly picked out a few flutey notes and stopped. There was something else in amongst the scrub and luckily, I saw it as well as heard it. It was a lovely male blackcap!

Photo credit: Andy Bright

These birds have a beautiful song, although when I heard it I will admit to first thinking 'hurray' quickly followed by 'oh no'! It's one of those songs that can be confused with that of another bird - in this case the garden warbler - and I'm still at that point where I struggle to tell them apart unless I see them. Blackcaps have their distinguishing coloured caps - black for the males and chestnut for the ladies and juveniles, while the garden warbler is known for its lack of distinguishing features - ie, it's plain and brown! It's great if you have the time to wait and see if you can catch a glimpse, but if you're surveying and don't have oodles of time to wait in one spot, it's not easy. There are plenty of memory tricks that people use - people tell me that garden warblers sound like blackcaps that have had too much caffeine (the same is said of sedge warblers when compared to reed warblers!) Blackcaps are supposed to end their song with a couple of distinct flutey notes. Garden warbler song apparently gains momentum, like a pebble rolling down a hill, unable to stop! But birds don't always sound like they are supposed to and I think they try their hardest to confuse. I've got mp3s to listen to though and DVDs to revise from in the evenings, the BTO also do good comparison ID videos so maybe this will be the spring that I 'get it' when it comes to those two species. Let's hope so!

My experience in Botany Bay links well with something Katherine said to me yesterday. I nearly missed the first blackcap when marching away, because I'd heard what I expected to and was moving on, but it's just as important to listen out for ones we're not expecting! There are warblers that we could get at Lakenheath that haven't been recorded here yet and I need to get listening out for those too, just incase. Species such as river warbler, marsh warbler and savi's warbler could be found here. Maybe this year will be a first for one of these species!

I'll shoe-horn in a brief reserve work round-up, as the work we've been doing this week is not necessarily visible to everyone. We've been assisted in the workshop by volunteer Nigel this week, who usually helps in the visitor centre. Nigel was given the honour of applying the first coat of paint to one of our new benches/sculptures that we purchased with our WREN funding money, to go near the dipping platform. The snake bench is now green and Katherine has added some yellow diamonds along its back today - it looks great! It still needs another coat and the dragonfly bench has yet to be painted so no photos just yet but I'll report back when they are in situ, which will hopefully be next week. Tomorrow some of our regular practical volunteers will be joining us for an early morning bittern listen so we'll start to get an idea of how many booming males we have - if we can hear and locate them over the wind. Hopefully it might have died down somewhat by tomorrow....it'll be nice to give our volunteers a happy start to the day before we go back out with the trailer to continue with pot hole filling and limestone dust laying!

Despite being a bit office and workshop bound this week, it's been lovely to get out and finally hear the warblers singing away - Lakenheath is starting to get noisier! Katherine heard the first reed warbler today and willow warblers are also singing. There's nothing quite like being out and about, soaking up the beautiful songs and I think it's even better when you can tell them apart without having to see them - it means on windy days such as today, when some birds are staying low, you can still appreciate the species that come to Lakenheath. Let me know if any of you have handy tips for tuning into those warblers - I'm sure everyone has them!

Thats the wind we want!

David White — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 07:17:00 GMT

I am sure that I have mentioned this before, but just in case I haven’t, many of us here are rather obsessed with the wind .i.e. its direction and strength. We have been waiting for what seems like an eternity for some southerly winds to bring some more long overdue summer migrants in.

Well, we got our wish on Friday, along with a nice soaking of rain! A chiffchaff was singing in Brandon Fen and little gangs of hirundines were trickling through. Les saw a swallow and four sand martins over Brandon Fen and Lawrence saw a house martin from Joist Fen viewpoint. At this point, we all sighed with relief as finally, summer seemed to be on its way!

It wasn’t all about summer though. A female merlin was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint and a redwing was singing in Brandon Fen. Later on in the day, there was also a water pipit in breeding plumage visible from the washland viewpoint.

There wad plenty of crane activity and one flew right over Lawrence’s head at Joist Fen viewpoint. There were also several bitterns booming in the reedbed. We will hopefully be starting to survey them this week so we will keep you posted on how many we have.

Last but not least. Les took some more lovely pictures on Friday:

A lovely jay

A smart kestrel. Both images Photo credit: Les Bunyan

Yesterday was a really exciting day with summer migrants appearing all over the place throughout the day. Things started very well indeed when I looked over the washland pool. Along with three pintails (A drake and two ducks) was a cracking drake garganey. It was truly lovely to see our only summer migrant duck.

I walked along the riverbank and heard the scratchy song of our first sedge warbler of the year just east of the beginning of East Wood. On the way back alongside the railway line, a willow warbler was singing in a small bush which really put a smile on my face.

I went for another look at the garganey and although I didn’t see it, I was rewarded with a fantastic view of six bearded tits from the washland viewpoint. I even managed to get a view of a male through my telescope which is a rare phenomenon indeed!

I took the Lakenheath Fen kingfishers Wildlife Explorers club for a walk down to Joist Fen viewpoint. Things started well with five sand martins over the Fen Pools and two kestrels displaying over East Wood.

There was plenty of common toad activity in front of New Fen viewpoint with plenty of croaking going on. We eventually spotted at least five of these warty gems swimming in the water or sunbathing on the vegetation. There were also several small tortoiseshells on the wing between New Fen and Joist Fen viewpoint.

Our excitement levels almost went through the roof when our first hobby of the year was seen from Joist Fen viewpoint. At least three cranes were seen in flight nearby including the one legged bird, which has recently been christened “Peggy”. Poor bird!

By late afternoon, the drake garganey was still present and there were four swallows and ten sand martins feeding over the washland pool. Sadly, the rain put the end to the day’s sightings but what a day it was!

I went down to New Fen viewpoint this morning to listen for bitterns. Sadly, I was thwarted because the wind was too strong. This goes to show that we are never happy with the weather really, are we?! We hope to see you soon.

Early birds guided walk this Sunday: CANCELLED

David White — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 14:55:17 GMT

Please note that the Early birds guided walk on Sunday morning has been cancelled. This is due to lack of bookings and the lack of scarcely any summer migrants to hear or see on the reserve. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. There are still places on the Marsh harrier and bittern walk on Sunday April 28 7am-10am. Details on how to book places can be found by clicking on the event name. If you would like any more information, please don not hesitate to give the office a ring on 01842 863400 or e-mail the reserve on lakenheath@rspb.org.uk;

I've never been to Scandinavia, but.........

David White — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 07:33:00 GMT

I will start by saying that unfortunately, we are still having technical issues with the blog so again, there will be no pictures today. We can only offer our apologies and hope that they are sorted out soon. You will therefore have to put up with an account of only words. I will try to make those words as exciting as possible though!

We are still suffering from a distinct lack of summer migrants but Norman FINALLY heard our first singing chiffchaff of the year on Sunday afternoon. However, the reserve is much more reminiscent of Scandinavia than England with plenty of winter visitors still around. There have been a few surprises this week though!

The elusive spoonbill was seen in flight several times on Monday and a male hen harrier ghosted over the reedbeds behind the visitor centre later on in the day. There were also one or two butterflies on the wing with sightings of both small tortoiseshells and peacocks.

Although I usually love getting up early in the mornings, I have to admit it was both physically and emotionally jarring getting up at 05.30 on Wednesday morning to take part in our first common bird census of the year! Please see Ali’s blog for more details.

A barn owl was hunting over the car park when I arrived and a brambling was singing in Brandon Fen. This is only the second time that I have ever heard this species singing in Britain. Who knows, the way things are going they may stay and breed here which would be a very welcome first!

I had a very pleasant surprise later on in the day when I heard a wood sandpiper flying out of the newly excavated pools in Brandon Fen. Ironically, this is a very early record of this species which stops off in Britain on the way north to its Scandinavian breeding grounds every year. This is the first record of this species on the reserve for almost ten years so I was rather chuffed with that. I would have been even more chuffed if I had actually seen it though!

The Brandon Fen family trail well and truly sounded like Iceland yesterday morning with at least two redwings and a brambling in full song. Two water pipits flew up from the riverbank near the ramp and there were eight pintails on the washland (four drakes and four ducks).

There was plenty of crane activity yesterday with sightings from both New Fen and Joist Fen viewpoints over the course of the day. We were treated to a fantastic view of a bittern that flew up from the riverbank between the end of the new trail and the washland viewpoint. We watched it for several minutes as it flew over the washland pool before landing out of sight in the reedbed.

This morning there was a proper song thrush singing battle going on in Brandon Fen with two birds competing against eachother. I don’t think I have ever heard one as loud as the dapper fellow that was shouting from the top of a poplar in the staff car park! A fieldfare was singing nearby which was yet another new one on me. This well and truly made me think: “Are you sure that the reserve hasn’t been moved to Scandinavia?!

A little group of bearded tits were pinging in Brandon Fen and there was a good selection of wildfowl on the washland including seven pintails (three drakes and four ducks.) A Cetti’s warbler was singing near the big willow and a water rail was squealing nearby.

There are still places on the early birds walk this Sunday 7am-10am. Details on how to book on can be found here. The weather is finally warming up so we hope to see you soon.

Survey season begins!

Ali Blaney — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 15:56:00 GMT

Finally, that time of year has come around again. This morning, all the staff plus volunteer Martin arrived at work for a 6.30am start, all togged up in multiple layers, hats and gloves because it was extremely cold. With maps in hand, we split into our groups and headed off to the different areas of the reserve in which we are carrying out our breeding bird territory surveys. David, Martin and I headed off back up the entrance track, noting down birds that we had heard and seen. There are different symbols and codes to record on your map for birds that are singing, calling and alarm calling. Later on, we'll also be using different symbols for birds on nests and carrying food. The biggest note for me this morning is that I need a bigger map! Brandon Fen covers a large area, including everything east of the visitor centre (although not the river or washland) plus west of the visitor centre up to East Wood. And this area contains a lot of birds! Nothing hugely out of the ordinary at the moment, lots of chaffinch, blackbirds, blue tits, great tits, wrens and reed buntings, plus a couple of song thrushes. A lot of siskins are still hanging around too, with a flock of 10 flying overhead quite often and redwing were seen on a few occasions.

We are hoping to see some summer migrants heading in soon, to spice up our surveys (not that the birds already mentioned aren't amazing and a pleasure to see of course!) The wind has been coming from the north east and north west for a long time now, stopping our summer visitors moving in but in the past couple of days the winds have changed and we're hoping for an influx! We've already had our first chiffchaffs singing away, which has been a lovely thing to hear and a definite mark of spring in my book. While some chiffchaffs do overwinter here (Katherine and Suzanne saw one in January), I'm hoping the ones singing away loud and proud are our inbound friends and therefore an indication that spring has finally arrived.

Katherine and I have been surveying birds out on the water too. We've spent some time out in the boat in some of the reedbeds, noting down where we hear and see bearded tits. With the sunshine of the past couple of days and reduced wind speed, they've been making themselves known and it's a relief to know that a good number seem to have made it through the long, cold winter. Today Katherine also spotted a peacock butterfly, a few bees were about and I saw a huge swarm of flies hanging out near Joist Fen North reedbed - this can only be good news for the hungry, resident wildlife as well as the summer migrants who arrive in the hope of, and very much in need of, a decent meal! We're all keeping our eyes peeled for the first wheatear and garganey and I'm also looking forward to seeing the first dragonfly of the year as well as a common lizard and grass snake or two.

Next week we'll be starting up our co-ordinated bittern listens to try and ascertain how many booming males we have at the reserve this year. We've already had reports of boomers in all three of the main reedbeds so fingers crossed for a good number overall. We'll keep you updated as time goes on.

So all in all, it's been an exciting day, full of promise for things to come. The cold weather we experienced this morning soon gave way to a gloriously sunny day, which caught a couple of us by surprise and led to a sun-kissed face or two! It's great to think that spring might have finally arrived.....although to be honest a little bit of rain over the next couple of days would be well received (there's no pleasing some people!)

(I'll end with a quick apology at the lack of photos in this blog - technical issues I'm afraid that will hopefully be resolved soon!)

Astronomy evening: FULLY BOOKED

David White — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 08:18:40 GMT

Pleas note that the astronomy evening this evening is FULLY BOOKED. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate those who have booked places in advance. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused.