22nd May 2015
Almost the end of the third week in May so where to go? The coast will be fairly quiet by now so better to go inland somewhere around the Brecks area. It was therefore decided to go to Lakenheath Fen with the target species being Bearded Tit, Bittern and Crane. I decided that The Wash was worth a miss so walked up the southern trail eventually arriving at the New Fen viewpoint.
The whole area was very quiet with no Hobbys or Marsh Harriers, although a Bittern kept reminding us of his presence by booming which was quite loud because of the wind direction. A Kingfisher was fishing from selected vantage points around the pool, although was always a little too distant for a decent shot, but did manage to provide a reasonable composition on a Phragmites stem.
Continuing west along the track the entertainment was provided by numerous Whitethroats, all staking out their territory from a suitable vantage point, although one individual seemed to more happy in the security of a sallow.
Hobbys were also on the wing but because of the warm weather which had driven the insects high into the sky, were too high for any decent shots. However,one bird did conveniently land in the top of a poplar in West Wood, but with the compulsory branch in front of it.
At Joist Fen one of the pairs of Cranes were on show. They were reported to have two young but only one was visible at any one time so let's hope they are both still present and correct and avoid the foxes until they are old enough to fly.
But the star of the show today was one of the many Cuckoos that had been calling all day. This particular individual came and perched on a nearby bush by the river and then performed a fly-past before settling once again on another tree. This was particularly rewarding as it is only the second Cuckoo that I have photographed, the first being........at Lakenheath Fen!!!
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