Wardens Blog

Our breeding pair of Reds, named 'Tweedledum and Totroishell', have had another successful year, producing three males and five female from two litters.  The second litter of five will soon be exploring the other enclosures of our 'squirrel condominium' through the overhead runs. It is time, as at 12 to 16 weeks the young will naturally move away from the parents to establish new territories.

This litter of youngsters happen to be five young females, who will be paired up with some young males bred at other establishments within the East Anglian squirrel group.  Some of these pairings will remain within the group to ensure continued success of our captive breeding programme, while others will travel to Anglesey to be released.

August is the best month to see our Red Squirrels.  The youngsters are often out and about exercising or eating the phenomenal amount of food they need in order to gain essential weight and good body condition.  We supplement their diet of nuts and seed with daily fresh helpings of carrot, sweet corn, cucumber and their current favourite mushroom.

Tweedledum's and Tortoishell's first litter are doing well and two of the males from this spring litter are being paired with two unrelated females from a litter bred at Whitwell Hall.  Interestingly the spring Pensthorpe litter and the Whitwell litter were born within two days of each other! 

These four squirrels are destined for Anglesey in September where they will be placed together in release pens, to be set free in October. It is really useful to get the pairs acquainted before they go as they thrive in their new woodland when they have a mate to move in with.  We are lucky at Pensthorpe to have the facilities to do this ensuring the best start we can give them. 

A lot has been happening just recently, the week started with me spotting 2 common Tern chicks fledging on the Wader Scrape, a fantastic thing to witness as I have had my eye on this pair from courtship to the final fledging of their chicks.  Another set of fledglings were a busy pair of Swallows who decided to nest in the tunnel to our shop, this was their second brood of the year.

Fledling swallows

We have been busy up in the Alder Carr wood, digging out one of our pingos, which was becoming clogged up with debris, this is a really good site for dragonflies and damselflies, a Kingfisher has also been spotted in this area.  We started work in this area last year opening up the area to let more light through now with the completion of dredging the pingo we hope this to be an excellent site for different flora and fauna to flourish.

Before and after shots of Pingo at Alder Carr wood 

The later part of the week has been full on, getting ready for the Mediaeval Spectacular.  This event is well worth a visit whatever the weather, the reserve turns into a Mediaeval village for the weekend with lots of different events happening throughout from storytelling, the gruesome barber surgeon, archery and a fantastic men at arms battle at the end of each day.  The event links in well with Pensthorpes heritage, as Pensthorpe is mentioned in the 11^th century Doomsday book, some of the events that you can witness over the weekend really could of happened here many years ago.

Over the last week or so we've all been hard at work in the aviaries, clearing away the spring growth and opening up the vegetation to provide better views of our birds as the summer holidays progress and many visitors of all ages and heights pass through hoping for clear sights of our waders.

Among the most noticeable is the wader aviary where a large expanse of reed has been cleared, expanding the area of open water and exposing wonderful views across the pond to the far bank and the birds that gather there. The area around the bearded reedling house has also been cut back making these delightful little birds far more accessible and revealing HMS Pensthorpe, an old dinghy peacefully passing out the last of its days among the reeds! The aviary will be a little less busy now with the removal of the young shoveller and green-winged teal, leaving our breeding pairs in peace until next year.

The Dulverton aviary has also been brought back under control with tall reeds and grasses removed to provide unobstructed views of stilts, redshack and lapwing. Two overgrown waterfalls have also been cleared as has a large amount of buttercress from the bottom pond, exposing more open water for our laysen teal. Our stilts were particularly appreciative of our efforts, sifting through the disturbed mud for invertebrates as we stumbled through the water!

As for the birds themselves, this years red-breasted goslings are now on display for the first time, acclimatizing in the peacock pen before release into the wader pen. At various ages and stages of growth the mini-flock makes a nice sight at the far end of the PCC opposite the crane hides.

All our young Ross's and swan geese are now in the wader pen, along with two young barheaded geese who join their parents after being hand reared to increase our flock of the world's highest flying bird to six.

As our young birds start to mature, hopefully many more will go on show over the coming months.

After just over a week in their new home one the Somerset levels, the cranes seemed to have settled in to the swing of things nicely. Any worries that Amy and myself might have had about the move have dissipated and we are now into a quiet period over the next few weeks whilst the cranes adjust to and imprint onto the new area. This quite period before the release proper starts in earnest is very convenient as it not only allows the birds to settle in but also ourselves as we have also moved to Somerset from Slimbridge. It also gives us some time to work on a release strategy, as a crane release is going to be very different from any of the previous UK re-introductions.

One of the problems that is going to face the young cranes, is that in the wild a young crane follows its parents throughout the winter until they are driven off at the start of the following breeding season. During this time, the young birds watch and mimic their parent's activities in order that they can learn how to exploit all of the different food sources that are available throughout the year. It is also worth noting that the parents will continue to feed the youngsters choice tidbits, even though the young birds are capable of feeding themselves. Clearly although we cannot be around to do this for them, we can provide them with a supplementary source of food to get them started and a safe predator free place to come back to and roost. The rest however will be up to them

Therefore, although things are quiet just now a lot of planning and preparation is being put in place, to give the birds the best possible chances of survival, once our young birds leave their safe and secure environment for the tough and dangerous world of predators and other dangers. So, although we are reaching the end of the rearing stage, there is still a long way to go.     

Fiind out more about the Great Crane Project

The diversity of habitats at Pensthorpe means there is a great selection of species to see and monitor. One method of doing this is bird ringing. On the reserve we have a 'Constant Effort Site (CES)'. The programme involves putting out nets in the same location, at the same time of day within a 12 day period.  The results show valuable information of population trends of adults and juveniles, productivity and adult survival rates. It is also possible to see bird movements if these birds are trapped at other ringing sites. Last weeks session was particularly interesting with 17 species ringed and 79 birds in total, including a Treecreeper and a Kingfisher  (see picture). To see these majestic birds up close was defiantly worth getting up at 4.30am for! This is the second juvenile Kingfisher caught this year and with the adults pairs disappearing after the harsh winter, hopefully these birds will stick around and use Pensthorpe as their new territory. Gary Elton has been training Thomas and I, and with some superb help from Ashley, Jean and Phil we have had a very productive few months. With three more sessions still go and many young and migratory birds moving about, it should be a busy time at the nets.

On Saturday 7th September, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 7 Green Sandpipers and 1 Greenshank, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrels, 69 lapwing, 2 Little Egrets, 1 Avocet, 2 Shelduck and 25 Gadwall were all spotted at the Wader Scrape within a 10 minute period.

The English Longhorn cattle are now on Mid Brec South, grazing down the wildflower meadow. These ancient breed of cattle can now be seen just a few feet away from the Wensum discovery Tour, with one of the best views across Pensthorpe on top of the hill. Another wildflower meadow to see is at the fishing hut where Tufted Vetch, Meadowsweet,Knapweed and Greater Bird's-Foot Trefoil are all in flower. 

Whilst Imgoen and I were doing an evening walk on Tuesday 3rd August, 2 Water Voles decided to perform near the new bridge on the River Wensum, with stunning views of these elusive creatures. The species has had a dramatic decline due to the introduction of American Mink, but at Pensthorpe the endangered Vole is thriving.

Best Wishes

Ed

Now that the breeding season is over its time to reflect on a job well done by our birds, incubators and staff. Despite a harsh winter which took its toll on all our birds most of our species have come through the breeding season with flying colours!

Smew Mergellus albelllus

Our large batch of smew are a case in point. Although not considered endangered in the wild numbers of smew are rapidly declining in captivity as collections struggle to rear ducklings successfully. Pensthorpe has found no such difficulties this year, rearing around two score of these rare winter migrants. As with our other youngsters these birds will be used either to maintain numbers on show or be moved to other collections to encourage genetic diversity.

Swan Goose Anser cygnoides

Our geese have also bred well, especially the Ross's flock with over a dozen, and the swan goose, an ancient and endangered species whose problems in the wild are compounded by severe hybridisation among captive flocks. Pensthorpe is lucky enough to have a sizeable purebred flock and successful breeding is a yearly priority. Other goose successes include bar-headed, ruddy-headed and red-breasted goslings.

Lots of native ducks have been reared and are starting to take to the wing with large numbers of goldeneye, wigeon and pintail along with several shelduck and shoveller soon to be seen flying around the estate and likely to stick around to breed in the future.

Shoveller Anas clypeata

Purely due to sheer numbers of eggs lain we have a good count of hoodied mergansers and fulvous tree ducks, despite high infertility. In addition the black-necked cygnets are growing well, and the bewick's youngster pulled through a difficult early period to become a big presence among the mandarin and ferruginous ducklings he currently shares a pen with!

This is a brief overview of how a busy and exciting season has turned out. A summary of our corncrake season and the red squirrel breeding programme will follow shortly.

Thanks

Jack

Behind the scenes at some of our rearing pens at the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre, Chrissie, Kat and I start to ring the Red-breasted Gosling's.  We have had a good breeding year with our Red-breasted geese this year, which is good news for this red listed species.

The Red-breasted goose is thought to of declined 56% over the past ten years, making breeding schemes like ours even more important for the survival of this species.

 Chrissie's smile says it all, we are all very pleased with the amount of babies we have this year.

Summer intern Kat, helping out with the ringing - a change from being our corncrake mummy for most of the summer.

The first Painted Lady was spotted in the reserve today near the Shepherd's Hut.

Painted Lady - Vanessa cardui

This butterfly migrates all the way from North Africa and last year we saw migration en masse of this butterfly throughout England.

Yesterday I had the luck to spot 5 Common Buzzards Buteo buteo flying over the Wader Scrape, possibly a family party;  this is particularly good as I haven't seen many Buzzards about just recently.

Last Thursday (the 22^nd), was a big day at crane school for both the aviculturist and the cranes themselves. It was the day that the birds would be fitted with all of the paraphernalia that would enable us to identify, keep track and in the case of a number of individuals build up a picture of their use of different habitat types.

Initially each bird was fitted with a number of colour rings (three on each leg); on the left leg, there is the colour combination black, blue, black denoting that they are UK birds. On the other leg, there were another three colour rings, the bottom one being red, this is the same for all the birds and is the year tag with each year having a different colour. With the remaining, two being a specific combination unique to each bird for identification purposes. Finally around each of the birds ankle was a small metal BTO (British trust for ornithology), ring.

As well as the colour rings, five of the birds were fitted with leg-mounted satellite PTT's which will keep track of their movements with all the stored data being initially downloaded every three days by satellite. Another five birds have been fitted with GPS backpacks that will record the bird's movements in the same way. Although these will require either  Amy or myself to be within 500m to 3 Km of the bird in question, depending on which receiver we use and the geography of the landscape.

The remaining birds along with those wearing back packs are all fitted with radio transmitters making it easier for us to make daily contact with the birds as a real time method of monitoring their movements, this will also help us to monitor the general health of the birds and should any individual become sick or injured then it could still be possible to catch it up and treat it. 

The idea behind fitting the birds with PTT's and back packs is that hopefully the data generated should hopefully provide us with invaluable information regarding the movements of the birds, especially in respect of which habitats they favour over the course of the year. Thus providing us with invaluable information, which should not only improve our knowledge of our crane population but also help to increase the success of each release.

Find out more about the Great Crane Project

Pensthorpe is a fantastic place to spot common and rare butterflies and moths.  Due to our many different habitats you can spot many species on the same day which do not usually co- habit in other areas of the county.  

Recently seen are the striking Purple Hairstreak butterfly Neozephyrus quercus, which is our most commonly seen hairstreak and can be found in Oak woodlands.

And Hummingbird Hawk Moth Macroglossum stellatarum, a long distance visitor all the way from Africa.

With wildlife on the move due to the breeding season nearing the end, there is an unusual friendship at the Wader Scrape. A young Avocet and Shelduck have both stayed while the rest of their families have moved on and have started to spend a lot of time together! This is quite different from earlier in the year when there were conflicts and hostile exchanges between their parents.

  Common Sandpiper

Also on the Scrape, large numbers of waders are still dropping in. 4 Common Sandpipers, 6 Green Sandpipers, 2 Redshank, Greenshank and 36 Lapwing have all been present in the last week. The islands have been cut back to open up views for the public and to also prepare the area for waterfowl moving in. 22 Gadwall were spotted just in front of the hide on the 28th July, and Teal and Shoveler are increasing in numbers. This is also a great spot to see birds of prey, with Buzzards, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel and Sparrowhawks seen on most days.

   Marsh Harrier

The farmland habitats of wildflowers are alive with bees and insects at the moment. 6 spot Burnet moths have been feeding on birds-foot trefoil on all of the wildflower strips, whilst Common Blue, Green Veined White, Comma and Meadow Brown butterflies on the wing. The Wildbird mixes that were sown in May are growing well and will form a vital food source over winter. Yellowhammer, Skylark and Barn Owl have all been seen across our Conservation Grade Farm recently.

 River Wensum

The River Wensum is always a fabulous area for watching wildlife but in the last week it still manages to amaze me. On Tuesday 27th July whilst out bird ringing, a Kingfisher was seen regularly, whilst the stunning Banded Demoiselle damselfly provide lovely views at all of the bridges. Then on Friday afternoon at the new bridge, a Water Vole went for a swim, only about 10 yards from where I was standing!

As the breeding season draws to a close it's time to reflect on what has been a good year for the captive birds at Pensthorpe. Improvements such as the renovation of duck boxes, a brand new incubator and expansion of our brooder facilities has allowed for a much more productive season than last year, including high numbers of Smew, hoodied mergansers and fulvous whistling ducks. Species such as Barrow's goldeneye, Ruddy-headed goose and Bar-headed goose which didn't lay last year have bred successfully this season, and high numbers of native species have been reared with a view to them parent rearing in future years. A full list of the bred birds this year will be posted shortly.

One species in particular has had something of a rollercoaster season. After the mysterious disappearance of the initial clutch, our black stork pair found it within themselves to lay again and this time hatched off two chicks. Sadly these died after falling from the nest, but the successful incubation and fertility of both eggs bodes well for this young and very inexperienced pair who will no doubt do better next year. Also in the ibis aviary the little egrets have been breeding well and been left to their own devices with a youngsters of different ages around the nesting trees.

Good signs in the flamingo pen as our young flock of Greater Flamingos have been seen attempting to mate. Although too late in the season for breeding it's a good start and next year should see the famous flamingo march of courtship and hopefully our first ever flamingo chicks!

Finally after two years of trying the female ruddy shelduck has been caught off Old Squaw! Although a truly beautiful bird she had been something of a thorn in the side of the native lake, her bright orange colouring making her somewhat distinctive! After the successful removal of the black swans last year she was the last non-native bird on the lake and can now be paired with an unrelated male youngster from this year with a view to releasing them onto the Mill Pond!

Some good news over at the PCC where the Grey Crowned Cranes have laid three eggs, keeping alive hopes for crane babies this year after all. Always the last of the cranes to lay, the pair has successfully bred for the last three years but has only ever had one egg hatch, a statistic we are hoping will change this year. Cranes will only ever rear one chick so two of our broody chickens have had their tour of duty extended in the hope that all eggs may be fertile and surrogate mothers will be needed. 

To mark the end of the breeding season, throughout the various pens and aviaries lots of ground work is being undertaken as the focus moves away from breeding habitat and onto a more aesthetic appearance in preparation for the summer holidays and hopefully a very busy couple months. The flamingo and wader pens have been strimmed and mown and the waterfall aviary has been thoroughly cleaned and the vegetation tidied up.

As well as the grass work in the wader pen we've also moved the duck's feeding area onto the lake closer to the hides in an attempt make the birds more visible to the public. Also our bullying bewick's have been moved to a pen on their own at the old collection and have been replaced by a delightfully docile pair, making the wader pen feed much more of a pleasure!

In the tundra pen it's been a good year for the red-breasted geese with 8 clutches laid, a vast improvement on last year. Several clutches are starting to hatch in the incubaters and now their season is over the birds will soon return to their winter quarters on the ditch, back on public display.

Finally the corncrake season is now over with the breeding birds moulting out although there are still plenty of babies to feed and a group of young birds were delivered to the Nene pre-release area on Monday.

Well perhaps I shouldn't have spoken so soon, the reign of Clarence as number one crane was rather short lived to say the least! After about a week and once both cohorts were relatively peaceful, or a peaceful as can be considering the inhabitants are all young cranes with occasional penchants for rather violent behaviour to each other. It was time to mix both cohorts together, this had made both Amy and myself rather nervous especially if you remember that the alpha position in the other cohort was held by the notorious pint sized nut case 'Minnie the fearless thistle eater' and whilst Clarence's cohort was a generally peaceful affair, Minnie's cohort was far more volatile, with the position of top dog being maintained through aggression and domination of any other crane foolish enough to challenge for the top spot.  Finally the day came that week had to just bite the bullet and mix the two cohorts, just in case you were wondering why we would mix birds when we knew there would be some sort of aggression between them, the rearing process for these birds waits for no man or bird and if we were to try and hold it back too much it could have had a detrimental effect on the group as a whole. So it was therefore imperative that we got all the birds into one group ASAP!

The initial mixing of the two groups could have been seen as both a positive and negative affair, the positive side was that it went as both Amy and I had expected. The negative side however was that there was an all out face to face fight between Minnie and Clarence with Gemma (Yellow band left leg), joining in on Clarence's side. Fortunately we managed to separate the fight and for the next couple of days whilst one of us walked the group the other would stick to Minnie like glue attempting to keep her and Clarence and co separated.  Eventually after a couple days stalemate the first to crack was Gemma, she was always Clarence's side kick and once Minnie confronted her out of his presence she soon ran away.  Minnie then turned her attention onto Clarence running at him they started fighting, this time it felt a little bit different and sure enough Clarence backed down and ran away.  This was made all the more bizarre by the fact that Clarence was half as big again as Minnie!

Thankfully things soon settled down after this, although Minnie appeared to initially dominate a number of the higher ranking cranes when they were let out each morning for about a week or so after become alpha of the whole cohort. Although this had the added benefit of taking the pressure of the lowest ranking cranes who were previously kept on the edges of the group by the other more dominant birds. Minnie even appears to have something of a friend, well more of a bird that is tolerated more than the others, Daisy (red and blue), who recently has even been seen feeding from the same food bowl as Minnie, something none of the other birds would dare try!      

Find more information on 'the Great Crane Project'        

It is a wonderful time of year to walk around the reserve at the moment. The wildflower meadow is the star of the show, with a stunning display of colour. Plants flowering at the moment include Marsh Thistle, Knapweed, Tufted Vetch and Meadowsweet. On all of the meadows there are many species of butterflies on the wing, including Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Comma and White Admiral.

The diverse water systems at Pensthorpe mean that Dragonflies and Damselflies thrive at this time of year. On the pingoes along the old railway line, Ruddy and Common Darter are very common, whilst on the tour route Emerald Damselfly can be seen. Small Red-Eyed Damselfly has also been recorded by Thomas in the last couple of weeks, this is only the second year it has been recorded here.

The wildflower strips and fields on the Conservation Grade Farm are all in flower, these are a mix of Legume mixes (Trefoils, Vetchs and Clovers) that are full of bees and butterflies. The majority of habitats are meadow mixes that have over 30 species of wildflowers in and benefit species from Skylarks to Harvest Mice to insects. The Longhorn Cattle are now on the drive and Wensum meadow at the back of Old Squaw.

The dry weather is working perfectly on the Wader Scrape as the lower water levels are leaving exposed mud for waders to feed in. This time of year is usually quiet on the bird front, but for waders it is a time for migration from northern areas such as the Arctic. The breeding season here is very short, so these birds are moving back south, and are currently stopping at Pensthorpe to refuel for a few weeks. A Green Sandpiper and Redshank have recently dropped, and over 50 lapwing are feeding daily on the Scrape. One of the adult Avocets has disappeared, but one adult and the four young are looking well and flying now instead of having to run for cover if trouble arises! The levels on the scrape are being checked daily to make sure that the habitat is benefiting species at this crucial time of year. With water levels lowering on all of the lakes, there is more mud for waders to feed on.

The last week has seen paths and areas around benches cut back to open up views, whilst Himalayan balsam has been pulled in a couple of areas. This invasive plant had started to shade out a large area of wildflowers and a pond.

On Monday, another session of ringing was undertaken with 65 birds caught and released. The information recorded is essential to monitor population trends and migration patterns. Being up early was made worth while by a Kingfisher that was fishing just yards away from our base for ringing near the new bridge and the insect-like reeling of Grasshopper Warbler was heard near by.

This is only the second time since Pensthorpe has been keeping records of Dragonflies found on the reserve that Small Red-eyed Damselfly has been spotted and to my delight there were two! 

They were seen for the first time last year having arrived in Norfolk in 2006.  

So if you want to try your hand at spotting some they prefer open water on large lakes.  Look for them on weed mats on the water's surface. 

Happy hunting!
 

Just over a month ago the Avocet parents were sitting on four beautiful eggs out on the Wader  Scrape. Once hatched these excitable youngsters stayed in front of the hides as they grew up delighting visitors who were watching them. Today however they had gone! They were nowhere to be seen. I sat in the hide having my lunch, and still no Avocets, but I needn't worry. In the distance, four of the youngsters were flying low across one of our water meadows. Soon after, one of the parents flew over the top of the Wader Scrape with all four youngsters arriving back at their favourite spot in front of the hides - Phew!


The Spotted Flycatchers are being seen less often along the drive, but too much delight five were seen next to the scrape in a large Beech Tree. They have been providing fantastic photo opportunities on the new bridge, perching in the sunshine!

A juvenile kestrel is often seen perched on the Wader Scrape hide, most probably one of our TV stars. Its brothers and sisters have been hunting throughout the reserve and are seen regularly by visitors on the Wensum Discovery Tour.  The male is still hunting on our Conservation Grade Farm and has been catching plenty of voles and mice.

The young Shelducks have also fledged successfully, and the four juveniles have been taking their first flying lessons, though one still has some way to go! It really is a great time of year to explore the reserve with all the young birds, butterflies and dragonflies emerging.

Not one but five Red Squirrel Kittens are now out and about actively taking in their new environment.  This is the second litter this year from this proven pair, with three being born in February. 

The Pensthorpe Conservation Trust is part of the East Anglian Red Squirrel breeding programme along with ten other Partners.  The young kittens are either put back into the breeding programme, to ensure that the blood lines are kept diluted or released on Anglesey where there are no Grey Squirrels.  The Anglesey programme is trying to ensure that there is a wild and sustainable population of these charismatic mammals.

Be sure to make sure you visit this part of the reserve whilst you are with us and if you are lucky you may see both litters exploring and playing in the overhead runs and catching a quick bite to eat at one of the feeding stations.  A top tip to increase your chances of seeing them is to head straight there soon after we open at 10am or leave it until late in the afternoon.  This is because squirrels are more active in the early morning and late afternoon.  

 
(c) Annie Kerridge

The dad of the year award defiantly goes to the male kestrel! He has done the fantastic job of rearing all of the youngsters and they are now about ready to fledge. There is a good possibility that they will come back to the nest box for a while before leaving the local area to find their own territory.



There is sad news though regarding our Sparrowhawks. Everything seemed to be going well, but Jo from Springwatch came up at the weekend to check on the Sparrowhawks and Kestrels. On Saturday only one chick was seen in the nest, but seemed in good shape. However when Jo went back on Sunday, the chick had gone. It is a bit of a mystery to where and what happened to the chick, but other birds of prey such as Goshawk and Buzzards will predate Sparrowhawk chicks. Tawny Owls, Jays and Magpies are also predators that can take fairly young chicks.

On a more positive note the Avocet chicks are looking fantastic. They are now turning into small versions of their parents, with their black and white feathers coming through. The parents are still having to be wary of predators, with Marsh Harriers and Grey Herons in the local vicinity and of course the Shelduck who they seem to now have a mutual understanding with!

The Spotted Flycatcher fledgings are still very active along the drive, and one has been seen outside the cafe in the last couple of days. This warm, dry weather is providing plenty of food for these elegant little birds. 

That's it for this week but make sure you keep checking the website to find out what has been happening in and around the reserve.

Ed

The first of this years Corncrakes bred at Pensthorpe, have been let out of their release pen at the Nene Washes reserve and in the coming days will begin making their journey back to sub-Saharan Africa.

With more due to be released and eggs still hatching watch this space!

All over the place our exotic birds are starting to moult as their breeding season draws to a close. Mandarins on the viewing lake are looking particularly scruffy, making it a little difficult to explain the beauty and finery of the males' plumage during the 4 o'clock talk! Although the end of the laying season is a slightly disappointing time, our rearing facilities are chock-a-block with baby birds and the fun of rearing will not be over for a few months yet.

However our good old native species aren't done yet with clutches of Ferruginous, Tufted duck and Smew still being found and hopes still high for more Gadwall and our first Northern Pochard and Garganey.

Our two Black-necked swan cygnets are growing well on the ditch and along with our young gosling having been giving the bird department lots of practice for the lettuce chopping world cup, due to begin shortly after the lesser-known football version! The experienced parents have done a fine job of rearing their young without any intervention, but unfortunately the same cannot be said of our Bewick's swans. These first time parents have struggled with their solitary cygnet which has now been taken in to be hand reared.

In the flamingo pen our Fulvous flock never did sort themselves out, dropping well over fifty eggs at various points around their pen! Unfortunately very few of these have proven fertile but on a more positive note the marbled teal have laid a large fertile clutch which should be hatching soon. Best of all the white-headed ducks have also been laying, a personal favourite and without doubt the cutest ducklings of all!

The wild Shelduck pair that graciously chose our tundra pen to nest in successfully fledged seven young and are currently teaching them to fly doing circuits above the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre before they go their separate ways, a nice success story for one of our most colourful native duck species.

Good news in the Ibis aviary as the pair of Black storks have found the time to lay again! The female is sitting tight once again with the male patrolling the ground beneath the nest.

The young little egret is growing well and two more are nesting as are a pair of scarlet ibis.

There are babies abound in the wader aviary with a clutch of 8 Shoveller growing well and a newly hatched and very shy clutch of Green-winged teal, both of which make a wonderful sight swimming among the reeds. The Avocet pair hatched out two young which are growing very well as are the young Bearded Reedlings, guzzling mealworms by the handful! The aviary currently feels more like a film premier with cameras zapping all day long!

Some of the earlier hatching duckling are really coming on and feathering up now with Pintail, Puna Teal and Ruddy Shelduck looking like smaller versions of their parents. The Scaly sided Merganser clutch are also getting big and have been moved onto the lily pond to mingle with their siblings from last year and our other adults. Their nest box in the waterfall has now been taken over by a female Baikal teal who's recently hatched young will be parent-reared in the safety of the aviary for the public to see.

Despite the breeding season moving towards it's twilight period there is no time to take a breath as there is still plenty of rearing to be done and the exciting prospect of deciding what to do with all our new birds still to come!

Thanks

Jack

Hi Springwatch viewers,

Here's the first of my Springwatch updates on what's happened to this year's characters since the show came to an end last week. 

There has been plenty of action down at the Scrape this week.  The four Avocet chicks are alive and well, though they have come under attack from a couple of Grey Herons.  The adults have been absolutely fantastic in protecting and chasing the herons away.  I saw one of the adults stay with the chicks while the other chased away a Grey Heron off the Scrape, with the Heron making a horrible screeching noise!

The Little Ringed Plover have bred again and it is looking very likely that they will sit again.  It is likely to be their last brood this year so finger crossed these ones make it! 

A real success story this year were the family of Spotted Flycatchers. All the youngsters fledged this week and have been feeding around the nest site. They are very difficult to see at first as they perch hidden on a post but then flash through the air, catching any passing insects before returning to their perch.

The swallows have finally left their nest now, though they are still feeding around the Five Cottages, the area right next to where Springwatch village was. The tool shed below where they nested is looking a lot cleaner since they fledged and left their nest!  The image was taken just before they left and still shows them sticking close together and not wanting to go just yet!



The male kestrel is doing a marvellous job of feeding the growing chicks. He is regularly seen hunting over the wildflower fields on the Conservation Grade Farm. The youngsters are growing at quite a rate at the moment and the lovely weather we have had this week is aiding him hugely.

The adults Sparrowhawks have been seen carrying food into the wood where they are nesting throughout the day. We haven't checked on these birds as they are very shy and secretive, but all seems to be going well with the amount of food both adults are bringing back to the nest.

That's it for this week, look out for my next posting next week.  You can always follow our signtings at Pensthorpe by clicking here.

Ed

Our Common Spotted and Marsh orchids are putting on a fantastic display in the Wild Flower Meadow.  Many are situated close to the board walk so you can get a superb look at these amazing flowers.  

I am taking special 'Orchid Walks' out to the wild flower meadow at 11.30am and 3.30pm on both days of our Orchid Weekend this Satuday and Sunday.  For a nominal £2.00 charge on top of normal admission price come and find out more about this fantastic part of the reserve and the orchids, wild flowers and animals that can be found there.

Our pair of Black Storks has certainly kept us on our toes this year as it is the first year that they have looked like they may breed.  She has already had us fooled once as she sat on a nest and we stayed well back but to our disappointment she was sitting on nothing - just getting used to it I guess!  Well she is sitting again and this time she is on eggs but we will have to wait for a month to see if they do hatch out some more of these stunning storks.

For all you avid Springwatch viewers you'll be pleased to hear that I saw the male Kestrel out hunting this morning and a few moments later heading back to the chicks in the nest box. 
 

We took another seven Corncrakes over to the RSPB Nene Washes reserve as part of our involvement in the breed and release program.  The first group we took over two weeks ago are all doing well and counting the days down until they are released before they make their way back to Africa. 

Back at the reserve we are still busy feeding eager mouths of the other broods, all at various ages, and over the coming weeks they too will be taken to the Nene to be released. 

Even though the cameras are being removed from Scrape, the wildlife is still putting on a fantastic show. The Avocet chicks on the scrape are offering some great entertainment by feeding in front of both of the hides. An unusual arrival of 2 Green Sandpipers were seen on the 15th June, but on this morning, the last Little Ringed Plover chick was sadly taken by a Jackdaw. This area still has Hobbies, Marsh Harrier and Little Egret seen daily. 

Out on the other lakes, 8 Great Crested Grebes were seen on the 14th June, and a pair of Common tern were fishing over Old Squaw. The Old Railway Line is full of life this week with a Roe and a fawn seen on the 14th June, two Tawny Owl fledglings on the 11th and three Hares on the 15th June.

A welcome return on the river and Wader scrape have been a couple of Kingfishers. If anyone has any sightings of these please let us know as it would be fantastic to have them breeding here again. The Springwatch cameras picked up some amazing footage of an Otter at the Fishing Hut. One animal was see eating crayfish on the 10th June at 10.50am, where members of the public were standing just a few feet away! The camera here also spotted a Barn Owl hunting regularly, suggesting it has many young mouths to feed.

Thomas has so far this year recorded 14 species of Butterflies, including the first couple of Large Skippers on the 13th June and 11 species of Dragonflies, with Emperor showing well in front of the new Scrape Hide.

The park is  full of colour at the moment with Ox-eye daisy and Red Campion around all of the lakes. The Wildflower meadow is looking magnificent, with Ragged Robin, Common Spotted and Marsh Orchids all in flower. A significant plant on the meadow is Yellow Rattle, which can be seen on the dryer areas of the meadow. This plant is semi-parasitic to grasses and therefore increases the diversity of flowers by preventing the vigorous grasses to take a stronghold.

Another wonderful wildflower meadow can be seen on the tour route as Mid Brec North comes into flower. It is a valuable breeding area for the displaying Skylarks at this time of year. Our first Cut of Hay was taken this week, and this worked perfectly for the kestrel chicks as the male has been hunting voles over the field now the grass is shorter.

The hard and prolonged winter took its toll on Pensthorpe's Kingfishers with the last recorded sighting in December last year.  They have been sadly missed but over the weekend we received fantastic news from down at the Wader Scrape. 

Kingfishers have been seen on two occasions.  An adult bird was seen perched on a dead branch on Saturday and then two adult birds, male and female, were seen on the Sunday near their traditional breeding ground, used for the last seven years.  It's not too late for a second brood!  

It was great to see the Great Crested Grebes back on Moon Water this year and even better to see them nest building.  Whilst I was out walking the reserve this morning I looked out over the lake and counted 6 birds, two of which where this year's 'youngsters' and they looked really fit and well!  More may yet show themselves, fingers crossed as these striking birds are always great fun to watch from our Wave Garden hide.

On my way past the Scrape today I noticed something a little odd down where the Avocets are nesting.  I made my way back to the new hide overlooking the Wader Scrape, as this gives the best view, and to my amazement their snuggling back under the adult bird was not one but two Avocet chicks and she still has two more to hatch!  This is fantastic news as the last time we had Avocets nest on the reserve was way back in 1994 and although they have been about since, they have never stayed. 

Some of you may have seen Simon Kings footage of a Hobby catching dragonflies on the wing, an amazing site at anytime, well you'll be pleased to hear that you don't have to go down to Devon to see them.  Hobbies are seen at Pensthorpe regularly and currently there is no better place than the Wader Scrape or the Wildflower Meadow.  This hot weather has led to an unexpected rush of dragonfly numbers making it a prime opportunity to see Hobbies out on the reserve.

The Springwatch team have also been talking about the black fox and asking viewers for to report their sightings.  I haven't seen a black fox but I have seen a stunning black hen pheasant proudly strutting with her 13 chicks!

At least two Tawny Owlets which have been seen waiting patiently for the adult birds to feed them in the shade of the trees near Crane Meadow.  You'll have to look hard to spot them as they sit very still up in the trees.

Late yesterday afternoon I was out walking the Wildflower Meadow where the Ragged Robin, Lychnis flos-cuculi, is putting on the most fantastic display.  It is lovely to see some many plants out in bloom as it is a declining species in the wild due to drainage of its natural wetlands.  I also spotted the first of our orchids, Southern Marsh and Common Spotted, about to flower! 

Over the coming weeks the meadow will really come into its own and is deffinately worth a trip out to if you are visiting the reserve.

It was a long night last night as we waited in eager anticipation for eight very precious eggs to hatch and mark a successful start to the Corncrake breeding season, a flagship reintroduction programme we are involved in with the RSPB and Zoological Society of London.  

Once they had all hatched these lovely little balls of black fluff quickly dried off and then were looking to be fed!  For the next 4 days they are going to be demanding to be fed every hour, day and night, and after they have satisfied themselves they will all collapse in a heap under a heat lamp - if only life was so easy!

In the next month or so they will be taken to the RSPB reserve at the Nene Washes and form part of this years stock to be released as part of this successful reintroduction program.  More information about our involvement can be found on the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust website http://www.pensthorpetrust.org.uk/nene-washes-corncrake/index.htm

Watch this space for regular updates.

Walking past the outside seating area by Courtyard cafe and all the seats are taken with visitors out enjoying the fine weather but I wonder how many of them realise that just over their shoulder, not more than 20ft away, are two huge satellite dishes which give a taste of the what is inside the Springwatch Village?

All this to bring you this year's wildlife celebrities live from Pensthorpe Nature Reserve for the next three weeks on BBC2 at 8pm.

Hi All,

Just a short update of what has been happening out on the reserve and farm in the last week or so.  Down at the Wader Scrape there are 9 Mute Swan Cygnets (not 7 as I had out before!), it is unusual for there to be so many young but they were all looking fit and well. There are also 6 young Shelduck here which look very sweet at the moment. The 3 Oystercatcher chicks are growing well, and are often feeding in front of the new hide.

A highlight on Saturday 22nd May were 2 Wood Sandpiper feeding on the scrape. Marsh Harrier and Hobby have been seen everyday this week across the reserve. The Cuckoo is still showing well on the dead tree at the southern edge of the scrape.

On the Farm, The Longhorn Cattle can be seen on Horse Brec (visible from the playground).  3 Grey Partridge were seen on the tour route on Wednesday and willbe having young around now.

Out on the farm the trial plots are looking fantastic!  The idea of these trials is to use legume mixes (containing plants such as Red Clover, Crimson Clover, Birds-Foot-Trefoil) first as these are nitrogen fixing. These will then be replaced with Winter Bird Mixes, which require large amounts of fertility. Hopefully the legume mixes will have provided this extra fertility, reducing costs (Fertiliser etc) and being more environmentally friendly. The trial is also looking at the best type of Winter Bird Mix, either a Cereal mix, a broad leaf mix or a combination of the both.

Ed

It has been an exciting couple of weeks around the reserve, with the breeding season in full swing and the meadows starting to come alive.

On the Wader Scrape the Oystercatchers have hatched off 3 very sweet youngsters. These are beaten though in the 'cute baby competition' by the 7 Mute Swan Cygnets that can be seen very close to the hides. This area still provides fantastic views of Avocets, Little Ringed Plover, Common and Green Sandpiper. Marsh Harriers have been seen hunting here most days, and a food pass between a pair was seen on the 8th May. This is also a fantastic site to watch Hobbies hawking insects over the reedbeds.

The wonderful gentle purr of Turtle Doves can be heard at the edge of the scrape and around the farm. Grey Partridge are becoming more common across our wildflower meadows and margins, showing their importance to wildlife. Wildbird Food and Pollen and Nectar (legume mixes) were sown last week on the tour route, and within a couple of months will be incredibly important habitats for our farm wildlife.

Other recent work has included cutting half of the legume mixes so that there is later flowering areas for bumblebees and butterflies.

The warmer weather has finally pushed some flowers to start appearing. Five of the most common flowers out at the moment are:

Bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta Can be seen in the hazel woodlands along the railway line. These plants are found in the drier areas and form magnificent carpets of flowers.

Water Aven Geum rivale These have bell-shaped nodding flowers which require wet meadows. These can be found on the damp areas of the wildflower meadow.

Cuckoo Flower (Lady's Smock) Cardamine pratensis This beautiful flower produces 2 or 3 pink or white flowers. On the Wildflower Meadow and Fishing Hut it is covered in this elegant flower. It is a very important flower for Orange-Tip and Green-Veined White butterflies.

Red Campion Silene dioica A beneficial flower for many butterflies. This attractive plant has reddish pink flowers and is seen along woodland edges, damp areas and on unmanaged land. There is a lovely showing at the back of Dark Mere along the perimeter fence.

Marsh Marigold Caltha palustrisThis damp loving plant thrives on the wildflower meadow and on many of the smaller ponds around the reserve. It's yellow flowers add colour to shaded areas.

Thomas, our Dragonfly expert, has spotted Broad-bodied Chaser, Large Red Damselfly and Common Blue Damselfly so far this year, and the warmer weather predicted in the next week should improve sightings.

A major piece of Survey work that is undertaken on the reserve is a CES (Constant Effort Site) ringing site. So far this year we have had two early starts and have caught 63 birds. Some of these birds had been ringed at Pensthorpe by Gary Elton before, including a Sedge Warbler ringed as an adult male in 2007. This means that this bird is at least 5 years old and has done many thousands of miles from Pensthorpe to south of the Sahara Desert each year.

Out on the ditch the black-necked swans are doing a good job of protecting their clutch with the female sitting tight and the male keeping very close guard and preventing any further unwanted attention.

Our Hooded Merganser eggs have surrogate mothers in the form of our flock of broody chickens who have taken over incubation duties.

As the flock of red-breasted geese are no longer on the ditch we've added a few more species of duck to add some colour, most notably an impressive pair of Barrows goldeneye who go out on public display after a long time off show in the tundra pen. Two pairs of shoveller and a handsome pair of northern pintail finish off the additions.

Good news in the wader pen as our young white stork pair turn out to have fertile eggs! Although the male is something of a coward the female is doing a good job of protecting the nest from anyone she deems a threat and is incubating well.

Unsurprisingly the nursery pen clutch are also fertile and we are on course for baby storks before long. The parents have become increasingly intolerant of anything they consider a potential threat and the submissive pair who have been sharing their pen have now been moved away to prevent injury after the breeding female was seen attacking her opposite number.

The bar-headed geese seem to like life in the wader pen with one female sitting on fertile eggs and the other appearing to nest build. European goldeneye, shelduck, garganey, shoveller, pintail and ferruginous ducks are all pairing up well in the pen and we're adding cover to the lake edges for the ground nesting species.

In the flamingo pen we've replanted all the miscanthes grasses around the perimeter to give shelter to nesting ducks and provide a more aesthetic border to the pen. We've also added topsoil as nesting material for our flamingo flock as we strive to become a successful breeding centre for the species in response to last years flamingo working group.

On the viewing lake, amongst the horde of mallard clutches, some really exciting developments are taking place with clutches of goldeneye, ruddy shelduck and puna teal being taken in for incubation. The latter of which became our first captive ducklings of the season on the 26^th. A wild Egyptian goose pair have a clutch of goslings on the viewing lake and barnacle and Canada goose families are springing up around the native lakes.

A clutch of Lady Amethurst pheasant eggs have been placed in the safe wings of one of our best broodies, fingers crossed them all off so we can have more of these stunning pheasants around the reserve. The squirrels themselves are doing well with the three youngsters now out and about and the female pregnant again, which is great news for the release project!

Our scaly-sided merganser female in the waterfall aviary has hatched off a clutch of mallards and mum and dad are doing a grand job of looking after the youngsters which bodes well for the possibility of parent rearing her own duckling in future seasons. The merganser eggs themselves are safe and sound in an incubator and being monitored closely.

The breeding season is well under way with fat turtle dove squabs and bearded reedling as well as lapwing and laysan teal. Most exciting of all is that our female black stork is showing a real interest in the nest we have made for her and the male is aggressively protecting the ground below.

Finally the white-napped cranes are back in their pen now that the turf has had a chance to gain a foothold and so far they're not creating too much havoc. The pair will form part of our new twelve o'clock talk at weekends and holidays which will introduce visitors to the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre  and our three priority breeding programmes - squirrels, corncrakes and Eurasian cranes.

The characteristic call of the cuckoo can be heard throughout the reserve, with two sightings recently at the Wader Scrape and Fishing Hut. One individual has returned to its favourite dead tree and can be seen calling from the Scrape hides. The scrape is still alive with Redshank, Ruff, Little Ringed Plover, Avocet, Green and Common Sandpiper all in easy view, feeding in the shallow water. It is certainly our best year for waders for some time. Sedge and Reed Warbler are back singing in the reedbeds, whilst male Reed Buntings can be heard throughout the reserve. Two Mediterranean Gulls were seen displaying on the 20th April, fingers crossed these will stay around. Common terns are regulars across all of the9 lakes at the moment, and we have recently upgraded the Tern Raft with some new shingle and maintenance work to provide suitable nesting sites.

A male Wheatear has been feeding on the edge of the cultivated area for a couple of days, along with the displaying Lapwings and Skylarks. The warmer weather is starting to see Sand Martins, Swallows and House Martins increase in number around the reserve.

The wildflower meadows are starting to show signs of life, with Cowslip and Marsh Marigold coming into flower. Blackthorn is now in bloom, showing fantastic display of snow white flowers across the reserve. This plant is very important for insects and bees at this time of year.

Out on the farm, the Long Horn Cattle are out on Horse Meadow, with four very sweet calves on the tour route.  The Norfolk Horn sheep are enjoying the recent improvement in weather with our new lambs skipping through fresh spring grass. Some of the Wildbird food and Pollen and Nectar habitats have been ploughed up to be re-seeded in the next few weeks.

Butterflies are a lovely sight at this time of year, with seven species counted so far, we are still waiting for the first dragonflies to appear.

Next week on the reserve will be a busy one, cutting and clearing on the wildflower meadow will take place to encourage the wildflowers and hundreds of orchids found here in the summer to flourish. 

Our pair of black-necked swans in the PCC have snubbed our best efforts at building them a cosy nest, proving themselves more than capable of doing the job and choosing a site among the reeds on the water itself. Sadly her first two eggs have been predated and the rest of the clutch will be replaced by dummies and taken in to protect them from the marauding crows until she is sitting tight for incubation.

Our first clutch of hooded merganser eggs have been laid and with three other pairs starting to distance themselves from the main group there's a good chance of a few clutches this year.

In the wader pen various birds are pairing up and starting to build nests, including a pair of wild shelduck! This stamp of approval from a wild bird selecting the artificial pen over more natural alternatives confirms it as a first rate breeding site for our birds.

After much campaigning on their part our breeding flock of red-breasted geese have been allowed to return to the tundra pen, their preferred breeding site, giving the grass along the ditch a break from the barrage of beaks that's been grazing it over the last few months.

All the crane pens are now full with our black and grey crowned pairs parading their extraordinary plumage and giving the public full view of six of our seven species. Only the white napes remain off-show while the turf in their pen recovers from their mischief with the help of the recent good weather.

Our latest arrival to the collection comes in the form of a female red-breasted merganser soon to be released onto the stream pen. Although only a year old and therefore as yet too young to breed, this addition doubles future breeding possibilities of this priority species with the hopeful establishment of two pairs.

The male ruff are back to their resplendent best in the wader aviary and avocets are starting to display signaling the imminent appearance of well concealed nests on the ground and requiring vigilance from anyone entering the aviary over the next few months.

Our best breeding pair of white stalks has overtaken our young wader pen pair, building their nest in quick time and laying their eggs first, making the trip from the food bins to the viewing lake something of a gauntlet! After taking a while to construct their nest and seemingly a little confused as to what to do next, the wader pen pair have finally figured it out.

All duck boxes around the site have now been repaired and material added to provide plenty of nesting options for our birds. All boxes will be numbered to allow us to keep a record of the usage for future reference.

The appearance of lots of mallard clutches as well as the necessity of grass mowing signals the start of the growing and breeding season and a hectic few months for birds and staff alike!

There has been a large increase in the numbers of waders joining us at Pensthorpe in the last couple of weeks. A pair of Little Ringed Plovers have arrived on the Wader Scrape, while 3 Avocets are using the new lagoon created in the autumn at the Scrape. Other waders seen here on the 12th April were 3 Redshank, 10 Snipe, 2 Oystercatchers, 1 Green Sandpiper and 12 Lapwing. This is also a fantastic spot to see birds of prey, with Buzzard, Sparrow hawk, Kestrel and Marsh Harrier all regulars. This is also one of the best areas to see Green Woodpeckers feeding on insects.

The Reserve is now full of the birdsong, with birds protecting their territories and trying to attract a mate. Many Warblers are arriving, with Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler and Blackcap all being seen and heard in the many areas of woodland and scrub around the site.  The Warmer weather has also seen the emergence of Peacock, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell butterflies. With many flowers now starting to appear it won't be long before more species are out and about. The Primrose bank on the Discovery Tour route is looking fantastic at the moment, and will improve even more in the next couple of weeks.

The new bridge on the River Wensum is a perfect location to watch Water Voles feeding on the vegetation on the banks of the river. Hare, Muntjac and Roe Deer are still very active on the Tour Route.

Out on the farm, numbers of songbirds are dispersing as the breeding season takes shape. Linnets and Grey Partridge are all pairing up along the hedgerows. All of the Wild bird Habitats have been cut down in preparation for re-sowing in a couple of weeks. We are also sowing new Pollen and Nectar Legume mixes for Long-tongued bumblebees and butterflies. On the top of Mid Brec, Lapwings and Skylarks are starting to nest in the Wildflower Meadows. The Norfolk Horn Lambs and Norfolk Longhorn Calves are now out in the fields and can be seen playing on the Tour Route.

Our pair of Bewick's swans in the wader pen have developed a strong pairing over the last couple of weeks with lots of calling as well as attacking any wardens foolish enough to enter the pen! Hopes are high for cygnets this year.

3 out of the 5 Hawaiian goose eggs laid have proved to be fertile. The male is very protective of his female and the nest and can be seen driving off anything from a green-winged teal to a white stork or Eurasian crane! The nest is in an ideal site for public viewing, in amongst the copse at the back of the wader pen.

The wader aviary is slowly returning to pre-snow capacity with the return of a green-winged teal pair plus an addition of a pair of shoveller, which with luck will breed and be able to parent rear in the safety of the enclosure. Two avocets were returned this week, and weather permitting the bearded reedlings and turtle doves, as well as remaining avocets and godwits will also be returning to the aviary very soon.

The Dulverton aviary has a handsome new addition in the form of a male lapwing from the 3 Owls bird sanctuary. Having been alone for the last few years it will take some time to get used to its new surroundings and company, and may hide itself away for a day or two. Wardens are keeping an eye out to ensure it settles in happily.

With the waterfowl breeding season fast approaching a complete assessment and inventory of the parks duck boxes has been undertaken. The aim is to use this to study which boxes are used where, and by which species. Repairs and adjustments are currently being carried out to ensure that all boxes are habitable for the coming months.

To end on a high our female red squirrel has now given birth to her fist litter, and is guzzling cucumber and sweetcorn like there's no tomorrow! Although slightly later than last year she still has plenty of time to produce the customary second litter later in the season.

It seems as though spring is finally here as many species are on the move with the weather improving. The lapwing are showing off their spectacular aerobatic displays at the Wader Scrape, with 73 seen roosting on the 13th March. The water level at the Scrape was dropped a couple of weeks ago, attracting in large numbers of Oystercatchers (23), Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon. A highlight on the 12th March were 3 Otters seen fishing together in the afternoon. 5 Little Egrets have also been seen here in the last couple of days. The cultivated area has been turned over with a spring tine to provide a suitable habitat for ground nesting birds and rare arable weeds.

On Sunday 14th March, Norfolk Conservation Corps did a fantastic job in opening up a dragonfly pond by removing encroaching weed and coppicing alder and willow trees to allow extra light in. The woodland feeders are still alive with the smaller birds getting ready for breeding. A couple of pairs of Buzzards are seen most days across the reserve. Two Marsh Harriers flew down the valley on the 15th March. The Primrose Bank is starting to come out into flower, perfectly in time for the start of the tours.

The wildbird crop is still seeing hundreds of finches feeding, whilst skylarks can be heard, performing their wonderful song on the top of Mid Brec. Hundreds of metres of hedge planting has been happening to create corridors for wildlife throughout the estate.

With the cold weather still with us, there is a frenzy of activity at the feeders around the reserve. The Wave Garden Hide has had some trees cleared, to open up the view and the numbers of birds are increasing with Fieldfares and Blackbirds now using the area. The Wader Scrape has seen good numbers of Wigeon, Gadwall and Shoveler feeding in the shallows, and eight Cormorants were resting here on the 23rd February. At least four Oystercatchers have arrived, and can be seen feeding in front of the viewing gallery. Five Pairs of Shelduck are also around the reserve. Spring is defiantly on its way as Snowdrops and Primroses are appearing throughout the woodland areas. Bittern, Little Grebe and Snipe are still being seen regularly in the wetland sites. Birds of Prey seen have included Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Barn and Tawny Owl.

Muntjac, Roe Deer and Hare can be seen on a daily basis in the Bluebell woods. Siskin and Redpoll are still in large flocks in the Alder Carr.

Out on the Farm, the Wildbird strips are still a fantastic habitat for many species. 170 Linnets, 5 Reed Bunting, 2 Brambling, 60 Chaffinch and 25 Greenfinch were counted on the 18th February. The highlight of the weekly count were 3 Grey Partridge. Hedge planting and cutting is currently continuing across the farm. Other habitat work has seen Willow, Hazel and Blackthorn coppicing to creating a rich mosaic of habitats to attract a wide range of flora and fauna.

The long winter of abysmal weather has not deterred our pair of Hawaiian geese from their breeding.  Always the first species of the collection birds to lay, the female is sitting tight on a clutch of eggs amongst the straw laid down to help the storks keep warm.  She is under the trees in the wader pen at the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre, and looking very cosy! 

Our female red squirrel is also expecting, she should have her first litter soon.  All being well they should begin to show themselves in March.  Dr. Craig Shuttleworth from Anglesey  has let us know that the four pairs sent in October are all doing well, and commented on how using our facilities used to pair up the squirrels before they are moved is most beneficial.

We had a new arrival yesterday, a male Bewick swan, who will hopefully be out on the viewing lake with one of our females in the spring. Both girls now have a mate, one pair can be seen in the wader pen at the Pensthorpe Conservation Centre.

Five pairs of Shelduck have dropped in, these are often seen at the wader scrape.   A pair of Marsh Harrier's were seen at the wader scrape within the last week.   A barn owl was seen hunting around the 5 cottages on the 31st Jan.  Large numbers of waterfowl are around the reserve, with 400 Wigeon seen on 1st Feb. A pair of Pintail are regularly seen between Mill Pond and Moon Water

The wild bird mixes on the farm are full of finches, bramblings and over 160 linnets have been counted.  Muntjac, Roe Deer and Hare are regularly seen in the alder Carr/railway line Willow coppicing has been taking place in several areas to create new habitats for the spring Scrub clearance has been undertaken to recreate reedbeds and open up a wildflower meadow on Crane Mere.

With the snow and freezing conditions, lots of shy and secretive species are turning up in unusual places. On Moon Water and Old Squaw, Shoveler, Teal and Gadwall are appearing in larger numbers than usual. On moon water, a pair of Little Grebes have been feeding in a small area of water between the ice at the end of the stream from Mill Pond. A Peregrine has been hunting down at the Wader Scrape recently, whilst a Whooper Swan dropped in on the 31st December . At least one Bittern has been seen around various parts of the reserve. The Woodland and Wave Garden hides are very busy at the moment, with hungry Chaffinches, Greenfinches, Marsh, Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits feeding. A flock of 20 Lesser Redpolls flew over the Wave Garden on the 6th January. The usually shy and difficult to spot woodcock have been seen across the river, with 5 spotted on the 22nd December. With most of the lakes frozen, the river is the best place to spot many species. Kingfisher, 30 teal and 12 wigeon were seen yesterday.

Hares, Muntjac and Roe deer are being seen daily in the Alder Carr and Old Railway Line, and a dog Otter was seen on the 15th December carrying a drake Mallard at Starmoor. Two Bearded Tits were heard calling on this day at Makins Mere.

On the farm, the wildlife habitats are becoming very important with this cold spell. Massive numbers of finches and 70 linnets have been seen using the wildbird food. kestrel, Sparrowhawk and a couple of Buzzards were seen on the 24th December, as was a single Little Owl. Other birds seen on the farm include Brambling, Reed Bunting, Fieldfare and Redwing.