April 4th Strumpshaw Fen

After an Easter weekend plagued with heavy rain, this morning was an improvement. The sun was out, but the evidence of the rain still remained in the form of mud and a flooded road on the way to the reserve. Once I manoeuvred around this flooded section of road, I was treated to the sight of two hares dash past in front of me as one continued to chase the other until they had disappeared passed the horizon of the field to my left before I had the chance to retrieve my camera from my backpack. Mad hare season is still in effect it seems as the male tries his luck with the choosy females, which usually ends up with the female giving him what for as she leads him in a kiss chase across the countryside.

Pintail (with Gadwall)

Arriving at the blind beside the Reception Hide, I could finally unload my binoculars and camera from within my bag. As I was doing so, I noticed a rather elegant looking duck with a white breast. It turned out to be a rather handsome pintail drake. It is only the second time I've ever seen a pintail here since seeing the three that showed up in February. This individual was much closer than those three and the light shone perfectly on it's body, lighting up every part of its plumage brilliantly. It was not to last as it turned out that I was the only one to see this beautiful bird and get photos of it. By the time I returned to start my shift, it was gone!

Marsh Harrier

Spring has well and truly arrived now and hopefully here to stay. Signs of it are coming thick and fast. The birds are singing more and more and there are new voices adding their songs and calls to the increasingly growing chorus. Chiffchaffs are increasing in volume in both sound and number this week, while blackcaps have only just announced their presence. In the sky, marsh harriers are continuing to display high above the reserve and it was a joy to see the first swallows returning from Africa as they swooped over the reeds and water.

Siskin

Jay

Chinese Water Deer

Buzzard

Grey Heron

Greylags

Tufted Ducks and Pochards

Tufted Duck

Pochard

Cobber the Black Swan

Long-tailed Tit

And it was not just courtship displays and arrivals on offer today, there was also nest building, too. Amongst the brambles within the woodland trail, I witnessed long-tailed tits bringing in fluffy feathers to their nest. From a respectable distance, I could still just about see this remarkably constructed nest through the bramble branches obstructing it. This nest, which is often described as a bum-barrel, is layered in lichen and moss that is fixed together with spider silk and is filled with a lining containing hundreds of feathers. When the clutch of 8-12 eggs hatch inside it, this nest is brilliantly designed to stretch and expand as the chicks grow. Very few British birds can build a nest as extraordinary as the long-tailed tit!

Long-tailed Tit nest

Tawny Mining Bee (on my camera strap!)

Insects are also beginning to make full advantage of the sunny weather with brimstone butterflies fluttering in the sunshine in reasonably good numbers. Hoverflies were also on the wing with their mid-air hovering courtship displays being seen in action above the paths. However, it was the bustling activity of the colony of tawny mining bees along a section of the Sandy Wall path that really caught my interest. The ground beside the front of a bench adjacent to the new pond was riddled with the nesting holes created by the female bees. Unlike honey bees, these bees live solitary lives, but just happen to dig these nesting holes close to one another. With so many females around in one place busy preparing for the next generation, it makes it easier for the males to find and mate with them. I witnessed several of these bees copulating just below my feet.

Bee-fly

While these bees are 'busy', waiting in the wings, I spotted a bee-fly resting beside the holes. This is a cuckoo of the insect world as they will hover above the entrance of these holes and fire their eggs inside from a distance and with incredible accuracy. It wasn't surprising to see the colony react to this bee-fly with aggression as a few individuals were attacking it, trying to drive it away. I also saw another species of bee or wasp that was small and bright yellow amongst the colony. I was unable to photograph or identify it, but it is possible that it could be another threat to the mining bee's holes. Who knew bee watching could provide more drama than an episode of a popular soap opera!