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| Brandon Top Reed Bed Sept 1974 Courtesy of Peter Berrill BMVCT |
A work day at Brandon Marsh today and if truth be known quite a leisurely one with some light path clearance. The wind pump is also up and running after a major overhaul ensuring water is once more being pumped up to the top reed bed. Mind you the reserve is certainly well off in that department at the moment.
A little bit of nostalgia and of course well before my time at Brandon but Jim Rushforth sent me the above photograph which dates back to September 1974. It shows the top reed bed and in the background you can see the farm in it's heyday. Amazing how things change, at this particular time Bearded Tits were a regular feature.
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| Ringlet |
Back to the present day and despite the weather forecast it turned out to be the nicest day for ages with quite a few Butterflies and Dragonflies finally on the wing. Several Red Admiral, Comma, Green-vein White, Speckled Wood and my first Ringlet of the summer were all recorded. A good few Black-tailed Skimmer and Broad-bodied Chaser were also seen and one of the team also reported an Emperor Dragonfly!
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| A Brandon Ruff (From Earlier This Year) |
On the pools I managed 9 Common Tern plus 4 Green Sandpiper on East Marsh and while having lunch in the Big Hide the earlier Ruff, which flew in around 9am, was also still present. At one time six Oystercatcher were on Willow Island which included the two juveniles, now almost fully grown.
Also recorded today of note were Ringed-Plover and a quartet of Raptor's, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Hobby and Common Buzzard. On the smaller side another look at the family of Treecreeper near the Saga sign, where Goldcrest and Lesser Whitethroat were also heard.
To end on a disappointing note: the Brandon Team were disappointed to find that at least one photographer had decided to cut a hole in the phase 3 reed bed screen, probably to enable him/her to shove their lens through!!! You don't need to know my thoughts on these selfish planks!!
