For me, May began when I led a guided walk on International Dawn Chorus Day surrounded by the songs of 25 bird species. Nine warbler species filled the Fen soundscape for us, and we had great views of cuckoo, garden warbler and hairy dragonfly.

Despite the changeable weather this month, we have had plenty of records of dragonflies on the wing, including a special one. The Norfolk hawker has been on the move for some years now and is no longer confined to its more local residence at Paxton Pits Nature Reserve. It has been seen a few times in the Great Fen in recent years, and has already been spotted this year, on the Northern Loop. I was overjoyed to have one in my back garden last week, the distinctive yellow triangle between the wings confirming its identification. With 30DaysWild starting tomorrow, what will you get in your garden?

Individuals of other species have emerged from the water, no longer aquatic larvae, they are now aerial hunters. A variety of species are about, including plenty of four-spotted chaser, one of the commonest species you will encounter at the Fen, as well as scarce chaser, large red damselfly, azure damselfly, variable damselfly, hairy dragonfly, and Norfolk hawker. Black-tailed skimmers are also emerging. A visit to the Fens may well be rewarded with various sights including one of our largest caterpillars, that of the drinker, It is a moth we often encounter at the Great Fen, and its caterpillar can be seen clambering over common reed and other grasses, amongst the yellow flag and ragged robin.

Bare ground is a valuable habitat and is used by a variety of invertebrate species, including the green tiger beetle. Fast, sleek, and coming in a range of metallic finishes, green tiger beetles run and fly across the Fens on a sunny day. They inhabit open ground, such as the bare peat paths at the Fen and I have seen more of them this month.

The flowers in the meadows on the Northern Loop will provide a good show shortly, along with butterflies and other insects that benefit from the increase in nectar sources available to them. These drier habitats in the Great Fen are the focus of several surveys this year, to monitor how they are developing in terms of their fauna, as well as the flora. One species that has been discovered there, is the bombardier beetle, an amazing insect that is no bigger than your little finger nail and sprays its predators with a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and hydroquinone stored in its abdomen!

Mammals also have young now and we are always interested to receive records of these juveniles. The adults are active, finding food for their families and I expect to receive more sightings of various species. As was the case this time last year, I have received (just this week in fact) another sighting of polecat, just to the east of the Great Fen; now we have them recorded to the north, east and south of the Great Fen. This is useful information for Project Polecat, so keep the sightings coming please.

Henry Stanier (Great Fen Monitoring & Research Officer)