A welcome alien

Pete sits on the Joint Technical Advisory Committee of the Great Fen project, and every few months they hold a meeting close to Woodwalton Fen. I usually provide a lift, and today Chris and I took advantage of the fine, and even sunny, weather to have a longish walk round the site. There was a moment of panic on the way, when Chris realised he'd left his SD card in the laptop, but luckily I had a spare for him to borrow!

It has to be said that it was fairly quiet, particularly on the bird front, although there was the ever present marsh harrier, lazily flapping over the reeds. However, we didn't do badly  on larger mammals, with sightings of a dog fox patrolling his territory, a muntjac, and five separate encounters with Chinese water-deer. 

We first saw this one grazing on a ride, and using our field skills (and being upwind of it), managed to approach quite close. This species is not uncommon in parts of the fens and Broads of East Anglia and the UK population now accounts for about 10% of the world total. It is a declining species in China, listed as 'Vulnerable', and in the future the British population may be of international significance for its conservation. And they do have such sweet faces!