Bitterns galore!

 

Bitterns are everywhere here at Lakenheath Fen at the moment.  Isn’t that an amazing thing to be able to say!  If a visitor comes back and says they haven’t seen or heard one during their walk, they’ve been very unlucky.  Whether you are at the first viewpoint at New Fen North reedbed, walking along the main track, up on the riverbank, in Mere Hide or at the furthest Joist Fen viewpoint, chances are you’ll see and/or hear a bittern.

 

We carried out our first full length ‘bittern watch’ yesterday morning.  The skies looked quite threatening first thing but luckily we stayed dry, although it was pretty cold in the breeze – as ever on bittern watch you need clothes and kit for all weather and I ended up with my fleece and thick winter coat on as well as woolly hat and gloves!  From 8am until 12.30pm, seven of us were located at various points around the reserve, recording flights and booms as well as any marsh harrier activity.  It’s amazing how many males are still booming and it’s useful when they boom, as you then know the one you just saw fly over isn’t the one you can hear in the corner of the reedbed.  I was positioned in my favourite spot, from which I was lucky enough to see some newly fledged bittern chicks last year.  I haven’t had a chance to look through all the maps yet so don’t have any facts and figures for you, other than that I personally saw 13 different flights and could hear at least two booming males.  The flights seemed to be going all over the place – bitterns kept popping over the riverbank onto the reserve, some flew all the way down towards Mere Hide, one flew off south west over the trees towards Botany Bay!

 

 

 

Photo credit: Dave Rogers - bittern from Mere Hide

 

 

 

Throughout the morning cuckoos were being very vocal and active.  Two of them flew quite near to me, busy chasing each other.  Marsh harriers were busy hunting and it’s always great to see the skilful aerial food passes between the males and females.  Many ‘cootlings’ of various ages were braving it out on the open waters in the reedbed and three hobbys started hunting for insects overhead.  Butterflies started to appear as the winds dropped and it became a bit warmer, I saw my first red admiral of the year.  I love bittern watch time!  Watch this space for news as things progress over the next few weeks.

 

On Wednesday we were all involved with an event taking place here at Lakenheath, a ‘thank you’ event for RSPB volunteers from across the Eastern region.  Katherine and volunteer Pete each led a guided walk in the morning and I took the group in the afternoon.  We were assisted by some of our own volunteers, to help make the day a special one.  My group were keen to see a bittern and were not disappointed - about five minutes after entering the hide one flew in from the west and landed at the back of the pool, right in front of us.  A couple of minutes later it took off and flew toward New Fen North.  We then saw another one about 15 minutes later on our way down the main track when it flew past us and landed in the reeds to our right.  Happy customers indeed!

 

On Monday I took the opportunity to go looking for the red-backed shrike which had appeared.  All in the line of duty of course, as my afternoon tasks were taking me (roughly) down in that direction...  I headed down the riverbank towards West Wood, armed with binoculars and my trusty compact camera.  On arrival, I quickly realised that with the bird now over on the Norfolk side of the river, my camera was just not going to cut the mustard and my binoculars were struggling too!  Not only that, the bird had just gone into hiding.  I decided I could wait a while.  Of course, the problem with waiting for anything is that the longer you wait, the more you think ‘well I can’t leave now, it’s bound to reappear soon’....

 

Luckily, it was a beautiful day and time up on the riverbank engaging with our visitors was time well spent.  And just as I was about to leave, the red-backed shrike popped into view!  One of our volunteers had joined the pack and it was great to see the handsome bird through his telescope – good job someone had come prepared.  One of our visitors managed to photograph the shrike earlier in the day, see David's blog for that lovely picture.  My camera wasn't up to the task but did manage to cope with the beautiful view across the river.

 

 

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - sunny Monday on the riverbank waiting for the red-backed shrike

 

When we're not out trying to get to grips with our breeding birds, we’re spending a lot of time working to keep trails accessible, the viewpoints looking good and generally making sure everything is ok for our visitors.  This involves strimming, flailing, fixing, cleaning and helping ensure that visitor parking runs smoothly when the main car park fills up.  At this time of year the reserve team and practical volunteers spend a lot more time helping out in the visitor centre and the car park (when we’re not out strimming and surveying!)  It’s great to spend time talking with our visitors and hearing what a marvellous time they’ve had, when they come in for an ice cream after their walk.  And we have some breaking ‘frozen goods’ news – we're testing out a new lemon sorbet addition to our ice cream range, let us know what you think if you have one of those!  

 

So it’s been another busy week here at Lakenheath, with plenty of different things going on and so much to see and hear.  I’ll leave you with a couple of pictures I took yesterday.  Our new plant beds outside the centre are really starting to develop nicely, and in the fen/bog bed the yellow iris and marsh pea are flowering.  I’ve not seen marsh pea before so it’s a real treat to have it just outside the window now!

 

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - marsh pea

 

 

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - yellow iris