Last Friday saw our moth trapping event at Fen Drayton Lakes. When I arrived at the office at 3pm to grey skies and rain, I was very concerned that the night would be a total washout! Luckily for us, the skies cleared and we had a pretty successful night. After a slow start we managed to trap 21 moths and 11 different species:

Green Carpet (3)
Setacious hebrew character (3)
Burnished brass
Gothic (5)
Orange swift
Stout d…

A very exciting project is happening at Fen Drayton Lakes! Work is currently underway to deliver improvements to the wildlife habitat as part of the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership Scheme, funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund. The work, which is one of the biggest projects to happen on the reserve in several years, will be a major boost to the fortunes of some of our key wildlife species. Earthworks contractors, Miles…

We are experiencing some website difficulties and lake dipping events are not showing up - however, we are running lake dipping events every Tuesday during school holidays. 

The events run between 10 am - 4 pm. We will provide all equipment - to guarantee equipment availability, please book an arrival slot by email fendraytonlakes@rspb.org.uk

A caterpillar mystery has been solved! At the beginning of July, volunteer Neville discovered a mysterious caterpillar crossing the busway track. Unable to identify it, he contacted the Royal Entomological Society who identified the caterpillar as an emperor moth caterpillar, Saturnia pavonia. 

The the UK's only native silk moth, it is widespread, although not especially common. The moths are very large - the females…

For the first time in nearly 8 years, marsh harriers have successfully bred at Fen Drayton Lakes. After months of watching with baited breath, two fledglings were spotted on Thursday.

The marsh harriers have also been very considerate in their choice of breeding site – the fledglings can be seen from our new welcome shelter, look across Holywell Lake. Currently the fledglings are spending a lot of time in the trees at…

Eels are fascinating – and slippery – subjects. When lake dipping with a beaver group last week we discovered an elver.

This was the first eel I had ever seen and so I decided to find out more!

Firstly, eels have a fascinating life cycle. The story starts in the Sargasso Sea (interestingly the only sea in the world with no coastline, defined entirely by ocean currents), halfway between Bermuda and the…

What amazing weather we have had this weekend! And it isn't just me that has been appreciating the sunshine - Fen Drayton Lakes is bustling with butterflies! There are 56 different species in Britain and Ireland but there are 250,000 species around the world. They are found in nearly all terrestrial habitats  and are indicators of a healthy environment and ecosystem. 

On the Wednesday Wander last week we saw nine species…

Fans of orchids will bee (!) pleased to hear that a bee orchid is in flower at Fen Drayton Lakes. 

Bee Orchid (Andy Hay, rspb-images)

Whilst the bee orchid is relatively common in the UK, it is nevertheless a fascinating plant and well worth going to see. The bee orchid (Ophrys apifera) is one of nature’s great mimics; the flower has evolved with the single purpose of attracting amorous male bees. Perched within the…

Last week, the 1st St. Mary's Over Beaver Scouts visited Fen Drayton Lakes for a lake dipping session. Read on to find out what they discovered in the lake!

Max - Aged 7

The landscape at Fen Drayton Lakes is very green and very pretty. We had a look around and a little walk and then we collected our nets and went to a wooden platform for pond dipping. This was next to a lake. The weather was kind of cloudy, windy…

This gorgeous picture of a treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) was taken at Fen Drayton Lakes last weekend. This small, active bird is a resident in the UK.

Thanks to Jackie for sending it to us!

Sightings map for Fen Drayton Lakes kindly produced by Luke.

Of particular interest this week - turtle doves, great white egret and painted lady.

Weave some magic at RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes nature reserve

For people looking to try something different this summer, RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes is hosting a willow weaving workshop on their lakeside reserve.

This workshop, run by RSPB volunteer Alan Morris, is the perfect introduction to the addictive craft of willow weaving. At the reserve, willow is cut routinely during the winter and Alan decided to see if some of the…

The saying 'the early bird catches the worm' was definitely true on our dawn chorus walk yesterday.

As soon as I drove onto the reserve and saw the mist over the river and the sky turning from black to pink and orange, I decided the 3am alarm was definitely worthwhile! As I arrived in the car park I was greeted by a nightingale singing away, which kindly continued as everyone arrived - what a welcome!

We started…

Halloween is here! This festival has ancient pagan origins. In ancient times passed it marked the start of winter, and a time to bring sheep and cattle onto winter grazing pastures. For people living without electric lights, central heating and other modern comforts, the start of winter was the beginning of difficult times ahead.

They believed that at this time of year the souls of those departed had a closer link with…

Look what our night camera found! Often the night camera finds nothing other than repeated shots of the same tree.  Or worse, blurry pictures of nothing at all. It’s hard to gauge where to position the camera. We know the reserve is home to a range of mammals; otters, badgers, weasels, deer and other species all live here. However, we know very little of their night time activities, plans, paths and routes.

Image…

This beautiful mesmerising display is called a murmuration. Watching the birds moving in unison as one dark shape-shifting cloud is fascinating. For centuries it has filled people with wonder and curiosity. How and why do Starlings do this?

Image credit: Roger Skillin

How do the birds move simultaneously en masse, and not collide with each other? Humans sometimes move on mass, notably at rush hour in cities. Although…

This morning’s commute revealed the dark silhouette of a great grey heron visible through the early morning mists. It’s lovely to see Britain’s tallest bird flying on broad wing beats in the ‘big sky’ of the open fenland landscape.

These iconic birds of the wetland landscape are survivors when much of the fenland landscape is changed beyond recognition. At times it’s hard to comprehend the…

During autumn the wildlife around us is very busy. On the ground hedgehogs are fattening up before hibernation. In the skies swallows are eating as many insects as they can before starting their long journey to South Africa. Whilst in the trees squirrels are gathering and storing as many nuts as they can.

And they are not alone. As last weekend RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes had several human visitors’ busy picking blackberries…

September is a beautiful month. Containing the lingering warmth of late summer with the start of autumn. The ‘Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;...’ according to the poet John Keats. 

September sees most swallows migrate south for the warmth of African skies. I always enjoy seeing them gather together to start preparing for their long journey, although it’s slightly…

As a child, I remember the thrill of being able to identify a kestrel. It’s one of our most familiar birds of prey. For me, and I suspect for many people, they still provide great joy in being able to name that winged predator in the sky.  As its old country name ‘Windhover’ is  beautifully apt.  Describing their hunting position; wings flapping, tail spread against the wind, position of the body remaining…

One of the most magical sights on a summer day is that of a Dragonfly. The hot weather, presence of these fantastic creatures, coupled with cake (thanks to the pop-up caravan) brought many visitors out to RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes this Sunday. 

John Harding led an excellent guided walk about Butterflies and Dragonflies found on the reserve. We and many other people out on the reserve, were really lucky to enjoy such glorious…

Image credit: David Tipling (rspb-images)

One of my favourite sights so far this summer has been the little white Common terns hovering over the lakes. These beautifully streamlined birds never fail to make me smile, and I can understand why keen birder Simon Barnes once referred to Terns as ‘Gulls that have died and gone to heaven’. I’m a big fan of Gulls, loving their cheeky, noisy and undaunted presence, so I’m…

It rained a lot on Sunday! This meant there were very few visitors on the reserve, and these brave souls were extremely wet looking.

I passed a soggy looking Heron standing huddled in the rain by the pond, his posture and demeanour seemed to indicate how we felt about the morning’s constant rain.

 But the ducks didn’t seem to mind. I saw some adorable tiny coot chicks, with downy red fluff on their heads contently…

Standing in the car park overlooking Holywell Lake I could see the leisurely wing beats of a female Marsh harrier. Slightly bigger than a buzzard, and with broad wings for a harrier, they are distinctive because of their easily recognisable slow flight and the almost floppy movement of their wings.

Image credit: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images)

She was circling the lake repeatedly, swooping at times in search of prey…

A short walk along side Ferry Lagoon this morning, revealed the coloured presence of several different butterflies. I saw the pale yellow and white of Brimstones dancing in the blue sky. Whilst the trees beside the paths were dotted with Speckled wood, Orange tip, Red admiral, and even the occasional Painted lady.

Not only do individual species have well chosen affectionate names, but even the word ‘butterfly’ rolls…