Hello and Welcome!

I’ve just started working as the Visitor Experience Officer at Fen Drayton Lakes, and on my first day I was lucky enough to see a weasel repeatedly criss-crossing the path in front of me. I have no idea what it was up to, but watching this one move, I could easily understand why weasels are referred to as ‘cunning’. This one certainly looked as though it had plans a foot! It kept darting ahead…

What a busy few weeks it has been at RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes. I spent my first day on the reserve yesterday, meeting and greeting visitors and showing them the wonderful wildlife that Fen Drayton Lakes has to offer. It was brilliant to see so many people out and about enjoying the reserve and I particularly liked how one little girl became very excited on hearing a cuckoo. I do love it when children get excited about nature…

The sun has certainly been shining at RSPB Fen Drayton Lakes over the last few weeks. The increase in warmer weather has meant the arrival of some wonderful spring migrants. The aerial feeders such as swallows, house martins and swifts have been impressing visitors and staff alike, with their fast flight and swooping in mid air.  Black terns and little gulls spent a few days feeding up on Ferry Lagoon last week and nightingales…

Hello from a warm and bright Fen Drayton Lakes.

It’s been a while since anyone posted on the blog and now I have started as the new Visitor Experience Officer at Fen Drayton Lakes, I hope to update things more regularly.

I am new to the area, having moved from sunny Somerset and am thoroughly enjoying learning about this wonderful reserve.

Fen Drayton Lakes nature reserve comprises of various lakes and ponds and…

A quick update with some of the more interesting sightings from last weekend.

Two great white egrets have been seen on the reserve as well as being seen at Ouse Fen, they may be the same birds moving around but hopefully we will see more in the future.

Reports of greenshank and turnstone on Ferry Mere as well as snipe in the same area.

There are still plenty of dragon and damsel flies around with the first ever small…

I thought I would post a quick update with some sightings of note from the reserve this week. Chris, project manager, and Hannah, assistant warden, were lucky enough to see a bittern on Elney Lake on Monday when they were out in the boat surveying the islands. This is the second sighting in 2 weeks as a very excited visitor reported one last weekend, I have yet to see one but fingers crossed I will soon. I saw my first Kingfisher…

Have you heard of Bird Track?

Their website describes it as:

BirdTrack is an exciting project, through a partnership between the BTO, the RSPB, Birdwatch Ireland, the Scottish Ornithologists' Club and the Welsh Ornithological Society, that looks at migration movements and distributions of birds throughout Britain and Ireland. BirdTrack provides facilities for observers to store and manage their own personal records…

A few weeks ago I was going about the usual chore of mowing the lawn at home, it’s a fair size and takes a while to cut not to mention the petrol, noise and my time. Just before I started I noticed the number of bees going about their business on the clover and self heal, this is when I had my eureka moment! Why am I doing this? I don’t use the lawn for anything; why not leave it for the birds and wildlife. So I decided…

I have been in post as the visitor officer here at Fen Drayton Lakes for just three weeks, I have spent the last year studying countryside management at Nottingham Trent University, which was a great experience, and am really looking forward to working on the reserve this summer putting theory into practice! I know the reserve well from volunteering but I am still amazed at the diversity of the flora and fauna that can…

The early spring this year has meant lots of wildlife to see out and about at Fen Drayton lately, and decent weather for enjoying it! Here's a round-up of some great moments captured on camera - thank you Guy and Steve for sharing these on the reserve photos page.

Sunrise over the lakes by Guy Goodrick

Such an early start isn't for everyone, but what if there was a bacon butty involved…? The Cambridge…

The flooding has gone down enough that the car park is currently accessible again.

However, water levels are still high around the reserve, and more wet weather could bring flooding across the entrance road again.

The trails and Busway cyclepath are still under water in places, and the surface of most earthen trails is soft and slippery with mud.

On the bright side, those who have managed to get out in recent weeks…

Most of the goings-on on the reserve that I talk about in this blog couldn't happen without the help of volunteers.

Creating the new willow screen next to the hide, putting on an event, running the children's Wildlife Explorers club, demonstrating wildlife-friendly gardening or keeping our trails and infrastructure safe and well-maintained...all this depends on the generosity, expertise and enthusiasm of many people…

Next time you approach the hide overlooking Moore Lake, take a moment to admire the new living willow screen on your right:

Volunteer work party

The screen is designed to grow over time to conceal people approaching the hide, so that the birds on Moore Lake don't take off in alarm as you go up the ramp and you can then enjoy closer views of them from the hide windows.

It was created by assistant warden Andy and volunteers…

Bugs are having a tough time. With tidier gardens, more concrete and decking and old walls increasingly knocked down, the cracks and crevices they call home are being destroyed.

Our Wildlife Explorers Club decided to help by creating somewhere special for the insects on the reserve. Not just a home - a palace!

Laying the foundations...

By the third floor there are loads of nooks and crannies already

And plenty…

Starlings by David Kjaer (rspb-images.com)

At this time of year dark clouds begin to form in the sky above fields, woodlands and reedbeds. But these are no ordinary clouds - they're one of the UK's most incredible wildlife spectacles.

Throughout the autumn and winter months, hundreds of thousands of starlings turn the sky black around the UK. The birds come together in huge clouds, wheeling, turning and swooping…

Well, the summer holidays are over but if you like blackberry-picking, crunching fallen leaves and stomping in muddy puddles then there’s no need to be sad!

September and October bring with them a whole new set of memorable experiences and wildlife encounters. Many creatures will be heading to Fen Drayton Lakes as they search for a welcoming home for the cold dark days ahead.

Wildlife from newts to bats are out…

With the mornings turning chilly and the nights drawing in, autumn is definitely on the way. But before we look forward to the highlights to come – leaf-crunching, fungi-hunting, migrant-spotting and many more – here’s a round-up of the summer on the reserve.

The delicious blackberry-picking season is here

Thanks to the dry weather we’ve been able to catch up with our ever-long list of habitat management…

Here are some photos from our recent wildlife gardening weekend on the reserve.

Thanks to green-fingered volunteers Steve and Sarah we had lots of plants on sale, from old favourites like sunflowers through to the astonishing electric daisy (eat a flower and you'll understand the name). Steve and Sarah are keen wildlife gardeners and generously shared their advice on how to make your own patch equally full of bees,…

Back in May a bold partnership of UK conservation organisations published the State of Nature report. It's a stark portrait of the state of our nation’s wildlife and ecosystems: in the last 50 years a frightening 60% of monitored species have declined, over half of them substantially, while one in ten is threatened with extinction.

To start reversing the widespread declines the State of Nature report has highlighted…

Step outdoors at the moment and you may find yourself in a real-life fairytale...

Image: banded demoiselle by Steve Dobromylski - look out for these along the riverside path north of Drayton Lagoon

Yesterday's guided walk was filled with darting, skimming, shimmering damselflies and dragonflies.

It’s a great time of year to enjoy seeing these magical insects. Just wait for a still, sunny day and go for a stroll…

Here's a photo to melt even the hardest heart!

Image: avocet chicks by Steve Dobromylski

These little chaps are avocet chicks, recently hatched on the islands on Moore Lake. You can watch them and their parents from the hide as they paddle about, feeding in the mud with their unusual upturned bills. (If you would like to use binoculars for a closer view, you're welcome to borrow a pair from our trailer in the car…

The arrival of warm weather brings many birds to Fen Drayton Lakes to spend the summer here. A particular favourite of mine, the swifts, are now here!

You can enjoy watching them at the moment swooping and twisting over the lakes eating insects. You might also see excited screaming parties of them careering madly at high speed around rooftops and houses, often low, especially towards dusk. Their acrobatics are spectacular…

...spring is truly here!

Along with the sunshine and warmth, here are some of the wildlife highlights you might encounter at the moment.

Skylarks are singing their hearts out as you approach the reserve, above the fields just to either side of the entrance road. Roll down the window and enjoy this prelude to your walk. If, like me, you grew up somewhere without these lovely little birds then follow the link and have…