Lakenheath Fen

Spring is well and truly here and today we had our first report of Willow warbler, with one singing in Botany Bay. This has joined quite a few Blackcap and lots of Chiffchaff who have been singing well for a couple of weeks now. The Goat willow trees are in full bloom, and are a magnet for butterflies and bees as well as birds like Chiffchaffs and Blue tits which are keen to feed on the pollen and pollen beetles that…

There really is no mistaking that we are in the throes of early Spring on the reserve- you can hear the occasional booming Bittern- they are always slow starters each year, but a walk around the reserve in the sunshine may now reward you with the sound of one, and perhaps you'll see one too. Over the next few weeks, sightings should increase slowly to a peak around early May. Our male Marsh harriers are sky-dancing…

Hello from Lakenheath Fen and welcome to our latest blog. This week, as usual, we've recorded visits from our 'star species' such as Marsh harriers (Katherine saw 18 of them flying into roost a few days ago) and they have begun their famous sky-dancing displays even though it is only early February. For those readers who have never seen this before- male Marsh harriers climb high in the sky above their territories…

We have begun 2025 with many of our star bird species featuring on our list, which you can see below:


As you may notice, we saw most of these birds on the 2 January- as the Visitor Centre was closed on New Years' Day. However, our regular volunteer Paul was here on a VERY blowy, wet and wild January 1 and recorded a few species as listed above. We are still waiting on a couple of birds of prey present on the reserve before…

The UK’s tallest bird, the Common Crane, is going from strength to strength here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen in Suffolk, thanks to the creation of Crane ‘runways’ in our reedbed.   

During early winter months, four large areas measuring approximately 5 metres wide by 10 metres long are cut out of the middle of the 90 hectares of reedbed here, creating open areas free of tall vegetation. These areas are used…

This week, raptors have been a bit of a theme- we've had two Hen harrier spotted from Joist Fen viewpoint- our warden Henry had a beautiful male fly past him and then he also had a ringtail (female or juvenile) too. This was at dusk- a time when you can currently see multiple Marsh harriers flying in from all directions to roost in the reedbeds. Some are quite distant, but if you stand at the viewpoint and look roughly…

As we enter November, Autumn is in full swing with a steady stream of Redwing flying overhead. Parasol toadstools and Giant puffballs dot the path edges and woodlands, but there are still a few dragonflies out and about to enjoy. Today has warmed up quite a bit- enough to encourage a few Common darter dragonflies and Willow emerald damselflies to bask on the warming wood of the raised beds opposite the Visitor Centre…

In the Visitor Centre, we keep a clipboard and recording sheet handy to take down visitor sightings. These records get used in multiple ways- we update the whiteboard in the Visitor Centre for all visitors to see, and volunteers and staff make good use of it to catch up on the notable sightings from days they haven't been in. We also have a volunteer who transfers all the information from the paper chart onto Merlin,…

Easily the most frequently asked question at present, over the phone or in person, from visitors is- have you still got Hobbies?

The answer is yes! There is a bit of a misconception that because we have such a high number in May and June each year, and that these numbers don't last, that Hobbies are difficult to see here for the remainder of the summer. The reality is that on warm days like we have had recently, they are…

If you have visited the reserve recently you will probably have noticed the beginnings of our project to create a new raised dipping pond next to the Visitor Centre, sited by the two bug hotels. Work began on 20 and 22 August, when the work party strimmed and cleared an area for it to go (carefully checking for wildlife as they progressed). You can see the results of their hard work that week in the photos below, taken…

There feels to be a bit of a theme to the wildlife scene this week- many of our birds are making the transition towards congregating in groups in areas with good feeding, following the breeding season. This is especially true of waders, who finish breeding relatively early in the summer. We have seen varying numbers of Green Sandpiper across the reserve, with seven dotted along a ditch on Cowles Drove a few days ago,…

As I write this it is a beautiful sunny morning and we are finally beginning to see more butterflies! The stalwarts of summer- Peacock, Red admiral and Comma are increasing in number here, as are Large and Small Whites. There are plenty of flowers dotted around the trails that attract them down for visitors to see- such as the buddleia by the Visitor Centre, as well as natives such as Hemp Agrimony in wetter places, and…

Now that we have moved into early Summer, the bird scene is subtly changing- it's unusual now to hear a booming Bittern and Cuckoo are not calling as much as they were, as most females will now have mated, and most males will consider their work done and will soon be heading back to Africa. Females will stay a few weeks longer as they lay their eggs one-by-one in host nests, commonly Dunnock, Reed bunting, Reed warbler…

I thought it was high time we issued a quick update with our latest sightings from the reserve, as May is our peak month for visitors and with good reason- it is quite easy to see many of our star species, and the reserve is full of summer migrants now.

Bitterns have been showing pretty well recently, with quite a few visitors getting lucky each day with a sighting- two birds were seen from New Fen Viewpoint yesterday…

As we enter May, our busiest month of the year for visitors, we have been gifted with some beautiful weather and a full range of beautiful wildlife for visitors to enjoy. Hobby numbers are now climbing- our volunteer Mark counted 21 from Joist Fen Viewpoint yesterday (4 May), and no doubt with today's warm and calm conditions, visitors will see plenty. If you would like to see these, you should see more from mid-morning…

Today it's fairly windy outside but on better weather days there's plenty to see on the reserve at the moment- and perhaps the most obvious thing is the myriad of singing warblers here to greet you as you walk the trails. Whilst Chiffchaff have gone quiet (they will be raising their first broods now), Blackcap, Willow warbler and Cetti's warbler are particularly vocal, as they compete for territories and mates…

Well, it's quite difficult to know where to start with this blog, as so much has been seen here in the last week or two. Maybe the best idea is to start with a few photos which visitors have kindly shared with us, illustrating some of our highlights. On 26 March, this White stork took everyone who was lucky enough to see it by surprise- when it was spotted by Andrew Bradford as it flew overhead at Joist Fen Viewpoint…

During the winter months at RSPB Lakenheath Fen, whilst we are outside of the nesting season for our breeding birds, we try to focus as much as we can on reedbed management. Towards the end of February, we had a couple of Volunteer Days for the staff of Morgan Sindall Group at the reserve, whereby they donate their time (and energy!) into helping us to manage the reserve. Here’s a video filmed by our Site Manager Dave…

I am very pleased to be able to write this latest blog whilst surrounded by signs of Spring. On Tuesday, our first booming Bittern survey resulted in seven booming males- we have never had so many this early on in the season so we hope this bodes well for the coming Spring. One was seen and heard booming by a visitor on 7 March from Mere Hide, and the area here is always a stronghold for booming. Marsh harrier numbers…

Now that we are in the last month of winter, you can see signs of a change in the seasons when you walk around the reserve- Reed buntings are singing from sheltered locations in reed and scrub, and on the pools many ducks are paired up- yesterday (1 February) I counted six pairs of Gadwall at New Fen, and one pair of Tufted duck. It’s a similar situation on the Washland- volunteer Paul counted two Shoveler, three…

As I start this blog on Friday morning, there’s a gentle breeze blowing through the trees and a beautiful blue sky. We’ve had a couple of days of superb weather- colder than normal, but bright and sunny with heavy frost decorating every part of the reserve. The bird feeders have been VERY busy as tiny birds seek to eat plenty to restore their energy reserves after a few very cold nights. Marsh tit, Coal tit

We are now five days into 2024 and we have made a good start with our bird list, which now stands at 45 species. You can see the full and current list if you wish to- attached as a pdf file at the bottom of this blog. As usual, because of our rural location and wetland nature, it’s a few days before we spot all of the commoner ‘garden birds’ which many of us many have seen on 1^st January without much…

Hello and welcome to our latest blog. Tomorrow we'll move into the first month of winter, and across the reserve it's quite easy to spot a variety of winter birds now. The tiny, colourful Siskin can be heard most of the time in the tops of the Alder trees by the feeders at the Visitor Centre, and these have not necessarily travelled far to be here- some nest locally in the conifer plantations of Thetford Forest…

November 2023 has so far seen lots of wet and windy days but we've had some lovely moments of sunshine in amongst it- appreciated all the more for their rarity. Here's the highlights of what visitors, volunteers and staff have spotted or heard in November so far:

Siskin - these can be seen daily in the tops of the Alder and Silver birch trees around the Visitor Centre and car park area.
Redwing - 72 flew overhead…

Hello and welcome to the latest blog from the reserve. In the past couple of weeks, wet weather has reduced our visitor numbers significantly- today, for example, we've only had four people through the doors. We realise this may be partly to do with us not having much shelter on the reserve, aside from at New Fen and Joist Fen viewpoints, and Mere Hide. However it's partly a trend that affects all visitor attractions…