26 October 2023 - finding pleasure in the ordinary...

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. As a result of fewer visitors, we've had less frequent wildlife sightings coming back to us, but the content below is based on what we have seen and have had reported to us- from staff, volunteers and visitors!

Today (26 October) a lunchtime walk around Brandon Fen and back via the riverbank rewarded me with two female Marsh harrier and two Kestrel squabbling and hunting together over the Washland. Here I also saw around 10 Shoveler and 10 Mallard, 3 Great white egret and 2 Little egret. There's also a family of Mute swans- parents with their four grown cygnets in tow, in the marshy vegetation just next to the riverbank footpath. Due to recent rains the water level is quite high, which means it's easier to spot and hear Water pipit (I had one, possibly two), Stonechat (I saw a male), Reed bunting (I saw and heard a male) and Cetti's warbler too. I had two Cetti's calling from within a willow and it sounded pretty competitive! They are getting more vocal again now that we are into autumn, along with Water rail, both species can suddenly seem more numerous as we hear them more often.

You can see in the photos below how much the river level has risen in recent days:







 Photo credit: The river Little Ouse now spilling over into the marshy fringes- sometimes bringing watery wildlife like Water pipits closer to visitors. By Heidi Jones

There was also a charm of around fifteen Goldfinches in a willow at the edge of Brandon Fen paddock, and when I got back to the Visitor Centre the feeders there were busy with Blue tits, Great tits, Goldfinches and the odd visit from Marsh tits and Coal tits. You can now regularly hear small flocks of Siskin, which congregate in the tops of the Alder trees by the edges of the Visitor Centre pond, before flying occasionally around in small loops before returning to the trees. We haven't spotted any yet but it's worth checking these flocks out to see if any Lesser redpoll or Brambling are with them.

Overhead, look and listen for Redwing and Fieldfare which are fairly commonplace now- from the riverbank I watched 30+ Fieldfare sharing the uppermost branches of some lofty birches on Cowles Drove with 200+ Starlings. Congregating like this is a very wintry habit- where communication between birds is very important as the days become shorter and colder- discussing food sources and roosting sites is vital. On 24 October Suzanne was here early and saw over 200 Whooper swans roosting on the Washland- an hour or so later at around 9am volunteer Paul counted 108, 14 of which were juveniles, which is always lovely to see. If you want to see the highest numbers of Whoopers, try and get here at dawn- as visitor Ron Smith reported 600 on 15 October with most of them leaving to feed by 8am. On a foggy or grey day, some often stay later in the morning, so do check the Washland no matter what time you get here if you'd like to see them.

If you walk further along the riverbank, you're likely to find 3-4 Little grebe on the small pool north of East Wood, with a few Gadwall, Coot and Mallard too. Keep an eye out for Great white egret, Little egret and Kingfisher drifting past you from here as this can be a good spot for them. We've had a Kingfisher on the Visitor Centre pond most days- check the willows that overhang the water when you visit. There's also evidence of a much larger fish-eating predator on the reserve- the Otter! Piles of discarded scales and leftover tails dot the footpath and show where he or she has stopped to enjoy their meal.

For now, that's most of what we have- nothing particularly rare- but if you enjoy the ordinary sights and sounds of nature, we have plenty to offer. All you need is a jumper and a pair of binoculars! As always, we welcome your sightings so if you can add to any of the above, to get in touch with us.

Upcoming Events

We've a few events scheduled for the colder months:

If you'd like to find out more about any of these events, or to book tickets, please visit https://bit.ly/LakenheatFenEvents . For our moth events between November and February (*), we don't charge attendees because we probably won't catch much by way of variety or number, so these are the only three which you won't see on the booking website. For these ones, just let us know by phone (01842 863400) or by e-mail (lakenheath@rspb.org.uk) that you'd like to come- this way, if the weather is too bad to put the trap out, we know who we need to tell! We'll usually put the trap out a week later instead, if that works for our guests.

Work parties and reserve improvements

Despite today's grim weather, the work party volunteers have been as stoic as ever. A couple have been using brush-cutters to clear overgrown paths, one has repaired a rotten and unsafe picnic table and another has pruned the buddleia outside the Visitor Centre. Last week, fence repairs were on the menu with large stretches made safe and secure in Norfolk Fen and Joist Fen South. We are very thankful to our volunteers for their ongoing commitment no matter the weather. Tea and biscuits is all they ask for- not much, is it?

We've also been able to purchase some extra bird feeders- a suet ball holder for both the balcony feeders and the Photography Station, and a nyjer seed feeder for the balcony feeders. We hope that by putting out suet balls again we can attract more Long-tailed tits and more regular visits from the Great spotted woodpeckers, and that in time nyjer should draw in Siskin and Lesser redpoll. It can take these latter two species some time to get used to using a nyjer feeder, and they tend not to rely too heavily on bird seed until it really gets chilly. Later in the winter, when the Alder and Birch tree seed supplies run low, they tend to begin to visit the feeders.

I hope this blog has been a useful guide as to what you could see on a visit here in the next few days. If you have any questions, please do get in touch!


With best wishes, Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).