Well it's not quite the wettest June we've had since we started recording rainfall here, (that honour currently goes to June 1997, when 184.4 mm was recorded) but it is getting close! Since Dave's blog last Sunday, not including yesterday's deluge, we have had an additional 37 mm of rain. I seem to remember June 2009 being quite wet too, with one memorable afternoon when 90 mm of rain fell in a couple of hours! Yesterday afternoon felt a bit like that day, when this was the view out of the visitor centre...
It's bad enough watching it, but imagine being a bittern or marsh harrier, trying to sit tight on a nest in the middle of the reeds - not much fun I should imagine! This is our major concern at the moment, what is happening with our bittern and marsh harrier nests out on the reserve. We already know that one of our confirmed bittern nests has succumbed to the weather, not from rising water levels, but from the shear weight of water coming from the skies, which we think collapsed the nest into the water. Usually the thatch of leaves and old reed under the nest is enough to hold it up, but seemingly not on this occasion. There is a slight chance that this female may nest again, although it is certainly getting late in the season. As Dave mentioned last week, it has been really difficult this year to get to grips with nesting bitterns. All we can do is keep watching, and hope any other bitterns have more secure nests - watch this space!
Generally across the reserve, the water levels have only crept up a little. We have set all the sluices at a level that water will flow over rather than build up. The only exception is Botany Bay at the far western end of the reserve. This is an area of washland which is connected to the river. We have some control over what water gets into Botany Bay, but once the river reaches a certain height, there is nothing we can do to prevent it coming in. So with all the rain we've had recently, the river level has come up significantly, and the grazing marsh in Botany Bay currently looks like this:
Hopefully with most birds having fledged young already it won't have affected too many of them. Speaking of fledged young, a great place to see bearded tits at the moment is the grit tray at New Fen viewpoint, where youngsters are regularly seen eating grit. They do this to help them digest their food as their diet changes from mostly insects to reed seeds.
Making the most of the brighter weather this afternoon, I popped out for a walk along the riverbank around Brandon Fen. It was fairly quiet apart from the occasional common tern, and I was pleased to see that one pair of great-crested grebes on the washland had at least one chick. The ones on the reserve seem to be doing quite well too, with a family of three, and a family of one being recorded in the last week or two. A further two pairs are still on nests, so fingers crossed they hatch soon!
Anyway, back to my walk. I'm always looking out for different insects as I wander along, and I wasn't disappointed today. I saw several narrow-bordered five-spot burnet moths (bit of a mouthful!) buzzing around the knapweed and thistles. The riverbank is the only place they are found at Lakenheath Fen, and it is a treat to watch them. Here's one I managed to take a photo of.
Further on I saw lots of banded demoiselles, which almost look as if they are dancing! I'm too slow to get any photo's of them, they always seem to dance away as soon as I get my camera out! Although I did manage to get this group of males in Botany Bay a few days ago.
Coming of the riverbank and through Brandon Fen, the bright yellow biting stonecrop is quite eye-catching among the grasses. It almost forms a carpet of yellow on bare sandy ground, and is well worth looking out for.
Then it was back to the visitor centre for a cup of tea - still with the sun shining!!
Although the birds do go a bit quiet at this time of year, it is still well worth a visit to look for different insects and see all the flowers in bloom. Hope to see you on the reserve soon.
**Please note also that the road from Lakenheath village to the Wangford road junction on the B1112 is currently closed. The road from the junction to the reserve is open.**
Cheers,
Katherine
Warden