Hello to all and welcome to the first blog of 2023. The month of January is named after the Roman god Janus, who was the God of beginnings, endings and transitions. In January we might look back at the year that has passed, and ahead to 2023, and this will be the theme of this blog too. This morning (4 January) I completed the list of bird species recorded on the reserve in 2022- we seem to have had 141, compared to 155 in 2022. Highlights from 2022 were osprey, hen harrier, short-eared owl and passage migrants such as whimbrel and wood sandpiper. You can view the full list below, and if you see anything we've missed off, please let us know!Sightings List (birds) 2022.pdfAs of today (4 January) we have recorded 56 bird species, with snipe coming today and merlin and short-eared owl already making an appearance (2 January) which we can hope bodes well for the rest of the year! Last year we recorded 22 butterflies species and 20 'Odonata' (dragonflies and damselflies). A stoat was seen today on the Washland footpath near the viewpoint, kicking off our mammal list already along with muntjac deer on 2 January. The 2023 bird list will be increasing almost daily for the next few weeks, but if you want to see it as it stands today, you can view it here:Sightings List (birds) 2023.pdfIt will probably be March before we see our first butterfly, and April before we record any dragonflies, but the mammal list will soon increase. Our warden Emma very kindly cleaned and re-filled all of our bird feeders on 3 January, and the birds are returning already, including a pretty flock of long-tailed tits. A real highlight at the moment for visitors is the marsh harrier roost from Joist Fen. Between 10 and 20 marsh harriers arrive as the light begins to fade, flying in from all directions to roost in the large expanse of reedbed between Joist Fen Viewpoint and Botany Bay (1.5 miles westwards). The marsh harriers take their time arriving and can be quite acrobatic, flying back and forth across the reedbed and settling down before rising again when other birds arrive. The degree to which they fly around before bed does depend on the weather- they love the wind and this encourages them to 'play', making the roost more of a spectacle, whereas rainy weather will make them more focussed on hunkering down quickly to avoid getting too wet! However rain that stops before twilight can encourage the birds back up into the air to shake off as much water as possible before bed. As well as marsh harriers, other raptors are attracted to the reedbeds for another reason- the chance of hunting the abundance of smaller birds, like reed bunting or tits that also roost in the reeds. On 2 January, a merlin, a barn owl and a short-eared owl were seen in the evening, and it would not be unusual to spot a peregrine too. Great white egret, little egret, grey heron and bittern move around a fair bit at dusk too so you would be likely to spot a variety of other wetland birds whilst you were watching the harriers too.The water level on the Washland is high at the moment, but it can be a good place to look for waterbirds and waders- on 2 January, our regular birder Paul counted 5 mute swan, 6 teal, 5 wigeon and 1 little egret, as well as a buzzard overhead. On 3 January he added 6 gadwall, a shelduck, 30 whooper swans and 1 great white egret. Today (4 January) his shelduck count rose to 5 and he also spotted 1 marsh harrier and 11 lapwing. I saw a single snipe and a kestrel there on 2 January and again today. Stonechat, meadow pipit and water pipit are frequent in the rough vegetation at the edges of the Washland footpath, and little grebe can be seen daily in the river. These are easiest to see looking along the length of the river from the bend near the kissing gate near the Viewpoint. Cormorant and gadwall are frequent occupants on the river too.Below are some photos of bearded tits taken on the reserve on Christmas Eve, by one of our regular visitors- Tushar Bala. We hope you enjoy admiring this beautiful bird as much as we did!
Photo credit: These beautiful bearded tit photos were taken by Tushar Bala on 24 December 2022.If the weather is bleak and miserable when you visit, it might be worth spending some time watching the bird feeders from the Visitor Centre- recent highlights include siskin, long-tailed tit and marsh tit. The colder the weather, the more they eat so if it's a chilly day you'll see plenty! Despite the windy conditions today, our Site Manager Dave and warden Katherine saw a pair of cranes (the first for 2023), 5 little egret, 3 great white egret, a redshank, a marsh harrier, a buzzard and plenty of reed buntings this morning on a trip to Norfolk Fen (beyond Joist Fen).Opening HoursBefore Christmas, a bout of the dreaded COVID caused staffing issues (for paid and volunteer team members) meaning we weren't open fully in the run-up to Christmas. We are all now fit and well again and so from 3 January we returned to our usual winter operating hours:Visitor Centre and toilets open 9am to 4pm
Trails, Mere Hide and the car park open daily, from dawn until dusk
Our accessible car park at New Fen is open from 9am to 4pm (please ask for a permit at the Visitor Centre).From Sunday 26 March, the Visitor Centre, toilets and accessible car park will be open until 5pm.I hope you have enjoyed this blog and we look forward to welcoming plenty of visitors in 2023 and we will do our best to ensure we are a welcoming, supportive place for people to connect with nature.With best wishes for 2023,Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).