Hello and welcome to this week's blog. I thought i'd start with the moths we caught last night on the reserve- it was a mild, calm night with cloudy skies and at a low of 8c, a good night to set the trap! Our list for the night was:
- November moth x 5
- Mottled umber x 1
- Large wainscot x 3
- Feathered thorn x 1
- Red-line quaker x 2
- Dark chestnut x 1
- Setaceous hebrew character x 1
- December moth x 2
- Chestnut x 4
- Sprawler x 1
- Plume moth (possibly plain plume) x 2
Here's some photographs of some of them below. 11 species and 23 species is quite good for November and was helped a lot by the weather conditions- we also trapped on 6th November, just three days before, but only caught two moths of two species- one large wainscot and one November moth. This is likely due to the conditions as it was cold (1c) with a clear sky and a bit of a breeze.
Photo credit: December moth by Heidi Jones
Photo credit: Feathered thorn by Heidi Jones
Photo credit: Sprawler by Heidi Jones
Photo credit: Chestnut by Heidi Jones
In terms of birdlife, yesterday brought quite a haul of sightings with goldeneye on the Washland (the main, larger pool) and this morning a volunteer of ours spotted a red-headed diving duck on the river in front of the Washland Viewpoint, which could either be a female goldeneye or a female goosander- both of which are possibilities given the time of year and our habitat type. So it may be that the goldeneye is still here and worth looking for- or there's something else equally interesting! We also had tundra bean goose flying south over the reserve- so while it isn't a species likely to be seen here again soon it was still interesting to record. Also recorded this morning (8 November) was a barn owl in Brandon Fen and a bittern flying upriver towards the Wilton Bridge at 08:00; this is the latest in a series of sightings around the river in the eastern end of Brandon Fen and so if you get here early, it might be very worthwhile spending a bit of time on the riverbank footpath looking across! Whooper swan numbers on the Washland have been a bit lower this week, but still in the region of hundreds overnight, but lately the birds have been leaving the roost at first light and arriving back after dark- it could be that the colder days encourage them to spend longer feeding nearby during the daytime.Further down the reserve at Joist Fen, barn owl sightings at dusk are becoming more frequent- almost daily now- and we had our first merlin of the winter spotted by warden Katherine on the evening of 6 November. We usually see one or two spend the winter months here as they are attracted to the reedbeds at dusk where plenty of small birds make their way in to roost, especially reed buntings, Cetti's warblers and tits. They are very fast and agile and like a miniature peregrine in shape and pattern, but only the size of a blackbird. We also had a short-eared owl joining this dusk drama on the evening of 28 October, so we know there is one in the area and worth looking for. As a soundtrack to this spectacle, you're likely to hear the squeals and grunts of water rail and the nasal quacks of gadwall as they love the pools and channels at New Fen and Joist Fen. Our corvid roost is now in full swing too- you should see the swirling masses of rooks and jackdaws settling into and rising out of the tall trees across the reserve at dusk too. If you happen to be down at Joist Fen around dusk, then keep an eye out north of the river for the egret roost- on 6 November it had three great white egrets and two little egrets in it but we have had up to five and six respectively- it is in a small plantation of Christmas trees a few hundred metres north of the river and should be viewable from the riverbank, looking north on a fine day. Here's a lovely photo taken recently by a volunteer of one of our great white egrets on 6 November: Photo credit: Great white egret by Mark Grooms
On the Visitor Centre feeders we had a female siskin with the many goldfinches on the morning of 5 November- while they are a common sight in the alders around the Visitor Centre it was nice to see one at eye-level for a change! As winter progresses we should see more and more of them using the feeders, along with one or two lesser redpoll and brambling. Chaffinch, reed bunting, long-tailed tit, marsh tit, blue tit, coal tit and great tit have made up the rest of the cast with the odd greenfinch also. Those of you that visited us during the past couple of winters may have enjoyed watching the confident water rail feeding under the Photography Station feeders on colder days and he/she or another bird has been seen there for the past few days. Other small birds seen on recent days include goldcrest (in the conifers of Brandon Fen especially), redwing and fieldfare in shrubs or overhead in groups that can reach triple figures sometimes.
There are still a few insects on the wing too- on 6 November we had lots of common darters out in sheltered sunny spots on the reserve (especially wooden features like benches, viewpoints and buildings which warm up quickly where they face the sun!) as well as two reports of peacock butterflies and one large white butterfly- a tatty specimen but an incredibly late record for this species.Most of these sightings have been provided to us by our visitors and volunteers and it is always so useful when you are able to tell us what you have seen before you leave, or at a later date. If it's during what would usually be our Visitor Centre opening hours- 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 16:00 at weekends- then they'll be someone at the front of the Visitor Centre who you can report them to. Alternatively, you can e-mail them to us at lakenheath@rspb.org.uk or telephone us on 01842 863400, or send us a message via Twitter (@RSPBLakenheath) or via Facebook (RSPB Lakenheath Fen). We are interested in sightings of anything, not just birds- insects, plants, mammals- and it means we can add it to our reserve records list too. As a reminder of what is open here at the reserve:- Visitor Centre is closed for the duration of the second lockdown, but between 09:00 and 17:00 on weekdays (excluding Mondays) and 09:00 to 16:00 at the weekend, a member of our team will be at the front of the Visitor Centre to chat to, to record your sightings and explain the layout of the reserve. - Accessible toilet open from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays; 09:00 to 16:00 at weekends
- Takeaway refreshments available from the front of the Visitor Centre from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays and 09:00 to 16:00 at weekends (excluding Mondays)
- Mere Hide is closed, but all trails, viewpoints and the Visitor Car Park are open from dawn until dusk.If you are not an RSPB member, for the duration of the second Lockdown (whilst Mere Hide and the Visitor Centre are closed, entry fees have been reduced to 75% of their normal value, due to the reduction in the facilities we can offer- Mere Hide and the Visitor Centre are closed to visitors. The new fees are:
- £3 for an adult
- £2.25 for a student
- £1.50 for a child
Hope to see you soon on the reserve!Best wishes,Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen)