News from Lakenheath Fen - 14 June 2024

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 and Sedge warblers. Whilst you may not hear a Bittern now, we are at the best time of year for spotting one- breeding females will be busy flying to and from nest sites to gather food, and males will be pursuing females too. Spending some time at either New Fen or Joist Fen viewpoints offer you a good chance of seeing one or more in flight, as well as the first Marsh harrier fledglings. They seem to be running a little early this year, with one seen perched in a large willow from New Fen viewpoint on Tuesday evening (11 June), and a second there yesterday (13 June). Two adult females and males were frequenting the area so it looks like there are two nests in the reedbed there, and perhaps 6-7 across the reserve in total. Juvenile Marsh harriers are fairly easy to tell apart from the adults as they have very dark brown, uniform plumage with a rich gingery head, unlike the females much paler head whose pale colouring also extends down the wings a bit too.

 Photo credit: Bittern by Jono Forgham, taken on 6 June 2024.

Hobby can be reliably seen anywhere on the reserve, often hunting for dragonflies, and the Washland is a good place to look for the regular bird there. In terms of total numbers, we can take the record of 14 from Joist Fen viewpoint from one visitor on 12 June as a fairly accurate estimate of how many there are here at the moment. A Common tern can be seen gracefully hunting for fish over the Washland most days, and below it on the water good numbers of wildfowl are around too- with 20+ Mute swans, 17 Gadwall, 13 Mallard and 18 Coot counted by Paul this morning (14 April). A drake Shoveler was seen by Paul on 11 June and a drake Wigeon by him two days later too. It's not unusual for one or two Redshank, Oystercatcher or Lapwing to pay a visit whilst you are watching the other birds there, either. We now have cattle on the riverbank footpath, and on 4 June one lucky visitor spotted four Cattle egrets with them so keep an eye out for these if you walk along the public footpath, as well as for the multiple juvenile Stonechats that have fledged from nests along the bank recently- this beautiful photo was taken by Jono Forgham on 6 June:

 Photo credit: A juvenile Stonechat by Jono Forgham on 6 June 2024.

Back at the Visitor Centre, we have been enjoying watching up to three fledgling Great spotted woodpeckers visiting the peanut feeders today (14 June) with more confidence than their wary parents would have- normally as soon as we move indoors they fly off, but the youngsters seem preoccupied with feeding and learning how to scale the central post of the platform! A Kestrel has had it's work cut out trying to hover in the wind at the back of the pool here, and we have also enjoyed visits from Marsh tit and Common whitethroat in the scrub around the Visitor Centre. At the dipping pond, warden Katherine was pleased to spot two Bearded tits on 8 June- an unusual place for them but during the breeding season, family parties can turn up almost anywhere with a few reeds.

If you like your insects, you may be interesting to read that yesterday (13 June) saw our first Ruddy darter of 2024, spotted at Mere Hide, and today (14 June) our first Meadow brown butterfly. We hope for very many more of both- these species will be common across the reserve in the coming weeks. Out on the trails, Banded demoiselle are a common sight and Jono Forgham also took this lovely photo of a Hairy dragonfly on 6 June:

 Photo credit: Hairy dragonfly by Jono Forgham.

Whilst this was our first dragonfly species spotted in 2024 (it usually is) on 13 April, they are still easy to see on the reserve and have quite a long flight period. Look out now for Brown hawker, Emperor dragonfly, Four-spotted chaser, Black-tailed skimmer and Scarce chasers, as well as Common blue, Azure and Blue-tailed damselflies. If you get a warm and sunny day with calm winds, check the Yellow water-lily pads at the Dragonfly Platform- these are a favourite with Red-eyed damselflies. Two scarcer species we do get on the reserve is Small red-eyed damselfly, and Variable damselfly, so please do let us know if you see either of these, though we love to hear all sightings.

Last night we set a moth trap on the reserve and although it was a bit chilly (which reduces the catch a bit) we still caught:

A lucky visitor spotted a mother Stoat with her kits near the Visitor Centre on 8 June, and another family party in Brandon Fen on 11 June- these sightings seems to coincide with a lot of other reserves seeing Stoat families out and about this week- perhaps reflecting some sort of synchronised breeding. Other mammals recently seen on the reserve include the usual Muntjac and Roe deer, as well as a few Brown hare leverets (youngsters) on the hard track too.

Upcoming Events

Here's a round-up of what's happening on the reserve in the coming weeks:

Beginner's Photography Workshop - Saturday 22 June (10am - 4pm)

Treasures of the Moth Trap - Friday 28 June (10am - 11am)

Guided Pond Dipping - Saturday 6 July (12 noon - 1:30pm)

Fascinating Flora Guided Walk - Saturday 20 July (10am - 1pm)

Summer Walking Safari - Sunday 21 July (2 - 7pm)

Treasures of the Moth Trap - Friday 6 July (10am - 11am)

For events beyond July, and for more details on the above events, including booking tickets, please click here.

We hope to welcome plenty of visitors this weekend- the weather forecast looks dry, with sunny spells and temperatures of up to 18c and a light breeze. I hope this blog has given you a good idea of what you may see if you visit us in the next few days. If you have any questions before your visit, or about the reserve, please feel free to give us a call on 01842 863400 or you can send us an e-mail at lakenheath@rspb.org.uk.

by Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer, RSPB Lakenheath Fen).