News from Lakenheath Fen - 22 October 2022

Welcome to our latest blog. We have a few bits of news to share with you, but I will start with the latest wildlife sightings from the reserve as that's the best bit!

The wildlife at Lakenheath Fen

The past couple of weeks have seen the departure of a few summer visitors to the reserve- such as what is likely to be the last hobby sighting of 2022 (11 October) and possibly the last house martins (13 October). Other migrants such as reed warbler, sedge warbler and garganey are likely to have slipped away more discreetly- these creep about in the reeds instead of hurling through open sky and their absence tends not be as obvious.



 Photo credit: A hobby successfully hunting across the reserve recently. Some of the last photos taken of one of these stunning birds on the reserve in 2022. Both taken by Diane Scott and kindly shared with us.

However, in recent days especially, redwing and fieldfare have been streaming steadily overhead, flying generally westwards across the reserve. We haven't spotted any fieldfare that have made landfall yet on the reserve, but there are often lots of redwing feeding on the hawthorn bushes and sitting high in the poplars in Brandon Fen. They also like the dense and quite fresh leaf litter under the trees, and a walk through Brandon Fen, often causes them to startle and fly up to the trees. The habit of these two species tends to be to flood into the UK and head straight for the west coast of the UK, working their way slowly eastwards as winter progresses, feeding on berries and insects as they go. Then, by the time Spring comes, they are mostly positioned along the eastern edge of the UK, ready for departure back to eastern Europe and Scandinavia for their breeding season. These redwings that are on the reserve are likely to be ones needing a quick refuel before finishing their journey, now that they have made landfall.

Much like the warblers of summer, there are many smaller birds that arrive quietly into the UK seeking a milder climate, and our local populations of birds such as starlings, tits and goldcrests will also be boosted by continental visitors, so it is likely that in the coming weeks these will be easier to see on the reserve as there are more of them.

The number of whooper swans roosting on the Washland has risen to 1000+, although the vast majority of these arrive during the hours of darkness, with only 5-30 in by dusk on most evenings. This could be because their feeding habits are connected to the lunar cycle- the more moonlight there is, or the colder it is, the longer they stay out feeding as they can 'see' what they are doing and/or there is more urgency to find food. However, the early morning is the best time to admire them- these high counts are made at dawn and there are still good numbers by 9am if you can't bear getting up that early! Our volunteer Paul counted 175 at 9am on 18 October. If you arrive later than this, don't despair because a handful often stay all day on the Washland. Most days recently, other species such as shoveler, teal, gadwall, great white egret, common snipe, curlew, lapwing and grey heron can be seen in the water or around the muddy fringes too. If you have access to a small telescope, it is worth carrying it up there as you can really appreciate their beautiful forms and colours up closer. On the evening of 18 October, a bittern was seen in flight across the Washland, flying quite high and direct and probably off to roost somewhere. David White also had a single woodcock near the Washland Viewpoint on 12 and 18 October, and a vocal tawny owl from East Wood can be heard calling most evenings. On 11 October we had a surprise visit by around 70 pink-footed geese, which flew east across the Washland but didn't make landfall. Our volunteer Matthew Dick also counted a few pochard on the Washland which is quite an unusual species for us here on the reserve, and certainly not one a duck we see in the warmer months.

Many visitors have been heading to Mere Hide recently to admire the kingfishers there and also bearded tits- and this has been a reliable place for both. Bitterns are elusive at this time of year, but if we get some colder weather they may become more obvious in the searches for food. We get frequent enquiries about our common cranes, and whilst most days we have to explain that we haven't had any recorded here recently, we can at the moment mention that 23-24 were seen circling over the Washland and New Fen on 20 October, before heading away from the reserve. This is an unusual sighting for the reserve in winter but the high number is a sign of their sociable nature in the non-breeding season- once they have joined the wintering flock in early autumn, their territoriality largely disappears and they value each other's company. 



 Photo credit: One of the Mere Hide kingfishers recently, both photos by Diane Scott. Looks like he has caught some unintentional veg with his fish... or a garnish perhaps?!

Aside from the birds, there are still a few insects around- likely because we haven't seen our first night with sub-zero temperatures and a frost yet. So a walk around the reserve on a sunny day will probably reward you with a few common darter dragonflies, perhaps an occasional southern hawker or hardy butterfly such as a brimstone or a peacock. Bumblebees (especially queens), common drone-flies and marbled orb-weaver spiders are still out and about for us to admire too. Closer to the Visitor Centre, it is hard to miss the large and impressive giant puffball and parasol toadstools that are pushing up through the soil near the decking on the southern end of the balcony. This area doesn't usually host many puffballs so this has been a welcome surprise. 

Weekly work party and reed cutting

As publicised on social media and on a poster at New Fen Viewpoint, the work party began to cut the reed at New Fen on 20 October. This cutting helps to maintain a patchwork of reedbed growing at different lengths, which in turn helps to attract a wider range of wildlife and to support our specialist breeding birds better. For example, in the Spring, male bitterns love to boom and females like to build their nests from deep within dense reed, whereas more open areas with reed stubble are better for finding the amphibians and fish that will feed the youngsters and parents. Because of the adverse weather on Thursday (it rained on them!) they need to finish the job this Thursday- 27 October. The work this time will be away from the viewpoint itself- off to the left (roughly around the Dragonfly Platform) so disturbance to the wildlife viewable from the Viewpoint will be minimal, although some noise will be audible from the brush-cutters and volunteers themselves! We would like to thank all of our visitors for their patience and understanding during these autumn works- whilst they cause short-term disturbance, they are essential for the health of the reserve in the long-run.

Cattle!

One of the many consequences of such a dry summer has been the unintentional freedom given to the cattle which graze several areas of the reserve. In a usual autumn, the water levels in ditches that border their enclosures are high enough to act as 'wet fences' (effective barriers to keep the cattle in) but because the reserve is so dry still, many have been getting out when they shouldn't and we aware of many incidents where cattle are in places they shouldn't be. This is likely to remain an issue until a short while after 1 November, when we can begin abstracting water from the river to top the reserve up. The peaty soil and network of ditches, sluices and pools across the reserve acts as a really effective sponge, soaking up an enormous amount of water. But without significant rainfall, we are quite dry until then and the cattle will continue to have their fun. So please be aware that you may encounter cattle almost anywhere at the moment. We appreciate this will be off-putting for visitors uncomfortable with cattle, but if our reassurance helps some- these are all very docile, used to being handled by their grazier, and totally comfortable around people. Our grazier has been fantastic at rounding them up and moving them off-site where possible, but he of course only has limited room at home so sometimes all he can do is put them back and hope for the best!

Bird flu

I'm not sure there is a nature lover in the UK who isn't aware of the serious damage bird flu is doing to our wild bird populations across the UK. If you are an RSPB member, you will see that the outbreak features heavily in your latest RSPB magazine, and how 1/4 of gannets in UK breeding colonies have been lost to the disease. Locally, we are hearing of it in towns like Brandon and Bury St. Edmunds, but as I write this I can confirm it doesn't not yet appear to be having an impact at Lakenheath Fen. We hope all our birds stay healthy this winter but of course this is largely out of our control and we will keep you updated with this issue as the season progresses. If you do see any birds acting strangely or looking unwell on the reserve, please contact us on 01842 863400, using lakenheath@rspb.org.uk or by telling us at the Visitor Centre.

I hope this blog has been a good read and useful too.

With best wishes for the week ahead,

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