News from the reserve - hot weather, dragonflies and the Big Wild Sleepout -12 August 2022

News from the reserve

As I write this blog, I hope we are on the cusp of some rainfall at long last, which is forecasted for early next week (15-16 August). It is badly needed, because the reserve has never been so dry in it's 27-year history. The main pool at New Fen is 46cm below what it was on this day last year, so we really are struggling for water. At the moment, we have enough to keep the fish and invertebrates going but it is crucial we don't dry out completely, so our Site Manager is looking to see if we can abstract just a bit of water (enough to raise the ditch levels by 10cm) even though we are currently banned from abstracting until the autumn. It would be enough to buy us some time, although we are hoping for rain next week too.

 Photo credit: Kingfisher from Mere Hide on 24 July 2022. Photo by Paul Gregory.

Despite our worries over water, the wildlife is adapting as best it can and visitors have still been enjoying kingfisher sightings from Mere Hide (thankfully the Mere is relatively deep) and there is always a chance of seeing otter and bearded tits from here too, especially early in the morning for the latter. This morning (12 August) a stoat was seen bounding up the hard track west of the Visitor Centre by our digger driver Paul. Paul normally visits us for winter work- clearing ditches on rotation- but he is in a little earlier than usual to make a start on work to improve the accessibility of the riverbank for less mobile visitors. Material he is digging out from the 'mini-wash' north of East Wood will be used to make a shallower, firmer ramp from the riverbank at New Fen, replacing the stile. This task has a double benefit in that by removing material from this small pool, it will deepen and be able to hold more water and for longer; even perhaps being wet all year-round. It will be interesting to see what the waders make of it in a month or so's time when the autumn passage migration starts.

One facet of our wildlife which is still showing well (aside from the kingfishers!) are the butterflies and dragonflies. This morning (12 August) we enjoyed views of peacock, comma and plenty of red admiral on the buddleia outside the Visitor Centre, and it can be a good place some days to see hornet mimic hoverfly, painted lady butterfly and hummingbird hawkmoth. Another moth that is quite easy to see at the moment is red underwing, which is a beautiful, impressive, grey-and-red triangle (when at rest) which has a liking for buildings when roosting during the daytime. If you visit during the coming days, do ask the volunteers if the have spotted any on the Centre that day because several of our volunteers are keeping tabs on them! Almost anywhere you walk at the moment you'll see an abundance of dragonflies- mostly brown hawker, Emperor dragonfly, common darter, ruddy darters and migrant hawker. Common blue damselfly and azure damselfly are plentiful too.  

Across the reserve we have very high number of herons and egrets- on Wednesday (10 August) our warden Katherine counted 13 great white egrets, 9 grey heron and 13 little egret. These are distributed across the reserve but concentrated at Joist Fen, with some viewable from the viewpoint or the riverbank (looking down across the mere) there most days. If you have the energy, it is often well worth walking just a little further than Joist Fen along the riverbank because it gives you a good vantage point to look for these beautiful birds. On Katherine's list for 10 August was also one green sandpiper, one common snipe and 200+ lapwing, again mostly at Joist Fen. Juvenile marsh harriers can be conspicuous at the moment at this end of the reserve, as most of the nests were this way, tucked into the reedbeds, and for a few weeks after fledging the adults can be quite conspicuous.

 Photo credit: A lovely mixture of little egret, great white egret and grey heron at Joist Fen. Photo by Matt Walton. 

The Photography Station has also been a popular spot with smaller birds lately, whose numbers are boosted by this seasons' juveniles- greenfinch, goldfinch, reed bunting, blue tit, great tit and chaffinch can be seen in good numbers, whilst wren and great spotted woodpecker sometimes put in cameo appearances! We have some juvenile great spotted woodpeckers on the reserve as well as their larger, greener cousins- green woodpeckers, too. Until a few weeks ago, a green woodpecker sighting here was almost unheard of (we had a February 2022 record and only one or two others) but it seems they have successfully bred here this year as juveniles have been seen often along the entrance track and in Brandon Fen. Like nuthatch, we believe our isolation (namely being surrounded by agricultural farmland) slows down our colonisation by certain bird species that were not here before the reserve was created. But hopefully green woodpeckers will remain a commoner sight in the future. 

Visiting us in the heat

There's no escaping the fact that until Sunday evening, it will be very hot during the daytime. We would still love to see you, and will be fully open as usual, but please do bring plenty of drinking water, a sun hat and we would advise the wearing on sunscreen too. If you have visited us before you will be aware of how exposed the reserve can be in places- and it may be a good time to try some of the shadier trails such as the Brandon Fen loop, where there is a good amount of tree cover. Woodland birds, butterflies and dragonflies usually put on a good show here. Visiting early in the morning or late into the afternoon or early evening can be a good way to beat the heat too. If you visit outside of our Visitor Centre opening hours (9am to 5pm) please remember there is a tap supplied with drinking water on the wall at the front of the Visitor Centre, which is accessible 24/7. Ideal if you've just finished a long walk after 5pm!

Road closures

You will be pleased to hear that today is the last day of the road closure at Whitefen Bridge on the B1112 (the road that runs past the reserve). So, from 13 August, there should be no local roadworks affecting your route here. Hooray!

Big Wild Sleepout

We still have a few places available on our upcoming Big Wild Sleepout. If you want to come and join us for a night camping under the stars, it's not too late to book your place- booking closes at 9am on 18 August (as we need time to get things ready for the right number of guests) and the event is on 20-21 August. As well as camping, there will be guided walks, stargazing, bug-hunting, marshmallow-toasting. You will also be able to look at the pond life we have here at Lakenheath Fen. Parking, your pitch fee, breakfast in the morning and access to all activities are included in the ticket price. For more information, and for booking, please click here.



As usual, please give the reserve a call on 01842 863400 (9am to 5pm daily) or drop us an e-mail at lakenheath@rspb.org.uk if you have any questions for us. 

With best wishes,

Heidi Jones (Visitor Experience Officer).