The first changes of autumn - 1 October 2022

I thought that given we have seen quite a few changes in recent days on the reserve- all related to autumn- that it was time to write another blog. Strange white domes of various sizes have begun to appear across the reserve trails, especially in shady spots with a build-up of leaf litter. Once they spring up, they grow quickly and the biggest on the reserve (along the entrance track) that we know of is about 40cm wide... and they grow very quickly, especially following rain! These are giant puffballs and they will keep popping up through the autumn. Another sign of autumn is the drop in temperature, especially noticeable early in the morning, and our bird scene is changing too- the osprey(s) we had here on passage migration seem to have left us, but for most days in the second half of September we had sightings of one fishing along the river. Although this spectaculr bird of prey hasn't been seen for a few days, redwing and whooper swan made their first appearances on 29 September, with a few small groups of redwing flying westwards overhead and five whooper swans at the back of the Washland. Yesterday (30 September) that number had risen to 40, which were counted at dawn as they left their roost.

Also on the Washland yesterday (30 September) at dawn were 60 wigeon, and today a regular birder (Dave Jackson) counted 5 pintail (in eclipse plumage) and 8 little grebe in the river (between the Washland and the footpath). 5 gadwall and a great white egret were seen by our Visitor Centre volunteer there too. On 29 September I counted 107 lapwing overhead, leaving the Washland, and 2 curlew were up there today so there are a few waders to be found as well as the ducks and other waterbirds.

Momentarily, great white egrets got a little closer to home when two flew in to the Visitor Centre pond to investigate it for a few minutes this morning- they didn't stay long, unlike the kingfisher who has been there on and off all day long! It's a juvenile bird- identifiable by the whitish tip to the bill- perhaps one of the youngsters from the Mere Hide pair earlier on in summer. We are pleased to see it looking healthy, catching plenty of fish and regurgitating pellets. It likes to use various perches around the pond, included the branches of the willow behind the bird feeders, but as this is close to the balcony it will retreat to a perch at the back of the pond if you try to watch it from the balcony. If the Visitor Centre is open, you can get closer and often longer views by watching it from inside. Mere Hide is still a good place to observe the kingfishers, and today (1 October) we had a few reports of bearded tits in the morning too, including of juvenile birds coming down to drink at the water's edge. These two lovely photos were sent in by David Jones from his visit there on 4 September:





There are still a few hobbies around, with 5 counted today by a morning visitor- these are feeding on a wealth of common darter, ruddy darter and the larger southern hawker dragonflies that are still on the wing (most common in sheltered spots). It is this time of year when hobbies descend more often to swoop and glide about the Visitor Centre more often than the skies higher up, perhaps because this is where the dragonflies have retreated to for a bit of shelter. Kestrel and common buzzard have been seen in good numbers today too.

The next migrant birds we will be keeping an eye out for will be siskins (some of which don't travel very far- just from nearby Thetford Forest!) and more redwing and the first fieldfare too. Generally, we see the larger fieldfares arrive around two weeks after the first redwings do. Lesser redpoll and brambling may turn up soon too. As well as these long-distance migrants, we may see more local movements, such as increased sightings of peregrine on the reserve- these often move from their breeding grounds on coasts and built-up areas to wetlands and marshes, following an easier food supply.

For those of you keen for news on our cranes, we last had a record of three birds here on 28 September, although most days we seem to be crane-free! Both our pairs have now been spotted in the wintering flock near WWT Welney, which is very mobile but generally numbers around 70 birds at the moment. Around 10 of these are youngsters from this year, so recruitment has been high again and it has been another successful year for common cranes in our area.

To finish with, here's a lovely little beetle on the wall of the Visitor Centre from the evening of 29 September- it was a lovely end to my day!

 Photo credit: Carabus granulatus- around an inch long- and a species that is never common but more often seen in grassland than on walls. Photo credit: Heidi Jones

As usual, please send in your sightings to us, or pop and see us before you leave if you are able to- the sightings board in the Visitor Centre can then be updated, which benefits future visitors too. Our upcoming events can be seen here to which we are in the process of adding a few new ones- like our winter raptor walks and a guided autumn wander around the reserve at the end of the month. Please get in contact with us on 01842 863400 (answered 9am to 5pm daily) or using lakenheath@rspb.org.uk.

With best for the week ahead,

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