Although it is a bit cliched as it is New Year's Eve, I thought I would write up a short review of the 2017:
Breeding season
We had a record number of booming bitterns on the reserve in the spring, with eight booming males being recorded. Eventually, four nests were found on the reserve.
There were 11 marsh harrier nests on the reserve. Although this was down on previous years, it is not bad considering that back in 1971, the only nest in the country was at RSPB Minsmere!
It has been a mixed year for our resident cranes. We were concerned in April when one of our resident pairs, that we know as: "Little & Large" disappeared. Fortunately, our other resident pair, which are know imaginatively as "The Breeding Pair" fledged one young on 7 July:
I am pleased to say that "Little & Large" have been seen in the area several times so hopefully they will nest on the reserve in 2018 along with the breeding pair.
Unusual wildlife
We have a good year for unusual wildlife on the reserve and here are my two personal highlights:
White fronted geese in February:
Long staying glossy ibis, which was present from early April until late May:
Here are some of the other highlights, in no particular order:
Staff changes
Whilst Warden Katherine was on maternity leave this leave, Alan Kell, Assistant Warden at RSPB Dungeness covered her post on a secondment from mid-January to mid-December. Please read this blog post to find out more about Alan't time here. We will all miss Alan and we would like to wish him all the best for the future.
In Memoriam
Sadly, we lost two members of the RSPB Lakenheath Fen team this year. Local photographer Pat Rolph, who donated many of his fantastic photographs to us over the years passed away in early March.
Long serving reserve volunteer Nigel Taylor passed away after a long battle with cancer in November. There is now a permanent memorial to Nigel on the reserve, on the new bridge near Joist Fen viewpoint (which he was instrumental in assisting to build in the early part of this year):
Image credits: Dave Rogers
We will miss both Pat and Nigel very much and we would like to thank them very much for helping to make RSPB Lakenheath Fen a better place for wildlife and people alike.
That just leaves me to wish you all a very Happy New Year from the team at RSPB Lakenheath Fen. Who knows what 2018 will bring!