Good morning. I will start by sharing a couple of pictures that have been taken here during the last week:

Female wasp spider:

Image credit: Stephen Davies

Wheatear in Brandon Fen:

Image credit: Jasper Grooms

Bittern at the edge of the visitor centre pond:

Image credits: Colin Sheridan

Thank you very much to Stephen, Jasper and Colin for sharing their images with us.

On Friday morning, there were three…

Please note that our bat night on Saturday 1 September has been cancelled due to a lack of bookings. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. We have attempted to contact all of those who have booked on to the event.

Good afternoon. I will start off with some late news from Sunday: Despite the fact that it was pouring it down with rain at the time, a rather damp looking bittern appeared briefly at the edge of the visitor centre pond mid-afternoon. Although it quickly disappeared again, it was lovely to see nonetheless.

I went for a walk before work on Monday morning and counted eight Egyptian geese in front of the Washland viewpoint…

Good afternoon. Just in case you haven’t already heard, both of our crane chicks have finally fledged and can now be seen in flight over the reserve. Please read here to find out more about their amazing story.

Here is another image of the family that Site Manager Dave took on Thursday:

Image credit: Dave Rogers

A willow warbler was singing near the visitor centre when I arrived on Saturday morning which was…

As some of you know, we are very fortunate to have an increasing population of cranes nesting in the Fens. Although, for reasons that will become apparent if you read on, it has taken a long time to get to this point, here is a summary of how they have done on our reserves in the Fens this year:

I will start at RSPB Nene Washes, which is close to Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire: This year, four pairs attempted to nest …

Good afternoon. There has been plenty to see here over the last couple of days so here are some sightings from mid-morning on Sunday onwards:

There were good numbers of waders showing from the Washland viewpoint over the course of the day including:

• Black tailed godwit: 14
• Common snipe: 2
• Green sandpiper: 4
• Greenshank: 1
• Little ringed plover: 5
• Ringed plover: 2
• Common sandpiper: 1

Regular reserve visitor…

Good morning. We have had an interesting couple of days here. Perhaps the star of the show has been the female wasp spider that is currently feeding near the photography station. She has even been seen catching wasps by several people!

On Friday, three water rails were seen from Mere Hide and a family of kingfishers were in the same area. Meanwhile, down at Joist Fen viewpoint, three cranes flew over and two hobbys were…

Good morning. I will start off where I left off with some sightings from Tuesday afternoon: There were two migrant hawker dragonflies and a hummingbird hawkmoth feeding near the visitor centre in the sunshine. A juvenile common buzzard was also calling nearby, which we could hear from the office.

The main focus of attention bird wise on Wednesday were waders on the washland. Here are some peak counts from the day:

If you visit the reserve regularly, some of you will know that we organise an annual Race for Wildlife around the reserve. As our event is now less than two months away, its over to Warden Emma to tell us more about it:

The wonderful season of autumn is now upon us and here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen that can only mean one thing….

It’s once again time to grab your running shoes and Race for Wildlife. For those…

Good afternoon. I have now returned from my adventure working at RSPB Arne so here are some recent sightings for you.

I will begin though by posting a picture that I took at New Fen viewpoint at the end of July that I haven’t had the opportunity to share yet:

Image credit: David White

Here are some sightings from the last couple of weeks:

I am pleased to say that at least three cranes have been seen regularly…

Good afternoon. As I am going to work at RSPB Arne in Dorset for the next week or so, here are some recent sightings just before I go!

 I will begin with some late news from last Tuesday (24 July): An otter was seen from Mere Hide which is a great record for here.

One species that is becoming more and more conspicuous on the reserve at the moment is the striking wasp spider. Here are some pictures that Warden Emma took…

Good afternoon. Just in case you haven’t already heard, we had the pleasure of hosting Chris Packham’s UK BioBlitz 2018 on Sunday 22 July.

While Chris Packham was here, photographer Penny Dixie took a lovely selection of images of the event. Please follow this link to find them.

Thank you very much to Penny for sharing these great images with us.

In terms of the wildlife records from the day, we are still…

Please note that as we have our annual Big Wild Sleepout camping event on the reserve on Saturday 28 July, we will be closing the roadside barrier overnight. It will be closed at around 10am and will be opened again shortly after first light on the Sunday morning. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Please ring 01842 863400 or e-mail: lakenheath@rspb.org.uk; for more information.

Good afternoon. I hope you are all still enjoying the hot weather (!) I will start off by posting some more bittern pictures that have been taken on the reserve recently:

Image credits: Alan Reynolds

Thank you very much to Alan for sharing these great images with us.

On Friday, a grasshopper warbler was singing near the photography station and a garden warbler was singing in East Wood. At least 25

Please note that Lakenheath High Street is due to be closed to through traffic from Monday 23 July- Friday 3 August.

• If you are planning to visit the reserve from the south, we recommend that you access the reserve via the A1065, the Wangford Road and the B1112
• If you are planning to visit the reserve from the west, (.i.e. from Littleport and Ely), we recommend that you access the reserve via the A10, Southery and…

Please note that our Big Wild Sleepout camping event on Saturday 28 July is now FULLY BOOKED. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate those who have booked places in advance. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

Good morning. I will begin by posting some more images of bitterns that we have been sent recently:

Image credits: Ann Karin Solheim

Image credits: Jane Rowe

Thank you very much to Ann and Jane for sharing these great images with us.

A lot has been seen since Saturday so here are some of the highlights:

I got in early and spent some time looking over the washland. I saw/ heard:

• Yellow wagtail:…

If you haven’t already heard, we are very proud to be hosting Chris Packham’s UK BioBlitz 2018 on Sunday 22 July. 

You can find out more about the BioBlitz and why Chris Packham is doing it here.

We have a selection of guided walks and talks planned during the day. Please see below for the provisional plan:

8am Bioblitz officially starts.  Moths – Katherine Puttick and Rob Dyke

9am – Bird walk –…

Good morning. I will start of by posting a picture of a ruddy darter that I took on the reserve a couple of weeks ago that I haven’t had a chance to post yet:

Here are some recent sightings from Tuesday onwards:

Volunteer Paul went and had a look from the Washland viewpoint and saw the following:

• Greenshank: 2
• Redshank: 2
• Avocet: 5
• Oystercatcher: 8
• Curlew: 1
• Black tailed godwit: 19
• Green sandpiper:…

This blog post is based on a press release that was sent out on Monday 9 July

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Image credit: Penny Dixie

Nature reserves are not enough!

TV presenter and naturalist Chris Packham is coming to RSPB Lakenheath Fen, on Sunday 22 July as part of the first independent audit of its kind in the UK. His goal is to investigate the extent to which the nation’s wildlife species are under threat and to meet and raise money for…

Hello there. We have been sent some fantastic bittern pictures this week so without any further ado, here they are:

Image credit: Ann Karin Solheim

Image credit: David Gowing

Image credit: Mike Hoare

Thank you very much to Ann, David and Mike for sharing their wonderful images with us.

The majority of these pictures have been taken from Mere Hide. As I have said before, Mere Hide has been very…

Please note that our Big 5 Walking Safari on Saturday 21 July 2pm-7pm is now: FULLY BOOKED. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate those who have booked places in advance. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

Hello. I will return with some recennt sightings in the near future but in the meantime, here is a slection of lovely pictures from Tuesday:

Sunrise over the reserve:

Carrion crow with the sun reflecting off of its feathers:

Muntjac deer:

A selection of bittern images:

Kingfisher:

Great crested grebe with chick:

Common buzzard:

Goats beard:

Female common darter:

Image credits: Nicky…

If you have been to the reserve over the last couple of months, you may have seen that we currently have our "Lucky 5" campaign happening until the end of the year. The aim of the campaign is for reserve visitors to come to the reserve and to try to see our "Lucky Five" bird species over the course of the year. These are:

• Crane
• Bittern
• Marsh harrier
• Bearded tit
• Kingfisher

You can come as…

Good morning. It was a lovely start to the day on Thursday and although I didn’t have a lot of time before work, I saw at least 20 lapwings from the Washland viewpoint. I also took these photographs of some of the pretty plants that are currently in flower near the visitor centre:

Purple loosestrife and yellow loosestrife:

Marsh woundwort:

Image credits: David White

There was plenty of bittern activity in…