Please note that this blog post refers to RSPB Ouse Washes rather than RSPB Lakenheath Fen. 

Please note that due to essential work that is being done by the Environment Agency, the majority of the hides on the reserve will be closed from Sunday 15 July- Tuesday 31 October inclusive.

This includes all of the hides that are situated north of the visitor centre (of which there are seven)

Access will be unaffected to Welches…

Good afternoon. Mere Hide has really been the place to be on the reserve recently so here are some pictures that have been taken from the hide:

Kingfisher:

Male bearded tit:

Female bittern with two juveniles:

Image credits: Ken Clegg

Bittern with a four spotted chaser dragonfly perched precariously on its beak (taken on the same day as a similar image that I posted a couple of weeks ago):

Two juvenile b…

Our annual Big Wild Sleepout camping event is now only a month away, and it will take place on Saturday 28 July. Here is some more information about the event:

Why not come and camp under the stars here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen? For the first time this year, we will be going a bit wilder by camping in the sandy area in Brandon Fen. This will be a five minute walk from the car park and a 10 minute walk from the toilets…

Good morning. I will start by sharing this fantastic image of a bittern that was taken near Mere Hide last Wednesday afternoon:

Image credit: Martin Johnson

Thank you very much to Martin for sharing this great picture with us. 

We put the moth trap out last Thursday evening and here is a picture of a privet hawkmoth, a poplar hawkmoth and an eyed hawkmoth that I hope you like:

There was some excitement on Friday…

Good morning. Before I launch into some sightings from Sunday onwards, I thought I would share some late news from Friday. Chris, our Area Manager walked down to the far end of the reserve after work and he saw an otter on the riverbank. This is the first sighting of this species on the reserve for quite some time.

I will now start off where I left off with some sightings from Sunday afternoon onwards. Two cranes were…

Please note that there are now cattle grazing on the riverbank Public Footpath between the Washland viewpoint and Joist Fen viewpoint. They are likely to be present until the autumn.

If you have any questions or queries, please ring 01842 863400 or e-mail: lakenheath@rspb.org.uk;

We hope to see you on the reserve soon!

Please note that our Beginners Photography Workshop on Sunday 1 July, 10am-4pm, 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 start this morning with a picture of something that we have been seeing quite a lot of recently here:

It is a mullein moth caterpillar and large numbers can currently be seen feeding on the mullein in front of the visitor centre. Please ask in the visitor centre for more information if you would like to see one!

I went for a walk before work on Friday morning and saw a mistle thrush in the sandy…

Good afternoon. Here are some recent sightings from Saturday afternoon onwards:

A peregrine that was soaring over the visitor centre on Saturday afternoon was a pleasant surprise. A barn owl spent most of the afternoon roosting in Trial Wood, the middle poplar wood. It was visible from the main track near Mere Hide.

On Sunday, a red kite flew overhead. Our first emerald damseflies of the year were also seen on the wing…

The following blog post is based on a media release that was sent out this morning. 

RSPB and British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) staff are celebrating the fact that a bittern that was taken into care and released at RSPB Rye Meads in Hertfordshire has been seen alive and well at RSPB Lakenheath Fen!

Bitterns are scarce and secretive members of the heron family that only nest in reedbeds. In 2017, there were 166 “booming…

Good afternoon. Apologies for the lack of updates recently, I have not been spending much time at the reserve recently.

I did come down for a walk on Tuesday evening and I had fantastic views of a hobby hunting over Mere Hide at around 7pm. There were also several cuckoos calling and there were good numbers of banded demoiselle damselflies on the wing along the riverbank.

On Wednesday evening, volunteer John heard a…

Good afternoon. It has been a very busy week here and I will return with some recent sightings on Saturday. In the meantime though, I thought I would share some great photographs that have been taken here this week.

On Saturday morning, this masked bandit with a hooked beak made a brief appearance on the reserve:

Image credit: Chris Sharp

If you are not sure what it is, it’s a female red backed shr…

Good morning. I will begin this morning by posting some photos that were taken here recently by Geoff Fitt:

Kestrel:

Moorhen:

Four spotted chaser:

Image credits Geoff Fitt

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

On Tuesday, a red eyed damselfly and an azure damselfly were feeding over the raised pond bed in front of the visitor centre. Our first emperor dragonfly of the year was…

Good morning. Apologies for the lack of updates recently, I haven’t been here much.

I went for a walk before work on Tuesday morning and saw a roe deer in Brandon Fen. A male banded demoiselle and an azure damselfly were also on the wing in the morning sunshine.

As the morning went on, a kingfisher was fishing at the edge of the visitor centre pond and a bittern was showing well from Mere Hide. A common sandp…

Good morning. I will return with some more detailed recent sightings over the next couple of days but birds of prey have been showing really well here over the last week or so.

This includes at least 20 hobbys and here are some fantastic pictures of these aerobatic birds:

Image credits: John Lord

It was also a great day for birds of prey yesterday, and two different species of buzzards were photographed flying…

Good afternoon. Before I launch into some more recent sightings, here are some pictures that were taken on the reserve last week:

Female scarce chaser:

A bittern from below:

Image credit: Alan Reynolds

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

There were plenty of butterflies on the wing near the visitor centre on Thursday afternoon. Highlights included a holly blue, a female green…

Please note that all of our close encounter with bitterns and cranes events are FULLY BOOKED.

If you would like to be put on the reserve list for these events, please ring 01842 863400 or e-mail: lakenheath@rspb.org.uk; 

Good afternoon. Here are some sightings from Sunday onwards:

On Sunday morning, two dunlins dropped into New Fen North, the first area of reedbed for a while. A great white egret was feeding north of the river and a single crane was seen in flight from Joist Fen viewpoint.

Meanwhile, closer to the visitor centre, I had a shock when I found a live mole in the disabled toilet! Fortunately, it managed to get out again…

Good morning. There has been plenty to see here over the last couple of days so here are some more recent sightings:

On Friday afternoon, a drake garganey was spotted in New Fen North. A smart scorpion fly was also on the visitor centre window.

There was an intriguing report of a great reed warbler singing in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed early yesterday morning. Although it wasn’t heard subsequently, it…

Unfortunately, the Aerial Aerobatics  guided walk tomorrow has been postponed due to the heavy rain forecasted. We are hoping to reschedule the walk to Sunday 20 May 10am-1pm. We have attempted to contact all of those who were booked on the walk. If you would like to book on the rescheduled walk, please ring 01842 863400 or e-mail: lakenheath@rspb.org.uk; 

Good morning. There has been plenty to see recently so here are some recent sightings from Saturday onwards:

An Arctic tern was feeding over the washland first thing and four common terns were feeding over New Fen North, the first area of reedbed. There were also a good selection of wader species in New Fen North, including a greenshank and an avocet.

As the morning went on, a drake garganey was seen along the river…

Good afternoon. Some wonderful images have been taken on the reserve this week so I thought I would share them with you:

Bitterns: 

The individual with the gammy leg in flight (which has been here for a while):

One showing well from Mere Hide:

A female trying to avoid a male's advances in front of Mere Hide!: 

A very late whooper swan that was showing well from Mere Hide:

Four spotted chaser:

Good morning. The weather has been not too bad this week so here are some more recent sightings:

Suzanne and I did our latest Common Bird Census (CBC) around Brandon Fen first thing on Thursday morning and despite the fact that it was rather chilly, there was plenty singing. The highlight was hearing our first garden warbler of the year near the photography station. 

Warden Emma also did her latest survey between Mere…

Please note that the bat night tomorrow evening (Friday 4 May) has been postponed due to the recent cold weather conditions. We are currently looking to reschedule this event in the near future. 

Please also note that the Dawn Chorus walk on Sunday morning (Sunday 6 May) 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. Before I launch into some sightings from last couple of days, here are some pictures that have been taken here recently:

Wednesday 25 April:

Common buzzard:

Hobby:

Male marsh harrier:

Image credits: Martin Peake

Thursday 26 April

Bittern:

Stoat

Image credits: Henry Page

Thank you very much to Martin and Henry for sharing their images with us.

We had a pleasant surprise late…