I have been on holiday for the last three days. It’s just typical that the reserve’s first little bittern would turn up while I wasn't around! Sadly, it hasn't been heard or seen since Saturday but hopefully it will reappear soon!

Anyhow, there were plenty of people here on Sunday and local photographer Tim James took these great photographs on the reserve:

Three cranes circling over the car park…

As David blogged last night, a little bittern has been seen at Lakenheath Fen; a rare visitor to Britain and an amazing first ever record for the reserve!

Some great views were had last night; after ‘barking’ for a while, the bird was seen climbing up some reed stems before making a brief flight  – I only wish I had been there to see it.

I made it down the reserve for 5am (the alarm clock was a bit…

Good evening. This is just a quick note to say that after a brief sighting between Mere Hide and Joist Fen viewpoint this morning, a male little bittern has been heard "barking" in the same area this evening. It was also seen in flight briefly just after 9pm. This is a very rare bird in Britain and it has only nested in Britain in two locations. Please read this article for more information.

Here is an illustration…

Good afternoon! We have had a great couple of days here are there has been plenty to see. Here are some pictures that have been taken recently, courtesy of Tim James:

A dunnock:

A common whitethroat:

A sedge warbler:

Image credits: Tim James

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

There was a bit of a surprise on Wednesday when a raven flew west over Joist Fen viewpoint. This…

Good morning. It’s a lovely morning this morning so it’s about time to update you about what is around! The local hobbys have definitely been the stars of the week so here are a few pictures of them:

 Two images by Roderick Woods from Thursday:

Image credits: Roderick Woods

...And here is one by David G Carter from Monday:

Image credit: David G Carter

Thank you very much to Roderick and David for…

Good morning. After we had to cancel our international dawn chorus day event due to bad weather, we have rescheduled our dawn chorus walk to Sunday 24 May 4.30am-7.30am. Please follow this link for more details including how to book. We hope to see you there!

Good afternoon. The last couple of days have been pretty unpredictable here! I will start with a few photographs that local photographer Tim James has taken here this week:

A little egret on the washland from Monday:

Some images of young coots from Monday:

A male gadwall with an unusually pale collar from this morning:

A weasel from this morning:

Image credits: Tim James

Thank you very much to Tim for…

Good morning. A male golden oriole was heard singing and calling intermittently in the western edge of West Wood (the furthest poplar plantation) yesterday afternoon and evening. We have been out listening since first light this morning and unfortunately, we haven't heard anything yet. However, hopefully it will stick around and a female will appear as well!

I can't resist a sharing a few lovely pictures of these…

Good morning. After having to close the reserve on Tuesday and Wednesday for safety reasons, I am pleased to say that we are fully open once again!

I will begin with some photographs that were taken on the reserve on Monday morning, courtesy of Richard Gannon:

A buck roe deer:

A cormorant perched in front of Joist Fen viewpoint:

A presumably partially leucistic Egyptian goose:

A sedge warbler:

Image credits…

Please note that unfortunately, due to to the strong winds forecasted and the proximity of the poplar woods to the reserve trails, we regret that the reserve paths will be CLOSED until the end of the day tomorrow for the sake of visitor safety. The reserve will still be accessible via the Public Footpath alongside the river Little Ouse. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. If you have any queries about this…

Good morning. I should have been out leading a dawn chorus walk this morning but we had to cancel it due to the weather forecast. This is really rather frustrating, as I really enjoy leading dawn chorus walks!

Anyhow, that's enough of me grumbling. There has been plenty going on here over the last two days but before I get on to that, I will share a few pictures that I took of the sunset on Thursday evening:

I am very sorry to say that the Dawn Chorus walk tomorrow morning has been CANCELLED. This is due to heavy rain being forecast throughout the whole event. We are looking into a date to reschedule the event later on in the month (possibly either Sunday 10 May or Sunday 24 May). We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Those who have booked places in advance will be refunded. Please get in touch by ringing 01842…

Good morning! The last couple of days have been just great here! I last blogged on Monday morning and shortly after I finished my post, a common lizard was showing near the visitor centre and several large red damselflies were on the wing. 

A “spare” pair of cranes were on the riverbank north of New Fen North and an orange tip butterfly was on the wing near the Washland viewpoint. 

It was also a fantastic…

Last Thursday our trusty volunteers gathered for one of their least favourite jobs - path repairs.  The plan was to finish off the ramp up to the New Fen viewpoint and to start repairing the potholes in the tracks.

But first we had a bittern survey to do.  We started at 7:30 with Phil covering New Fen North, I was at the Joist Fen Viewpoint and Darren, Nigel, Emma and Katherine further west covering Joist Fen North and…

The Brecks is a unique landscape spanning approximately a 1,000 square kilometres across south Norfolk and north Suffolk with its own distinctive climate, geology and habitats. Famous for its dry and sandy soils and extreme differences in temperature the Brecks is also home to unusual habitats including the UKs largest lowland pine forest, rare grass heaths, wildlife rich farmland and unusual water features. The Brecks…

Good morning! The weather has been a lot better than forecast which is good news! There were several photographers around early in the morning on Friday and here are a couple of pictures from Matt Walton:

The sunrise over the river:

A muntjac deer browsing in some vegetation:

A stoat concealing its long tail with a black tip!:

Image credits: Matt Walton

Thank you very much to Matt for sharing these great images…

Good morning! We have been very lucky with the weather this week and there have been plenty of opportunities to take photographs. Here are a few that I just had to share:

A female marsh harrier hunting:

Image credit: Ron Smith

Two images of cuckoos:

Image credits: David Capps

Two images of kingfishers:

Image credits: Tim James

Thank you very much to Ron, David and Tim for sharing these wonderful images…

So, spring is well and truly sprung! No doubt those of you who have visited the reserve will have already clocked the arrival of the summer migrants and the sudden flush of new growth. For me, this time of year signals the kick start in the race to reap the benefits of the summer season before the dark days of winter draw in again.

Some species on the reserve will already be ahead of the game though. They are famous…

Good morning. After I baffled you all with my blog post about surveys last week, here is a more “normal” post.

Katherine blogged on Sunday and shared some of Tim James’ pictures. Here are a few more:

An extremely showy Cetti's warbler:

A grasshopper warbler striking a pose:

Some lovely landscape images:

Image credits: Tim James

Thank you very much to Tim for sharing these great images…

Well, I've just spent my first weekend for a while on duty in the visitor centre.  On the whole the weather has been quite good, and we've had lots of visitors through who have seen some of the newly returned migrants.  It's always an exciting time of year, with new birds turning up all the time.  So far cuckoo and grasshopper warblers have been evading me.  Not the case for Tim James however, who got this cracking…

Good afternoon. We have all been busy this week with various different things. Those of you who have visited the reserve in the last couple of weeks will have noticed that the visitor centre pond has had a haircut:

 Suzanne has also been busy maintaining the wildlife garden outside the visitor centre window. This has paid dividends as we now have some fine cowslips in flower:

We have also started doing various…

Good afternoon. Until this morning when it rained, the weather has been great for the last couple of days. Here are a few images that were taken on the reserve yesterday:

 Two marsh harrier action shots:

A pair of great crested grebes exchanging a gift of weeds:

A greylag goose flapping its wings:

A roe deer at full pelt:

Image credits: Matt Walton

Thank you very much to Matt for sharing these images with…

Please note that the Lakenheath Fen Kingfishers Wildlife Explorers Children's Club will be in Mere Hide tomorrow morning. This will be from approximately 11.15am-Midday. 

Good afternoon! The recent settled weather has meant that things have started to happen here. Here are a couple of pictures from the last week:

A male marsh harrier:

A pair of great crested grebes:

Image credits: Matt Walton

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

The sunset at Joist Fen viewpoint:

Image credit: David White

Our first common lizard of the year was found near the visitor…

Good morning! The last couple of days have been absolutely fantastic for barn owls and these beautiful birds have been showing really well. Here are a couple of recent pictures of them:

Image credits: Matt Walton

I went for a walk after work on Thursday in the evening sunshine. I saw at least three barn owls. This included one behind the washland pool, one in front of Joist Fen viewpoint and one just behind the…