I am sure that I have mentioned this before, but just in case I haven’t, many of us here are rather obsessed with the wind .i.e. its direction and strength. We have been waiting for what seems like an eternity for some southerly winds to bring some more long overdue summer migrants in.

Well, we got our wish on Friday, along with a nice soaking of rain! A chiffchaff was singing in Brandon Fen and little gangs of…

Please note that the Early birds guided walk on Sunday morning has been cancelled. This is due to lack of bookings and the lack of scarcely any summer migrants to hear or see on the reserve. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. There are still places on the Marsh harrier and bittern walk on Sunday April 28 7am-10am. Details on how to book places can be found by clicking on the event name. If you would like…

I will start by saying that unfortunately, we are still having technical issues with the blog so again, there will be no pictures today. We can only offer our apologies and hope that they are sorted out soon. You will therefore have to put up with an account of only words. I will try to make those words as exciting as possible though!

We are still suffering from a distinct lack of summer migrants but Norman FINALLY heard…

Finally, that time of year has come around again.  This morning, all the staff plus volunteer Martin arrived at work for a 6.30am start, all togged up in multiple layers, hats and gloves because it was extremely cold.  With maps in hand, we split into our groups and headed off to the different areas of the reserve in which we are carrying out our breeding bird territory surveys.  David, Martin and I headed off back up…

Pleas note that the astronomy evening this evening is FULLY BOOKED. Unfortunately, we can only accommodate those who have booked places in advance. We are sorry for any inconvenience caused. 

The sun has been shining on the reserve for the last couple of days which has been fantastic. Its amazing how all of our local wildlife responds to a bit of warmth in the air though. Two things before I start though: Firstly, the spoonbill has not been seen since Friday and secondly, the photos that I will be using in this post were taken by Tim James during his visit on Wednesday. Many thanks to Tim for sending them…

Well, at least it has warmed up (slightly!) Spring is still conspicuous by its absence though with a distinct lack of any of our regular summer migrants present. Starting off on Tuesday, a marsh tit was singing by the ramp on the new trail and a water pipit flew up from the riverbank. There were six pintails on the washland (four drakes and two ducks) and a bittern was almost booming in New Fen North. I was also treated…

Just a quick blog from me this week, as we get the easter break out of the way and catch up with things! 

As I type the volunteer work party is underway out by the fen pools, finishing off the work with the railway sleepers and new bays.  It's trying very hard to snow outside at the moment, so I think I've got the better end of the deal catching up with the blog!  Hopefully next week I'll have photos of the finished…

Please note that the roadside barrier will remain open at all times for the time being. However, we will continue to monitor the situation and if anything changes, we will let you know. 

Well, I certainly felt like one this morning! When I got to the reserve, I opened up the visitor centre and could hear lots of bird sounds in the poplars at the edge of the staff car park. They sounded like mostly redwings but there was one sound that I had never heard before. Like the fool that I am, I didn't look up into the trees to see what was making the strange sound. I strolled off towards Brandon Fen and immediately…

As our barn owl bonanza event on Sunday March 17 was cancelled due to bad weather, we have now rescheduled the event. It will now take place on Saturday April 6 4pm-7.30pm.  The event will include an introductory talk in the visitor centre followed by a walk around the reserve to look for barn owls and other wildlife. There will then be a chance to dissect some owl pellets when we return to the visitor centre. There are…

If you read our blog regularly, you have probably noticed that it doesn't take much to get excited about almost anything! It is a really exciting time here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen and its not just the wildlife that is exciting! On Wednesday afternoon, John and I walked down to the Fen pools to see some of the hard work that Ali was talking about in her post on Friday. We saw a water rail skulking around at the edge…

Railway sleepers of course.  Very heavy ones!  Our contractors have now finished the new trail through Brandon Fen and up onto the riverbank at the far east of the reserve, as David mentioned in the blog on Wednesday.  They then moved on to a piece of work in the fen pools area, very near to the visitor centre.  The pools are wonderful for wetland plants and dragonflies in the warmer weather but tend to get a bit too vegetated…

Although most of the snow has now gone, it is still pretty cold out. However, as ever the wildlife at Lakenheath Fen has no option but to grin and bear it. Dave took a group round the reserve on Sunday and there was plenty to see. They saw two cranes near Joist Fen viewpoint and a bittern flew over the reedbed nearby. A Cetti's warbler was also calling nearby. There was plenty going on over the washland with a male hen…

This morning, the reserve looks like how most Christmas cards and films depict Christmas Eve, with lots of snow on the ground. However, it is not December 24, its March 24! As it was (hopefully) my last opportunity to witness the reserve covered in snow this year, I couldn't resist coming down early for a walk this morning. Even before I got out of the car, I caught sight of a barn owl hunting behind the visitor centre…

Its easy to forget that when I came down to the reserve for a walk on Monday afternoon, the sun was shining and it was really rather warm. There was plenty to see with two cranes visible from the riverbank and two oystercatchers on the washland north of New Fen North. There was plenty of kingfisher activity with at least two birds whizzing around near Joist Fen viewpoint. There were a few sightings of singles cranes in…

Please note that the Lakenheath Fen treasure hunt tomorrow 2pm-4.30pm will still go ahead. However, due to to the poor weather forecast, there will only be a short trail around the reserve. This will cover around three quarters of a mile. We are very sorry for any inconvenience caused. Lets hope the weather improves soon. 

Please note that due to recent criminal activity, we will be locking the roadside barrier/main entrance gate to the reserve again at around 5.15pm. It will be opened before 8.45am each morning.

We will keep you updated on the situation and let you know as soon as the gate can be left open as normal.  Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

I've returned from my week off to discover Brandon Fen looking quite different here at Lakenheath Fen!  David mentioned the work that is being carried out in the blog last Wednesday and I've just been out to take a photo of the new scrapes that have been dug in the grazing marsh.

Photo credit: Ali Blaney - new scrapes in Brandon Fen

These scrapes have nice, gentle sloping edges (drawdown zones) which will…

On the face of it, there seemed nothing unusual about Friday morning. However, as is quite often the case, as the day went on, it was clear that something unusual was going on out on the reserve. Les went out for a walk and when he returned, he came back with a report of three cranes flying over the reserve. He managed to photograph all three birds which was fantastic. It was only when we studied the pictures in more…

We are very sorry to say that the barn owl bonanza tomorrow has been cancelled due to bad weather. We are very sorry for any inconvenience and disappointment that this may cause. 

We are looking into possible dates that we may be able to reschedule the walk and we will let those who booked places on the original walk know if we do go ahead.

If you would like any more information, please do not hesitate to ring 01842 863400…

Please note that the barn owl bonanza on Sunday afternoon is FULLY BOOKED.

 However, the weather forecast is currently looking rather uncertain. A decision will be made at 1pm on Saturday March 16 as to whether the event will go ahead. If it is cancelled, those who have booked places on the event will be told in good time. 

We have finally got to the time of the year when our summer migrants are starting to arrive. Hooray! It is amazing to think that the majority of the birds that will be arriving in the next month or so will have flown all the way from Africa. In order to help to set the scene for what usually happens here, I have attached our first migrant dates for certain key species over the last couple of years. It is well worth a…

As Ali is on holiday this week, you have to put up with my ramblings this morning! I will try to give you an update on habitat management as well as a few sightings. Perhaps the most noticeable change on the reserve is that the river level has really come up. I was quite frankly amazed when I got here this morning and looked up on the washland viewpoint. This is what it looked like:

I have never seen it this high…

One of the things that I learned very early in my wildlife watching “career” is that even if the weather is utterly foul, it is always making the effort and getting outside when the opportunity arises. You always end up seeing something interesting. (Whether that something is what you want to see though is another matter!)

The last couple of days here have been dull, damp and really rather chilly. However…