February is usually the month of love, but this year it was the month of storms. Valentine's Day was soon followed by three storms in one week. The worst of these being Storm Eunice which absolutely battered the country. At Strumpshaw, the reserve was closed for the day as several trees were toppled over, including the tree by Reception Hide, which fortunately fell away from the building. All hides and facilities from…

January Highlights 2022

 A new year, a new face. Hi, I'm Sean and I will be taking over from where our warden Ben has left off, bringing you a monthly blog of recent sightings and highlights from Strumpshaw Fen, Buckenham and Cantley Marshes. With over 10 years experience of spotting and identifying wildlife to visitors at Strumpshaw Fen Reception Hide and writing a regular blog of my own (called The Autistic Naturalist…

We are currently recruiting for a Visitor Engagement Volunteer (residential) to help us deliver the first class visitor experience that RSPB nature reserves are famous for this spring and summer. In this role, you will be instrumental in liaising with our visitors, developing and delivering a varied events programme and assisting with marketing and communications.

If you want to spend your day with people who are passionate…

For the RSPB team at Strumpshaw Fen, flooding is a regular part of our lives but the last few days we have faced some extremely challenging flood events.

Last Saturday night and Sunday morning a tidal surge, driven by Storm Malik, pushed seawater up the River Yare, reaching a level of 1.40 m in the Environment Agency level gauge at Brundall. This is the highest level ever recorded, beating the previous record from Nov…

You don’t need a garden to get involved with the Big Garden Birdwatch…

… come and visit us at Strumpshaw Fen or explore your local green patch instead! Our bird feeders are busier than ever, and we have friendly volunteers on hand to help with all your bird identification queries. So, if you have never taken part in the Birdwatch before, your local RSPB reserve really is the perfect place to join in.…

2021 review

Can you believe its time for another review of the year! This year has been slightly more normal than last, the reserve has remained open throughout the year, the hides reopened and we have had a full team of staff on or involved with the reserve as usual. We also were able to carry out our biological surveys and habitat management to ensure the reserve is being monitored and managed in the best way possible…

Hello  

This will be my last blog from Strumpshaw Fen as I am moving on in the new year, up to RSPB Insh Marshes in Scotland, for another residential placement. I know I will miss this place immensely, having loved all my time here. I feel very lucky to have begun my career change here. It is a beautiful place to live, work and be, at all times of the year, with a lovely group of people to work with. I am very grateful to all the staff…

Christmas decorations are starting to twinkle in shop windows and I’m writing this having just cleared dozens of retailers’ offers from my inbox. This time of the year can be an exhausting mix of stress and excitement, but we have the perfect antidote for you here at Strumpshaw. You can take a stroll to unwind and ground yourself in the sounds of hundreds of waders and wildfowl at Buckenham. Or spend quality time with…

 
 
Credit Aardman/Netflix.  

We’re delighted to be partnering with Netflix and Aardman on Robin Robin, a half-hour, stop-motion, festive story for the whole family, about a young robin trying to fit in. It’s debuting on Netflix on 24 November – get the date in your diary! 

To celebrate, we’re inviting you to join exclusive Robin Robin-themed adventure trails right here at Strumpshaw Fen this Christmas season. 

Over…

Since the last time I put pen to paper, redwings and fieldfares have arrived along with flocks of pink footed geese and as the nights draw in the numbers of harriers coming in to roost are growing by the day. With the appearance of autumn colours and the first frosts, the weather has also got a lot colder and I am needing a lot more layers of clothing when out working in the fen!

At the beginning of October, Aiden and…

Slowly the summer migrants are leaving us and the autumn migration is now in full flow. We still have some summer migrants moving out while the winter thrushes and finches arrive as the temperatures drop in Scandinavia.

I write about the visible migration of diurnal migrants each year and this year in particular the migrants have been less obvious, however last Wednesday saw a great 2 hour count from one of our regular…

Hello again! It’s been a while and a lot has been happening. My first housemate, Sam, has left to return to university, having enjoyed his time here greatly. I have been joined by a new housemate, Aiden, who has been working on the little tern project for the last few months. I am also now staying on until Christmas. I am very keen to see what the reserve is like during autumn and winter, to see the harrier and corvid roosts…

If you stroll down Sandy Wall path on a sunny day, you might be greeted by our resident common lizards! They are often seen in the summer months soaking up the rays on the wooden path edging; as ectotherms (or ‘cold-blooded’ creatures), they rely on the sun’s warmth to increase their body temperature.

Photo by Matthew Wilkinson of a common lizard basking on a sunny boardwalk at Strumpshaw Fen.

Common…

Hello again!  

The month began with a trip to some of the other reserves that we look after in the Mid Yare reserve. Sam and I were to help one of the wardens “check the cows” in the Surlingham marshes on the other side of the River Yare. I had previously heard talk of this and tried to imagine what checks we might have to do. Did we have to examine them closely for disease or check their hooves?  We arrived at Church Marsh…

Our Dinosaur Discovery family trail is in full swing here at Strumpshaw Fen. Are you brave enough to venture into the wilds… and maybe come face-to-face with a present-day dinosaur?

All the skills your promising palaeontologists need to tackle the trail can be gleaned at Basecamp: you’ll learn how fossils form and how they can be studied to reveal their secrets. Be sure to record your new knowledge on your trail…

The seasons are slowly shifting once again, and we have departed from the bustling reedbeds full of bird song and feeding flights and find ourselves in amongst a world of young birds quietly moving like shadows in the fen.

That said, there is still plenty of life in the fen to enjoy! I hope to do a full breeding summary in the next update once all the sightings are in and all the maps are analysed.

 The clear highlight…

As Adrian mentioned in his latest blog, the summer activities at Strumpshaw have begun! After the lockdowns, it’s more important than ever for us to reconnect young people with the great outdoors; kindling their love of nature will inspire the conservationists and responsible citizens of the future! This is the aim of the RSPB’s nationwide campaign: Big Wild Summer.

What’s On?

Our team has dreamt up…

Hello again! The Cottage now has two people living in it, as a new resident volunteer has joined me for the next 3 months. His name is Sam and lucky for me he likes to watch the football.  Whilst I enjoyed being the only resident, I am also enjoying having someone else in the house.  He is here for 3 months in between his 2^nd and 3^rd year of his degree in Geography. Say hi if you see him around. He is quite the expert at…

Not being able to visit our beloved Strumpshaw Fen for much of the last year has highlighted the importance of biodiverse and beautiful places to our health and wellbeing.

But we know that the natural places we love are under threat from habitat loss, pollution and climate change with the associated issues of sea-level rise and extreme weather events. With only five per cent of the UK classed as being well looked after…

Now that the sunshine has arrived and the grassland habitats at Strumpshaw Fen are buzzing with life, the meadow trail is open for visitors to enjoy. Come and discover the majestic hunters that patrol the ditches and dykes – our Norfolk hawker dragonflies!

The Norfolk Hawker

Photograph of a Norfolk hawker dragonfly in the fen by Matthew Wilkinson

Although more widespread in continental Europe (where it is known…

 Hello again from the resident volunteer in the cottage. A month has gone by and boy, what a month for me!  It is my birthday month and it has felt like its been my birthday every day.    

It’s amazing to see how much invisible time and care goes into making the reserve a nice place to be. A lot of the views would not be views without the volunteers occasionally strimming back encroaching vegetation. You may not notice a bramble…

For the past month we have seen the cold cloudy weather take a grip on things, however for the bank holiday weekend we have some much needed warmth. High pressure is predicted to remain for the first half of June too, so we should see a lot more insect life appearing in the coming weeks.

Our first swallowtail was seen on Friday 28th, which is 11 days later than average emergence, so they have wisely waited for the warmer…

As swallowtail season approaches here at Strumpshaw Fen, our volunteer Jenna explains why these magnificent butterflies are so special, how we create the perfect home for them at Strumpshaw and how you can take action for nature and help your local butterflies.

Swallowtail butterfly perched on a pink orchid flower in grassland. The butterfly is striped with black and yellow, with a line of blue spots ending in one red…

Since the last update we have had quite a mixture of weather, with bright warm sunshine alongside showers and heavy rain, you could say its been more typical spring weather than recent years. As I write this the rain is pouring down outside, but I am filled with hope as I know the wind has finally turned to the south and the forecast is set to be pleasant next week.

 Despite the changeable weather and Northerly winds…

Hello. You may have seen a new face out and about on the reserve or welcoming you at Reception. I am the new residential volunteer, Adrian. I will be living on the reserve until October, and while I am here, I intend to regularly update you on my life at the reserve. 

I recently left my career in data management for visual effects, for my real passion, nature. While working in the UK and New Zealand, I volunteered for several wildlife…