There have been two second brood swallowtails feeding on the buddleia next to reception this morning. Lots of people have been asking to be informed when they emerge, so... They have emerged! Today looks like a good day to come and see them as it is warm and sunny, something we have not had for a little while now. I find the second generation is good for those who didn't manage to catch up with them earlier in the year…

Guest Blog

 Hello there. I’m Nicola and I’m more usually found volunteering and blogging for RSPB Old Moor in Barnsley, South Yorks. It’s a great little reserve should you ever find yourself in South Yorks!

I’ve just had a few days away staying in Limpenhoe and RSPB Strumpshaw Fen was very close. It’s somewhere I’ve always wanted to visit, especially for the swallowtails and over the course of the week…

A rather cool first week of August, however there were warm periods, in which plenty of dragonflies and butterflies were seen.

Birdwise, there are still plenty of young marsh harriers receiving food from their patient parents, bitterns have been seen from Fen and Tower Hide as have kingfishers. The passerines have seemingly found their summer hiding places, they are still there, but are quiet and quite indiscreet, until…

This week has continued to see the insects dominate the sightings board at Reception Hide. There are some very late swallowtail butterflies still on the wing, joined by white admirals and silver washed fritillaries. Another insect that seems to be going up in numbers is the willow emerald damselfly, this relative newcomer to the UK has found Strumpshaw Fen to its liking and can now be found across the whole site. Look…

A largely fine week with some very impressive thunderstorms and associated monsoon rain on Thursday afternoon.

The highlights of the week go to a trio of butterflies; firstly there appear to be one or two freshly emerged swallowtails on the wing, not a second generation, but a protracted first brood it would seem. Secondly, the fantastic silver washed fritillaries appear to be doing very well, with at least three individuals…

This week started off very much cooler than last week, with much needed rainy periods too. As the week progressed temperatures rose closer to average.

Swallowtails were still being seen on Friday in the milder periods, although we are now well past the peak. Our winter woodland management has paid off, by clearing areas of trees and creating sunny glades, bramble has developed and has attracted good numbers of white…

A fine warm week, which has been great for the insects, insect watchers and also great for the birds feeding on insects!

Bird highlights this week have included marsh harrier’s busy feeding young, with lots of food passes being seen regularly. Kingfishers have been showing well, if briefly from reception, Fen Hide and Tower Hide, two bitterns are still booming occasionally too.  At least two hobbys have been seen…

A stark contrast to last weeks warmth and sunshine, this week has seen overcast skies, strong winds and showers, an interesting start to flaming June!

This week’s highlight bird has to be the osprey that was seen on Wednesday and Thursday, closely followed by regular sightings of four red kites. Other birds seen this week include regular marsh harrier food passes, we have at least eight active nests at the fen…

A week of warmth, sun and plenty of wildlife.

Swallowtails have been showing particularly well this week with a noticeable emergence, the key areas to see them are currently are the nectar garden by reception and halfway along Lackford Run. The latter location appears to be the top spot this year with as many as six being seen all at the same location. This is possibly a mating location, where increased pheromones have…

Yesterday was a good day for seeing freshly emerged swallowtails.

They were seen throughout the day at the reception hide nectar garden as well as along the Lackford Run and near Fen Hide.

This looks like a good week to catch up with them, a forecast with sunshine and warm temperatures is perfect for seeing them.

Photo by Matthew Wilkinson 

A largely pleasant week with warm weather to begin and much needed rain by the end of the week.

The headline sighting this week was a swallowtail butterfly on Thursday afternoon near Fen Hide. This marks the beginning of our swallowtail season once again! However looking out of the window today and looking at the short range forecast it does not look overly likely that we will see a large emergence in the next few days…

The keen northerly winds seem to be relentless at the moment, although from Wednesday 10^th there appears to be a predicted shift to the south and east, which should bring some welcome warmth.

The star bird of the week (possibly the year!) has to be the fine white tailed eagle that was present last Wednesday and Thursday at Buckenham and Cantley. The huge bird, often described as a flying barn door stands nearly a metre…

Stop press! A white tailed eagle has been seen at Buckenham Marshes. Late afternoon on Wednesday a call came through alerting me of the birds presence, it was perched on a gate post until 19.30 when it roosted in the trees behind the marshes. This morning (Thursday) the bird was seen again until 08.30 when it flew towards Cantley. In my last blog I did say it was an interesting time of the year for birds, but was not…

Since the last update the temperatures have risen...and then sharply fallen again, but conditions this bank holiday weekend looks set to improve once again.

The highlight recent sightings have been an osprey, seen Friday to Sunday fishing at the fen and a spoonbill feeding at Cantley marshes. Ospreys often pass through at this time of the year, but rarely stay for long as they are keen to head north to breed, whilst…

Spring has certainly sprung as far as the wildlife is concerned. The past two weeks has had plenty of sunshine, warmth and has been very settled.

The migrants have been flooding North over the past few weeks, it started with a pair of garganey on 16 March, which are still present at Buckenham today. A flyover whimbrel on 25 March was possibly the first for Norfolk this year, at least two weeks earlier than expected…

Well it feels like spring really arrived this week with at least three days of sun giving the first proper warmth. As expected insects and reptiles emerged and enjoyed the warmth, as did quite a few visitors.

The highlights of this week have included a great white egret at Buckenham and Cantley, a drake garganey at Fen Hide as well as the jack snipe continuing its stay in front of Reception Hide. The upper photo…

Since the last update we have had quite a mixture of weather conditions including temperatures of up to 17 degrees and full sunshine, through to storm Doris which provided 70+mph gusts of wind. So it is inevitable that the wildlife has responded to the warmer weather with butterflies such as brimstones being seen as well as lizards, bees and other early emerging insects.

The avian highlights of the past week have included…

A pleasant week with temperatures slowly climbing and the sunshine certainly feels like it has more warmth in it now.

The above as well as daylight hours lengthening has meant that the bird song has really increased. It seems that almost all resident birds have one thing on their mind. The wildfowl have now paired up, song birds are singing and woodpeckers are drumming, at the other end of the scale, wigeon and pink…

A very mixed week of weather, starting with mild murky and damp conditions, but by Friday it was pleasant mild and sunny, although we are awaiting some strong winds later today.

The highlight bird of the week has been the hen harrier, a female has been fairly consistently being seen between 15.30 and 16.30 most afternoons throughout the past two weeks. The best location to view is either Fen Hide, Reception Hide (although…

It has been a week with very cold temperatures throughout, both night and day. The waterways across the fen have remained about 95% frozen solid so the wildfowl have been packed into the remaining 5% of unfrozen water, this has been in front of Reception Hide.

The highlight of the week was when five tundra bean geese landed on the ice in front of the reception, this could be the first confirmed record for Strumpshaw…

A beautiful week of mostly cold crisp blue sky with little wind, perfect for working (for me) or getting out and enjoying a winter walk.

The flooding has now passed and the tidal range is much more reasonable, therefore the paths have been opened and the water level in the fen has returned to a more normal level, however the riverbank was under water for a long period so wellingtons are recommended to combat some of…

Just as last week, we are flooding at the fen. The current flooding is a perfect storm of high tides, full moon, low pressure, strong northerly winds and a 35 foot swell in the North Sea causing a tidal surge. I have just been and closed the trail from the river end of Sandy Wall all the way past Tower Hide, the Lackford Run up to the railway crossing at Tinkers lane. The woodland loop and Fen Hide remain open, however…

Since the last update, the weather has been a mixture of mild wet and cloudy throughout the Christmas period followed by a week of pleasant cold clear conditions.

The main story from the fen is one of flooding unfortunately. We had quite a major flood on 27 December, with further floods on 3 and 5 January. The more recent floods have contained very saline water, which we will need to flush out over the next month. The…

A rather overcast week with mild temperatures, however Thursday was a beautiful calm day with blue sky throughout as well as light winds.

This weeks star bird has been the showy Jack snipe from reception hide. This snipe is still continuing to play peek-a-boo with many visitors, it is usually in front of the hide, but at times it hides in the uncut reed.

Kingfishers continue to be seen from various points…

A cold clear start to the week replaced by damp cloudy but very warm air saw a very different feel to the end of the week.

Highlight bird of the week has to go to the great-white egret that was seen on Sunday afternoon and again on Thursday morning, only seen in flight though. There are currently at least two birds in the valley towards Norwich, the bird seen here could well be one of those two having a wander, or…