RSPB Lakenheath Fen

Our latest blog is here, and in it we talk about our much loved Hobbies, as well as other great wildlife you could see here this weekend: https://bit.ly/ReserveUpdate20Sep24

📸 Hobby by Robin Johnson

This gorgeous photo of a Common Lizard was taken by Carla Stark on 8 September outside Mere Hide. We love the detail on the scales and the light showing up all of the beautiful colours.

Common Lizards are also known as Viviparous Lizards as they possess 'vivipary' or 'live birth'. This is where female lizards do produce eggs but these hatch well before they are laid, within the female. So you can often see babies twitching inside the bellies of pregnant (gravid) females as they bask in the sun!

Our Race for Wildlife is fast approaching- have you booked your tickets yet?

You can find out more and book here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/56788

On Sunday 20 October we will be offering a 5k and 10k circuit through this beautiful nature reserve, covering a variety of terrain and hopefully offering runners the chance to see some beautiful wetland wildlife as they raise money for nature.

All profits from ticket sales go directly into funding conservation work here at RSPB Lakenheath Fen 🦉

If you can't join us on the day, we would really appreciate it if you could share the word about our unique event!

Please be aware that our Visitor Centre will close early on Wednesday 18 September at 2pm, for a staff meeting. We will keep the toilets open until 5pm and the trails will be accessible as usual.

We will reopen as normal on Thursday 19 September.

Please spread the word if you know of anyone planning to visit us on Wednesday. Thank you for your understanding :-)

We've got a few events coming up in the next few months:

📌Treasures of the Moth Trap - 27 September, 24 October, 29 November
📌 Amazing Autumn Guided Walks - 2 & 27 October
📌 Accessible Reserve Guided Tour - 17 October
📌 Race for Wildlife - 20 October
📌 Wild Wetland Winter Guided Walks - 17 November, 19 January
📌 Raptors in the Reedbed Winter Guided Walks - 12 January, 8 February
📌 Winter Walking Safari - 9 February

If you'd like to find out more about any of these events, or to book tickets, please visit events.rspb.org.uk/lakenheathfen :-)

📸 Bearded Tit by Tim James

Today (13 September) on the reserve we have been treated to superb views of a young Kingfisher hunting very successfully on the Visitor Centre pond. He caught many tiddlers, then a big young Rudd which he struggled to swallow but then seemed to satisfy him and he left! We also had an adult female who was more wary of us and didn't stay long.

This morning, volunteer Paul counted 19 Great White Egrets, 13 Little Egrets, 7 Cormorants, 4 Mute Swans, 2 Black-tailed Godwits and a Green Sandpiper on the Washland.

We've had beautiful weather and it looks set to stay with us for the weekend- hope to see you soon! ☀️

Today's wildlife highlights - Sunday 8 September:

🦆Black Tern- our volunteer Paul spotted a juvenile hunting for bugs over the Washland- it stayed for an hour or so until we had a heavy shower
🦆Black-tailed Godwit- Paul spotted two on the Washland, along with 17 Teal, 5 Shoveler, 9 Great White Egret and a Hobby.
🦆 A Kingfisher stayed a little while at the Visitor Centre pond at lunchtime, perched in the willow by the balcony
🦆 Several Comma and Red Admiral butterflies enjoying the buddleia by the Visitor Centre
🦆 Lots of Willow Emerald Damselflies and Migrant Hawkers flying about once the rain stopped at lunchtime!

We may be in astronomical Autumn but there is plenty of summer wildlife still here to be enjoyed, as well as sitting in the sun now it isn't too hot!

📸 Comma butterfly on H**p Agrimony by Gerry Studd

Our latest blog is here, with news of progress with our new dipping pond, and wildlife sightings from the reserve too!

https://bit.ly/ReserveUpdate5Sept24

📸 Photo credit: Heidi Jones

Here's an interesting start to the new month- a more unusual visitor to Mere Hide- a Great White Egret. Diane Ashton took these great photos of it splashing about on 1 September! 💦

Our most recent moth event produced these beauties in the trap. If you'd like to join us on the next Treasures of the Moth Trap, it's on 27 September and you can book your place here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/68617

Our next event is our last guided pond dipping session of the year- it will soon be time to put down our nets for the autumn and allow the aquatic creatures to hibernate undisturbed in the water.

But, it should still be warm enough on 7 September (next Saturday) to catch plenty, so why not join us? All ages are welcome and our lovely knowledgeable guide Roy will be on hand to help you dip and identify what you find: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/69226

📸 Water Scorpion by Amanda Keattch

Here's something a little different- these images are all from various trail cameras in the past week, which our Assistant Warden Haydn patiently sifts through on a Friday. Now the Common Cranes have left the reserve, we can position them where we want to try to catch other wildlife in action.

The muddy bank is over on Cowles' Drove, on part of our recently-purchased land, the wooded view is not far from the Photography Station and the grassy bank is not too far from Mere Hide. Enjoy!

Here's some beautiful photos from Tushar Bala from his visit here on 29 August. We reached a peak count of 32 Great White Egrets on the Washland on that day, our highest ever number. We think the little bit of Purple Loosestrife really sets off the white plumage well!

Here's a lovely local family-friendly event happening on Saturday- not far from us at Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Lackford Lakes. A lovely way to finish off the summer holidays!

Please spread the word if you can. 🐞

These lovely photos were sent to us by David Mc after his visit here on Sunday 25 August.

Today (29 August) there are countless dragonflies out and about and it is difficult to walk anywhere without seeing one- a lovely summer's day.

If you visit us soon you will find it difficult to miss the clearing that has appeared near the bug hotels, next to the Visitor Centre. This is going to be where we build our brand new raised pond for dipping. It's going to be pretty big and the rear built into the bank so it should attract lots of wildlife as a watering hole too. The red taped area will be the access route from the existing path.

This path will be firm and level, and the height of the pond edge at the optimum range for wheelchair users. We hope to make the pond as accessible as possible for all of our visitors to enjoy.

It's hard to imagine at this stage, but this coming week will see a hired mini-digger start excavations. Watch this space!

It's that time of year again- Red Underwing moths can be seen in small numbers by day on the wooden cladding on the Visitor Centre, on the balcony and also our workshop.

These large moths have a wingspan of up to 8cm and their caterpillars feed on willows, poplars and wild plum trees. Those camouflaged grey wings hide a scarlet-and-black hindwing.

Why not take a look on your next visit?

Photo by our warden Katherine Puttick

Things to look out for this weekend if you visit us:

🐞Lots of dragonflies about, including Brown Hawkers, Ruddy Darters and Migrant hawkers.
🐞Hobbies trying to catch them!
🐞Kingfishers from the Visitor Centre pond, Mere Hide and New Fen.
🐞 Unusual birds on passage migration, like the Osprey that passed overhead this morning (23 August)
🐞 Marbled Orb-weaver spiders- this comes in a yellow form (pictured) but also a scarcer spotted variant which is much more common than normal on the reserve. Look for large females suspended in their webs alongside the paths (pictured).

📸 Marbled Orb-weavers by Janet Dobson

Unfortunately we have received complaints about the behaviour of some visitors to Mere Hide recently, specifically regarding visitors that have spent many hours in the hide, then refusing to give up their seat, or even move along to make space for arriving visitors.

We have had a notice up at the entrance to Mere Hide for some time, asking visitors who have been in the hide for more than two hours to give up their seats IF the hide is full and there is no space for arriving visitors. If the hide is quiet, we are happy for visitors to stay as long as they wish to.

As a result of the renewed issues, we have decided as a team to impose opening hours at Mere Hide (9am to 5pm) if we receive any further valid complaints from visitors. We hope we don't have to take matters this far but the hide belongs to the reserve and it is our wish that it is shared for the benefit of all.

Thank you.

The plant that we owe everything to- the Common Reed- photographed in flower here by Jan Ames on 12 August. Jan also got a couple of lovely photos of a Reed warbler too, the bird that loves the reeds the most.

These summer visitors will be with us for a few more weeks before migrating back to Africa.

Our latest blog is here: https://bit.ly/ReserveUpdate16Aug24

Have a read to find out about our latest wildlife sightings and what you could see here this weekend. It's been a glorious sunny day here with a few Kingfisher sightings from Mere Hide, and 23 Great White Egrets on the Washland!

📸 Photo credit: Haydn Fox

Our Marsh Harrier surveys for 2024 have been completed and we are pleased to say we have had at least 17 fledglings from 9 nests. We had 13 nests in total, so as is normal for this species, some nests did not result in fledglings.

One pair in New Fen raised four young and a pair at Joist Fen fledged three!

📸 Marsh Harrier fledgling by Pauline Fowler

For our supporters to sign if they wish to- the RSPB is supporting this campaign, to ban pesticide use in urban spaces such as parks, playground and on roadside verges.

The aim is to help keep urban spaces as refuges for wildlife whilst the wider countryside is often heavily treated with pesticides.

Go Pesticide-Free - The Pesticide Collaboration SIGN OUR PETITION Tell the new government it’s time to Sign the petition calling for a national ban on the use of pesticides in urban areas We are calling on the UK Government to phase-out the use of pesticides in publicly-run areas. This,

A more unusual sighting this morning- and spotted just outside the Visitor Centre. A good one to add to the mammal list for 2024.

We will look after him in case his owner returns!

These are some of the moths we caught in our light trap last Thursday night on the reserve. Despite the windy night before, we had a good variety!

Our next public moth event is on Friday 30 August, and you can book tickets here if you'd like to join us: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/68616

The beautiful and very elegant Willow Emerald Damselfly is now easy to see on calm days on the reserve.

First recorded in the UK in 2007 at Suffolk Wildlife Trust's Levington Lagoons site, it is now widespread in the southern half of England. We should be able to enjoy seeing it well into the Autumn!

This one was photographed near the Photography Station on Friday by Heidi Jones.

Please note- we will be locking our roadside gate tonight (3-4 August) between 10pm and 6am, as it is our Big Wild Sleepout. Thank you 🦆

The world's largest intact blanket bog, the Flow Country in the far north of Scotland (Caithness and Sutherland region) has recently triumphed in achieving the status of World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It's the first peatland site to be designated and has done especially well to secure designation just for it's habitat alone.

This means extra protection for it in the future, as well as extra funding to help protect it. Just over 11% of the area is looked after by the RSPB at their Forsinard Flows reserve.

You can read more about the achievement here:

Scotland's Flow Country wins Unesco world heritage listing After an almost 40-year campaign, a little-known UK landscape has been awarded world heritage status.