RSPB Lakenheath Fen

11/09/2026

We've had some great sightings on the reserve this week, including a passage Pied Flycatcher in the meadow east of East Wood on 5 September, and a couple of Ospreys were here yesterday (10 September). A Bittern was seen by our volunteer Paul on the edge of the river by the Washland first thing today (11 September).

Kingfishers have been seen over the last two days from Mere Hide, along the river and most recently from the Visitor Centre pool at about 3pm today.

Hobbies, Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Buzzards have featured this week too, and our warden Henry had the first Merlin of the autumn from Joist Fen Viewpoint on the evening of 9 September.

Who knows what the weekend will bring next!?

Photo credit: A juvenile Hobby photographed by Jack Walton a few days ago

06/09/2026

This weekend's warm weather brought out the dragonflies and hobbies for visitors to enjoy. We also had a Kingfisher at Mere Hide putting on a good show, and the juvenile Marsh Harrier was flying around the Washland again.

This time next week, we'll be getting ready for our Dusk Safari at 5:30pm, where we'll be taking our bat detectors out to see what we can pick up, as well as looking for birds, mammals and insects that come out as it is getting dark. It's bound to be a lovely way to spend your evening!

If you'd like to join us, you can find out more or book tickets here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/170002

Photo credit: Dave Rogers

04/09/2026

Despite a wet and windy morning, conditions for moth trapping were good last night and we caught 40 species. These three were particularly eye-catching!

Today (4 September) has been a bit of a raptor day with good views of Hobby, Kestrel, Marsh Harrier and Buzzard, plus Kingfisher and Bearded T**s (three) from Mere Hide. A single Bittern was seen along the river by the Washland, and there was a single Snipe and 70+ Lapwing on the Washland itself.

04/09/2026

Please be aware that due to a lack of bookings we have cancelled tomorrow's Guided Pond Dipping session (for Saturday 5 September). Our volunteer travels quite a distance to get here to help out, so if we don't have any advance bookings we save him the journey.

Our next session will be in April 2027 - keep an eye on our reserve's events page for the date:

Events hosted by RSPB Lakenheath Fen reserve

30/08/2026

Today (30 August) we have had no further reports of Friday's Osprey, but we did have a report of a Honey Buzzard flying eastwards over the car park at 2pm.

Visitors also enjoyed watching two Kingfishers from Joist Fen Viewpoint, whilst two Common Tern were on the Washland with lots of ducks drawn in by the water that has appeared following a week of showers on the reserve.

A Green Sandpiper and two Snipe were seen at New Fen, along with five Great White Egrets first thing.

A new high of three Hummingbird hawk-moths graced the buddleias at the Visitor Centre today too.

Who knows what tomorrow might bring?

28/08/2026

One of our volunteers saw an Osprey briefly this morning (28 August) flying over Gary's Pool, and yesterday another volunteer spotted our Spoonbill with a friend- it looks like we now have two! They were flying over Mere Hide. He or she will no doubt be happier now as they are very sociable birds.

250 Lapwing were also a highlight this morning for Paul on the Washland, and our warden Haydn had two Ruff and a Snipe up there.

We are now in peak time for passage Ospreys so do keep an eye out if you visit us this weekend.

23/08/2026

The Washland has a modest amount of water on it following input from the river and rainfall this week, and as a result it has pulled in quite a variety of birds...

Three species of tern in 24 hours- Little and Common yesterday, with a single Arctic briefly this morning (23 August). A couple of Ruff and 40+ Lapwing this morning, plus Green Sandpiper, Turnstone and Snipe yesterday.

Two Kingfishers were seen spending time perched up for a while at New Fen this morning, and four Hobbies were seen yesterday too- we expect to record them well into September and perhaps October, depending on the weather!

19/08/2026

Our volunteer Paul had an interesting addition to his usual Washland watch first thing this morning (19 August) with 20 Dunlin and 3 Greenshank popping in. They joined a single Green Sandpiper and a Little Egret, and there were two Common Terns flying around too. They seem to like fishing along the river and yesterday a fledgling was with an adult tern so they have bred successfully nearby.

Our Site Manager Dave also spied a Hobby over Gary's Pool mid-morning too.

📸 Common Tern by Cathy Ryden (3 May 2026)

14/08/2026

We are pleased to announce that this year we have had two Crane chicks reach fledging age. Quite a feat for a bird that takes 10+ weeks to become capable of flight, after spending a month as an egg laid on the ground!

Pair A have failed to raise any chicks, but Pair B and C have a chick each to their name. So in the coming weeks, do keep an eye out for families of three flying around the reserve. Now they have fledged, territory boundaries are much more relaxed, so you may well see larger groups in flight too if they merge together.

We now have a window of a few weeks before the families leave for their autumn and winter roosting grounds near the Ouse Washes, where they will remain on or near the reserve as the chicks build up their strength for longer journeys- so now is a good time to keep an eye out.

13/08/2026

The dry spell we are going through has caused the Washland to dry up, as it is very shallow and warms up quickly. However, Gary's Pool has become a bit of a magnet for wildlife instead, as it is lower-lying and directly connected to the river.

In recent days, Spoonbill, Green Sandpiper, Ruff and Black-tailed Godwit have all been present there, joining the regular cast of Little Egret, Great White Egret, Kingfisher and Grey Heron. Be sure to check it on your next visit to the reserve!