RSPB Lakenheath Fen

23/10/2026

A smashing set of photos, thanks to Veronica in the Fens New for sharing them with us!

23/10/2026

Well, well... we have started today with a bang- our eagle-eyed volunteers spotted a beautiful Bittern flying across the Visitor Centre pond, where we rarely see one. Our volunteer Paul also counted 19 Whooper Swans on the Washland at 9am and yesterday we had 6 Pintail there too.

Here's our latest sightings ahead of the weekend. Tomorrow is forecast to be wet in the afternoon, but Sunday looks sunny and dry at the moment, if a little windy. At present, we have blue skies and sunshine so Storm Austin isn't with us yet!

18/10/2026

This coming week, our work party will be cutting reed and willow scrub in front of our viewpoint shelters on work party days- probably New Fen on Tuesday and Joist Fen on Thursday, though these locations could swap days so do check with us when you arrive.

There will be localised noise and some disturbance to wildlife around one of these areas each day, but other areas of the site should be largely unaffected. The work party operates between 9:30am and 3:30pm.

16/10/2026

In the past week or so we have recorded our first Hen Harrier (a male seen at dusk by two members of our team from Joist Fen Viewpoint on 9 October) and a Short-eared Owl spotted by Steve Plume flying high over the reedbed on 8 October.

We also recorded a new moth for the reserve in the trap this morning- a Palpita Vitrealis, or Olive-tree Pearl. This is a scarce migrant to the UK from the Mediterranean, and it was beautiful- pearly-white wings with a golden-bronze leading edge and head.

Our latest sightings round-up can also be seen in the second image below. Who knows what the weekend will bring?

11/10/2026

A wonderful photo- look at how the wings are backlit against the light. Short-eared owls have pretty long wings too!

Thanks to Steve Plume Photography for sharing his image with us.

My first Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) of the season on the 8th October flying high over the reed bed at RSPB Lakenheath Fen. With Gary
Let the season of the Owl begin............

11/10/2026

Today, a male Kingfisher put on a lovely performance on the Visitor Centre pond, hovering frequently and catching three fish in quick succession. This weekend has seen sightings of Bitterns and Bearded T**s too, particularly at Joist Fen Viewpoint and the reedbed east of there as you head towards West Wood on the track.

At the Visitor Centre, both Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers have been around, plus nearby on the Washland we've had Whooper Swans both days- 4 today (11 October), 9 yesterday and 50 on Friday.

Here are a couple of super photos taken recently by regular visitor and photographer David Gowing.

09/10/2026

The seasons keep on turning and although we haven't seen our lovely Osprey since 1 October, we have had the first Whooper Swans and Redwings here this week (8 October). We also caught this gorgeous Merveille du Jour in our moth trap this morning, a lichen-mimic species we don't see before mid-autumn. Their name translates from French roughly to 'Glory of the day'.

Tomorrow is our first Amazing Autumn guided walk and we still have some spaces left. If you'd like to join us, you can read more or book tickets here: https://events.rspb.org.uk/events/161997

Photo credit: Heidi Jones

04/10/2026

These incredible photographs have been sent in to us by Nick Levene. They show our recent visitor- a juvenile female Osprey- in incredible detail, as well as a juvenile Hobby and some super shots of Kingfishers from Mere Hide and a Great White Egret too.

We can tell the Osprey is a juvenile because of the white tips to the dark brown feathers on her back (see the second photo) and with such a strongly-marked brown 'necklace' of feathers across her chest, the bird is very likely to be female. Males tend to be much paler in this area, with little to no necklace.

As it stands, the Osprey has not been seen since Wednesday (30th) at around 4pm, when she was seen flying off with a fish, so she may well have begun the next leg of her first migration. We wish her well.

01/10/2026

Our Visitor Centre pond has had it's annual haircut, opening it up for birds like Kingfisher, Water Rail and Bittern to use for foraging this autumn and winter. However, we are not finished yet... watch this space for a special addition coming soon!