We are all a bit confused and bemused as to why one of these was wandering around Lakenheath Cricket pitch this morning:

Photo credit Amberlee Foote

It’s a white stork and a rare bird in Britain indeed. The bird seemed to have several rings on it so it could either have escaped from a collection or be a colour ringed bird from the continent. It was later seen flying over the reserve so unless it turns up again, I guess we will never know.

 Whatever next?!

It finally seems to be warming up, hooray! In hopeful anticipation of the day warming up, here are some great golden oriole pictures taken by Paul Foster recently:

At least one male can still be hard and seen roaming around the poplar woods. A male ring ouzel was on the riverbank on Monday morning before flying into East Wood. Several hobbys were out and about and six “commic” (either common or Arctic) terns flew over the washland.

There were two singing garden warblers in West Wood and a male golden oriole nearby. This morning Katherine was lucky enough to see a tawny owl in East Wood, the first poplar wood.

Our blue tit nestcam has proved very popular over the last week or so as the eggs hatched on around Monday May 14. Mum and Dad are now very busy bringing food in and out for at least six hungry mouths. Hopefully we will have some more footage for your entertainment soon! Hopefully the weather will stay warm and we hope to see you soon.

I really needed an early night last night, as I was due to lead a guided walk here at 4am this morning. Why oh why did the Champions League final have to go to penalties?! However, despite, watching the game until the end, I practically leapt out of bed at 3am this morning.

 The walk was well worth getting up for and the first treat of a day was a nightingale singing between the car park and the road in the darkness. Soon after we left the visitor centre, two grasshopper warblers were reeling their hearts out near East Wood, and a Cetti’s warbler was shouting from nearby.

Photo credit David Carr

A couple of roe deer were barking in the wood and several blackcaps were in full song.  At least one bittern was booming in New Fen North and a juvenile male marsh harrier was floating nonchalantly over the reedbed. Also of interest was a treecreeper calling just behind New Fen viewpoint.

 We heard a golden oriole singing in West Wood and some cranes also bugled nearby. Said oriole then flew into Trial Wood and back to West Wood without us seeing it. Crafty so and so! We eventually caught up with it in West Wood before it flew back to Trial Wood once again.

 Too soon it was time to head back to the visitor centre but it was well worth getting up for. There are still places on both golden oriole quests next Sunday (May 27). Details on how to book can be found here and here. We hope to see you soon.

Bird of prey identification difficult can be very difficult. After much deliberation and head scratching whilst looking at photos, the possible black kite from Sunday seems to be in fact a marsh harrier. The bird had some tail feathers missing and looked very dark which didn’t help with identification.

 Also from Sunday, here are some photos of a golden oriole playing hide and seek, taken by John Walsh:

At least one male has been visiting all three woods recently and showing itself occasionally.

 Wednesday was an extremely busy day with both birds and people. A hobby was busy mobbing a barn owl near Joist Fen viewpoint and a nightingale was singing at the west end of the reserve.

 This morning, a skylark was singing over the visitor centre and an oystercatcher was in Brandon Fen. Two black terns passed through the washland and a treecreeper was singing in East Wood.

There were several dragons and damsels on the wing including large red damselfly and hairy dragonfly. There were plenty of hobbys hunting near Joist Fen viewpoint and the highest count was around 20 birds hunting together.

 Also of interest was a turtle dove that flew in to West Wood and there were plenty of swifts pelting around the sky. There were at least three garganey on the washland and two common terns nearby. We hope to see you soon.

Lakenheath Fen certainly has a fantastic reputation for birds of prey. On Sunday, there were at least 36 hobbys feeding over the reserve. There may have been as many as 50 birds swooping through the sky feeding on insects. How amazing is that!

To add to the excitement, a possible black kite flew over the reserve and a honey buzzard flew south over Brandon Fen mid-afternoon. Add this to the “usual” compliment of around 15 marsh harriers and this was one great place to do some talon spotting (Sorry couldn’t resist!)

Things reached fever pitch yesterday when an osprey flew over Joist Fen viewpoint. Whatever next?! Unfortunately, the bird wasn’t photographed but here is a photo of one taken at Rutland Water last year by Mark Graham:

At least one male golden oriole continues to both wow and frustrate visitors in the poplar woods. A fair number of visitors have been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of these buttercup yellow beauties over the last couple of days.

 As I hope this post has shown, it is a great time to come and visit the reserve. We are open at all times and the visitor centre is open daily 9am-5pm. We hope to see you soon!