Trip reports

Lakenheath Fen, Weeting Heath and Wicken Fen - by Frank Clark

Sunday, 17 May 2009

The planned programme for this outing was for us to visit Lakenheath Fen and then move on to Weeting Heath before finishing the day of at Wicken Fen. However, following a phone call to the warden at Weeting Heath, the previous day, I had already decided not to visit this site. This decision was reached as although Stone Curlew were present (the target bird for Weeting Heath), they were nesting over the brow of the hill and were largely staying out of view. This programme alteration then meant that we could spend longer at Lakenheath before going to Wicken fen - well that was the plan anyway!!

Lakenheath Fen is a wonderful RSPB reserve in Suffolk, close to the Norfolk border. It is a relatively new site, which until 1995 was an arable farm with Poplar plantations around one end of the farm and. It was then bought by the RSPB, who through the tireless work of Norman Sills, the current warden, transformed the site to what it is today. To give you an idea of what has been achieved in less than 15 years, 2kms of ditches were remodelled to allow reeds to grow, over 4kms of channels were dug and over 300,000 reeds were planted - back breaking work indeed. Bittern are now spending the winter and summer at the reserve, Bearded Tit numbers have tripled and Common Crane have breed in Suffolk for the first time in 400 years.

We assembled in the very busy car park at 09.00 and then I took the group, totalling 16, into the new visitor centre to check in. We were given maps of the reserve and following a brief overview of what had been seen that day and where, we headed out following the rear path to the back of the Poplar plantations. The reed beds were full of calling Reed and Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting and Whitethroat, whilst large numbers of Swift whistled and swooped over our heads. As we passed the first plantation, we heard the first of our booming Bitterns and then heard the first call of a male Golden Oriole. We spent a good amount of time trying to track down this bird in the light drizzle but with no success. Moving on to the view point we got views of Kingfisher, Marsh Harrier, Cuckoo, Swallow and even more Swifts. A second Bittern could be heard booming and as the clouds built up more we picked out a few Hobby at the back of the reed beds.

Moving back towards the car park along the river bank, we could hear another Oriole but could not locate it. As the drizzle became more persistent we finally got back to the cars where it was decided that we would stop and have lunch before driving to Wicken fen - I think this was really so that Mr Pugh could dry out a rather suspicious patch down the front of his trousers!! As lunch drew to a close and the weather brightened, I was asked if we could stay at Lakenheath and go around the reserve again. Speaking to the rest of the group, the majority wanted to stay and go around the reserve again, so Wicken Fen was bumped and after lunch, we began a second circuit of the reserve.

The first thing we noticed was that all the warblers had gone very quite and seemed to have disappeared. The second thing was that the number of Hobby had increased and several dozen could be seen in the air over the reed beds. Our target bird was heard again but remained hidden despite us spending considerable time searching for it. Reaching the gap between the second and third Poplar plantations we tried yet again to track done a singing male Golden Oriole but still no success. At this point, a call from another birder who was slightly further down the path, advised us that he had spotted a female Golden Oriole sitting on a nest!! A quick scramble later and at least 6 scopes were trained on to the area that was described and gradually each one was fine tuned onto the nest. The nest appeared to be a delicate structure hanging below or between a pair of branches, with the female sitting deep within it - with her head popping out every so often. After a while she was spooked by a Kestrel and flew off. Ten minutes later, after some of the group had moved on, a male flew into the nest and then quickly moved off again. This is indeed a beautifully stunning bird. Slightly larger than a Starling, it is a bright yellow bird with jet black wings and a black and yellow tail.

After another visit to the far view point, where the Swift numbers were now reaching 400+ we preceded back to the car park, staying to the rear system of paths. As we reached the area where the Oriole nest was, the news of its discovery had got back to the visitor centre and they were in the process of closing off the path nearest the nest to avoid disturbance. A good move as only 2 or 3 pairs of Oriole nest here each year. We reached the cars just after 4.00pm and decided that it had been the right decision to stay at Lakenheath. Thanks to everyone for making the trip.

Frank Clark