A Walk Around the RSPB Lakenheath Fen Reserve


It was quite a clear morning when I set off for the RSPB Lakenheath Fen Reserve near Thetford Forest. I drove along the A1 and picked up a friend called Sandra at Wyboston Lakes and we set off along the A428 towards Cambridge. It was quite a clear day so we had a good view of all the countryside and wildlife too. 
We saw very various things on the way like Lapwings and the occasional Cormorant flying over the fields by our sides. We arrived about an hour later and parked our car. We then went into the Visitor Centre to have a drink because the other member of our group, Sharon had not arrived yet.
It is a nice little Visitor Centre with a great view over a small pond, it has decking so you can stand and watch the birds if you want to. It also had Bird tables with food hanging up but it was away from the Decking, so curious as I am, I asked the lady at the Desk how he changed the food on the tables, she replied "I have a long stick with a hook on the end and I grab them with that". It is an ingenious idea because it does stop rats and squirrels from getting the food off of them.
From the visitor centre you could see two Bird tables in the water about 6 feet away from the decking and they had all sorts of birds on them. Reed Buntings, Great Tits, Robins and even a few Long Tailed Tits. One in particular Long Tailed Tit did not have a long tail and I have no idea why.
About 20 minutes later Sharon arrived and we set off for a walk, the young lady showed us the best way to go on a Map and gave us one to take with us. There was quite a chilly wind so we all put hats and gloves on. It is a nice reserve, lots of reeds and a decent well signed posted walk. 
Unfortunately most of the water was frozen and it was quite amusing seeing Coots and Moorhens walking across the Ice. Some parts were Ok and you would occasionaly see a Coot dive under the water and resurface 10 feet away from where it went down.
There were lots of birds flitting around, we could also hear a woodpecker drilling away in the distance in some old dead wood. 
We then walked alongside a wooded area, lots of the trees had fallen over, we found out later it was because of the "BEAST OF THE EAST" storm the year before. A lot of the trees didn't have very deep rooting systems, so when the wind blew as strong as it did they were blown over. There were loads of them all uprooted in that area. Then I noticed a small animal in the wooden clearing, it was a Muntjac deer and it was feeding on some grass. It kept still for a little while and I took a picture of it and then another one came into view a little further along but it kept hiding behind the trees. 
After walking around the lakes, we decided to walk up the short bank to the river view pathway, almost as soon as we did, we spotted a Marsh Harrier above us, Sandra got a great picture of it, which I will upload on here when I can. They are about the same size as a Red Kite.
We then noticed a large number of birds which were Thrush size in the fields by the river, they were a huge flock of Fieldfares but you couldn't get a good picture of them because the grass they were landing in was too long. Then we saw a Goose in the grass, it was with a Brent Goose but we did not know what sort of Goose it was. We took a picture of it and we intended to show it to the lady on the Reception to see if she could identify it for us. 
It was a very pleasant walk and we saw various birds along the way including a delightful little Reed Bunting on the pathway in front of us. They are a bit like a sparrow but with a black head. 
We spoke to various people about the reserve and they said it was even better in the Spring/Summer when they had visitors like Cranes and Bitterns.
So we intend to go back later on in the year to see what we can see. 

The Long Tailed Tit without the Long Tail?
A Muntjac in the Wooded area.
The Unknown Goose
The Trees blown over the Beast from the East
The Beautiful Reed Beds at Lakenheath Fen
A Pair of Greylag Geese
A Young Swan along the River
A huge flock of Bewick Swans that had arrived from Norway
A close up of the Swans. You can see the Yellow/Black Beaks
A delightful Reed Bunting on the Pathway


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