24.05.2025 - Outdoor Meeting : Lakenheath Fen & Maids Cross

Reporter: Ptolemy McKinnon

​The morning started at RSPB Lakenheath car park where we were treated to watching Great tits going in and out of a nest location in the solar panels in the car park. A brood of young Great tits could be heard, likely not far from fledging. It gave that feel of the busy time for a lot of birds, and that was to show during the outing.

The group walked towards New Fen, hearing and seeing Reed and Sedge
warblers on the way. Whitethroat was also briefly heard. At the New Fen
viewpoint, we could see a lot of signs of the breeding season including Coot chicks. There were also Tufted ducks and a single male Pochard looking very smart.
A walk from here along by the south side of New Fen led to seeing a Great
Crested grebe on a nest and Greylag geese with young.
With breeding season in full swing, it was a good time to see Bitterns as they become more active in May and June to feed chicks. There were several sightings across the outing. The first was a spot by Cath while walking along past New Fen. It gave fantastic in-flight views for most of the group. We then headed west through the reserve, hoping to have some time at Mere hide, but it was full, so it was onwards to Joist Fen. Several dragonflies started to be seen, including Black-tailed skimmer and Four-spotted chaser.
At Joist Fen, the group had the chance to spend some time in one spot, and it paid off. Firstly a few of the group had notice two photographers nearby facing away from Joist Fen. Alan noticed they were photographing a Bittern, with the group able to see a Bittern on the ground on this occasion from a sensible distance. Hobbies gave very good views, with upwards of a dozen individuals seen.
After a while at the viewpoint over Joist Fen, Cranes were heard. This then sparked a walk along the riverbank to see if we could see these birds. There was no joy in seeing Cranes, but there were very good views of Cuckoos, including a female bird being heard.
With the strong breeze, the group ventured no further west and turned eastwards towards Washland. A Red kite was seen over an area of woodland and a Great Spotted woodpecker was heard here too. On nearing Washland, another Bittern was seen in flight. Shoveler and Gadwall were also seen before we reached Washland. Here we saw Avocets, Redshanks, Lapwings and Stonechat. Seamus and Paul also saw Common sandpipers. As we walked around Washland to the viewpoint, we saw Little egret, the fourth heron species of the day, adding to sightings of Bittern, Grey heron and Great White egret. A Common tern was also seen flying along the river and over Washland. The RSPB reserve part of the outing finished with some refreshments at the visitor centre. 
After rain had been forecast in the early morning, the second part of the outing was moved to the afternoon, a trip to Maids Cross Hill Nature Reserve between Lakenheath village and RAF Lakenheath. Most of the group stayed on to visit the reserve and the first port of call was viewing the nearby fields to look for Stone curlew. None were seen, but Pied wagtail and Roe deer were recorded.
We then went into the reserve. A Glow worm larva was spotted on one of the paths while we made our way to look out to RAF Lakenheath. After a time scanning, Nightingale was heard singing.
None were seen by the group, but several were heard. We also heard Garden warbler and saw Yellowhammers and Greenfinches.
In total, 67 bird species were recorded across the two sites.