Lakenheath Fen
We set off earlyish Thursday morning for a leisurely drive
up the M3 and the M25. To break up the journey we dropped in to RSPB Lakenheath Fen
for a 'sandwich with a view' and get a flavour of things to come in Norfolk.
Checking the sightings board in the visitor centre it was
clear it was a special place with an incredible abundance of birds. Stepping
out of the centre door we were greeted with a selection of feeders with a
collection of Chaffinches, Tits and some very smart looking Reed buntings. We
wandered through the reserve, up past a large pool on the side of the Little
Ouse River. On it were the usual waterfowl along with two Whooper swans. We
carried on walking, into a stiff wind, all the way to the far end of the reserve. Here we sat
for while transfixed by at least six Marsh harrier hunting over the reed bed. As
we watched these large graceful birds swoop in slow motion, skimming the tops
of the reeds we noticed 2 very large white birds fly in, landing on a ditch
bank. Amazing! Less than two hours into getting our Norfolk (although technically we were
still in Suffolk) trip under way we had seen two birds I thought we had little
chance of seeing – two Common Cranes. They preened for a little while and then
wandered about feeding giving great, if not a little distant, views through
the scope.
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| Common Cranes - Lakenheath Fen iPhone digiscoping |
Elated with what we had just seen we headed back in the
direction of our starting point. Walking back along a well-trodden track way
Megan spotted a small bouncy, strangely very white, mammal. At first glance we
thought it was an almost albino Weasel, due to its very small size, but after a
better look and seeing the black tip of its tail we decided it was a small
lightly coloured Stoat!
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| Light coloured Stoat - Lakenheath Fen Canon 5dmk2, 400mm, f/5.6, 1/400sec iso400 |
