Hobbys and Harriers at Lakenheath Fen

2nd June 2023

It's that time of year for a visit to Lakenheath Fen for Hobbys, Marsh Harriers and possibly a Bitten or two. A bit quiet by the veranda feeders apart from a single Goldfinch and male Reed Bunting both patiently waiting to get some breakfast.

Along the trails was a selection og dragonflies and damselfies including in order of appearance male Azure Damselfly, male Banded Demoiselle, Four-spotted Chaser and female Scarce Chaser.

Most of the Hobbys had now dispersed to their breeding grounds but there were still about five local birds hunting over the fens.

The Marsh Harriers over Joist Fen were few and far between and all very distant, but at New Fen there were two pairs which due to the much smaller size of the fen did come a bit closer.

One of the males was an adult, shown here......................

.......................and the other was a younger bird shown here. Look at the difference in the amount of grey on the upperwing.

But the surprise today was the two adult Water Rails which were parading in front of the Mere Hide. There was also at least one chick present but that spent most of its time skulking in the reeds and only showed itself for a few seconds each time it broke cover.

We only saw a couple of Bittern flights so perhaps they are a bit later this year.