9th May 2026
It's early May so time for a visit to Lakenheath Fen to hopefuly photograph the Hobbys and see a Bittern. Walking up the track to the New Fen view-point there were the first signs of summer with a fine specimen of Wintercress.........
...............and a large stand of Water Violet comprising no less that 70+ flower stems. I don't know about Suffolk, but in Hertfordshire this is a rare plant.
Not too many butterflies just yet but a few Peacocks..................
......................and a rather early Painted Lady.
But the biggest surprise today was this absolutely huge caterpillar that was crawling slowing across the gravel path. This is a Goat Moth caterpillar measuring no less than 10 cm long and 1 cm diameter.
It was very quiet at the New Fen view-point with not a single harrier or Hobby and sadly no Bittern flights, just a Little Grebe feeding her young.
Now on to the Mere Hide. No sign of any Kingfishers today, just a few warblers in the reeds like this Reed Warbler..................
...............and Sedge Warbler.
Then Nick pointed out a male Bearded Tit at the base of the reeds right in front of us just 4 yards away. Wow, that was lucky.
Arriving at the Joist Fen view-point I could hear a Cuckoo calling and was seen in flight a couple of times, but either distant or at short notice. However, on one occasion I was ready and grabbed a couple of shots.
At that point the assembled gathering could hear the calls of the Cranes. They seemed to be about 200 yards away and they were, but unfortunately not horizontally but vertically, and this is the best I could manage.
There were about 10 Hobbys present but all at the far end of Joist Fen so I set off along the river bank. On the way I passed a patch of Reedmace sporting last year's seed heads which were home to a female Stonechat..................
........................and a female Whinchat.
And sometimes you have to get lucky and have a Crane fly over the bank at eye-level just 100 yards away!!!
So how did I get on with the Hobbys? Well they were mainly hunting over Joist Fen which means you are looking into the sun, so it was matter of waiting until they crossed the footpath to the other side of the river and wait then until they got close enough. Here are some of the results.
And finally here is a sequence showing a Hobby eyeing up and catching a Hairy Dragonfly. The structure of the insect is clearly a dragonfly, as opposed to a damselfly, and the Hairy Dragonfly is the only dragonfly flying at this time of year. I saw many along the trails today.
But the real bonus today was the Bittern fishing around the margins of the pool in front of the Joint Fen view-point, sometimes down to 20 yards. Unfortunately it never came right out of the reeds, but you can't have everything.
Well, successful with my main targets, Hobby and Bittern, also also got lucky with Bearded Tit, Cuckoo and Crane. What a fantastic day!!!!
Also good to meet Nick and Saleh, with a special thanks to Nick for spotting the male Bearded Tit.
