Lakenheath Fen
Lakenheath Fen, on the Norfolk/Suffolk border, is one of the largest reedbed creation projects in the UK. In 1995, the RSPB bought 300 hectares (ha, 740 acres) of arable land to transform into reedbed and grazing marsh. When it is complete, the area of reedbed will be large enough to provide nesting areas for up to five booming male bitterns.
This will help to increase the numbers of bitterns in the UK, and allow the present population to spread inland from other nature reserves such as Minsmere and North Warren in Suffolk.
The EU LIFE bittern project has seen the following work:
- Around one mile (2 km) of ditches were re-shaped, creating wide channels with shallow sloping sides. This ditch shape helps to promote reed growth and provides feeding areas for bitterns.
- Five sluices have been installed.
- A two-and-a-half mile (4 km) water-supply channel is being maintained which will re-circulate water around the reserve.
Lakenheath Fen has already become a haven for wildlife, and the number of birds seen at the reserve has significantly increased. The number of reed warblers has risen from four pairs in 1995 to 355 pairs in 2002. Reed buntings have increased from six to 87 pairs during the same period. Two pairs of marsh harriers nested for the first time in newly-created reed in 2002. Great crested and little grebes are breeding on the meres, and water rails have nested in the new reeds. Bearded tits are staying on the reserve throughout the winter, but most exciting of all is that a bittern spent the winter of 2002/3 on the reserve.
