An afternoon at Wicken Fen

I found myself with an unexpected free afternoon one day last week, and as the sun was shining I decided to head out to a favourite place of mine - Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, one of Britain's oldest nature reserves. The first of the land was purchased in 1899 by the National Trust, who still manage the reserve today. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a designated Ramsar Wetland.

It's a stunning place at any time of the year, and there's always something to see and plenty of footpaths to explore. I walked along Wicken Lode and found a place to sit and sketch. I saw a kingfisher, a little grebe, a buzzard and a kestrel and, a little surprisingly as we are at the end of November, a Red Admiral butterfly.

 
I walked and walked and ended up at Baker's Fen, where there is a nice new hide. I sat and watched lapwings, snipe and teal, and did a little bit more sketching. There was a peregrine falcon somewhere in the vicinity, and every so often the whole flock of waders would take panicky flight.

The sky was a glorious blue and the fen was in autumnal mode, which made for a very photogenic combination!

I also found some of the Konik ponies that are used to keep scrub regrowth under control.

Over the winter months the fen is a noted raptor roost - I saw my first hen harrier here last winter. The adjacent Burwell Fen is also a great place to see Short-eared Owls, another winter visitor. I'm planning another visit soon to try to get some owl sketching and photography done!