Cambridgeshire - Wicken Fen
Wicken Fen is home to an incredible range of wildlife. The rich, peat soil of the sedge fen and the centuries of management enable hundreds of plant species to thrive. The soil, water and plants create habitats for thousands of animal species. In total over 7800 species of plants, fungi and animals have been recorded making Wicken Fen one of the most species rich nature reserves in Britain.
The birds, dragonflies, butterflies and wild flowers are the most easily seen wildlife when you walk around the Fen. From the Tower Hide there are great views over the Mere (a shallow lake) and of its birds such as herons, cormorants, many ducks and geese, and often a marsh harrier. The bright yellow brimstone butterfly flies at Wicken from March onwards along with 27 other butterfly species. Britain's largest dragonfly, the emperor, is common, as are 18 other species.
The clear water in the ditches, ponds and river (locally called a 'Lode') attract a lot of the wildlife. You can see roach, rudd and perch in Wicken Lode, whirligig beetles and pond skaters whizzing around on the water surface and dragonflies will 'hawk' up and down hunting insects and looking for mates. You might even see a grass snake swimming along a ditch looking for frogs - its favourite food
WHERE IS WICKEN FEN?
The address is: Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP. Pop the postcode into www.multimap.com to bring up a map of how to get there.
WILDLIFE AT WICKEN FEN
MAMMALS:
Brown long-eared bat - Occasionally caught in mist nets by bird ringers, and then released.
Noctule bat - Commonly seen on suitable evenings. Tends to fly early in the evening, usually fast and high. It is often audible, making a shrill metallic squeak when it is hunting.
Common Pipistrelle bat - a very common species. It is often seen flying, with its rapid wing beat, around buildings and elsewhere at dusk.
Soprano Pipistelle - occasionally recorded on bat detectors. There is probably a roost in a nearby building to the Fen.
Daubenton’s bat - Has been noted to forage along the Lode.
Whiskered Bat - A roost occurred in one of the Fen buildings. Not sure if it is still present.
Otter - The otter is back at Wicken Fen after an absence of many years. The improvement in the quality of our rivers, the banning of some pesticides, and legal protection, has helped the otter population to recover in Britain. It is now possible to find otter spraints (poo) at Wicken on occasions.
Hedgehog - Resident on the Fen and found hibernating in bramble patches on the drier areas of the reserve.
Mole - Abundant all over the Fen except in the very wet areas during flooding. Dead, presumably drowned, individuals may be observed in flooded areas. Tunnels close to the surface and the mounds of excavated earth are obvious on the droves.
Common Shrew - Abundant throughout the Fen and very tolerant of wet conditions. A few albino specimens have been recorded.
Pygmy Shrew - Occasional in all habitats.
Water Shrew - Trapping results indicate that this species is only occasionally present in sedge fields and fen carr. However, it is the most common species found dead on the ground.
Fox - Probably breeds regularly on the Fen, but it is not often seen. Foxes have also seen on the restored habitats of Guinea Hall Fen and Burwell Fen.
Stoat - Occasionally observed and probably resident on Adventurers’ Fen and Wicken Sedge Fen. Individuals with some white hair have been seen in winter. Sight records suggest that it is more common than the weasel.
Weasel - Occasionally seen and trapped in sedge fields, fen carr and their droves.
American Mink - An introduced species now feral after escaping from the fur farms. It is occasionally seen on Wicken Fen, but we do not know if it breeds here.
Brown Hare - Resident and breeding on Adventurers’ Fen and Guinea Hall. It is an occasional visitor to Wicken Sedge Fen.
Rabbit - Large colonies present along the waterproof banks on Adventurers’ Fen. Confined to the village end of Sedge Fen and the Brickpits area on Little Breed Fen.
Grey Squirrel - Resident and breeding in small numbers in the mature trees near the brickpits and the north side of Wicken Fen. Commonly seen bounding along droves and in areas of fen carr.
Harvest Mouse - Common at ground level in sedge fields during autumn and winter (revealed by live-trapping). Possibly resident all the year at higher levels. Nests have been found in reeds on Adventurers’ Fen.
Wood Mouse - Common in the fen carr, sedge and litter fields. Never reaches high densities.
House Mouse - Rare in sedge fields where a few individuals may occur during the summer months.
Brown Rat - Occasionally seen near buildings around the Fen.
Bank Vole - Usually abundant in sedge fields, litter fields and fen carr wherever the ground cover is dense. In dry years peak number numbers are reached in July or August.
Water Vole - This threatened and declining species was common along the lodes and ditches at Wicken Fen in the 1970s. However, numbers declined in the 1980s and it was probably locally extinct by 1990. The good news is that water voles are back at Wicken, with several sightings in 2006. One pair took up residence in the pond by the Visitor Centre in 2007.
Field Vole - Common in letter and sedge fields wherever grasses replace, or are mixed with, reeds and sedge. They are generally absent from stands of pure reeds and from fen carr.
Coypu - One individual was trapped in April 1978 at Wicken. This was an introduced species which escaped from fur farms, and was eradicated from Britain in the 1980s.
Roe Deer - Very few Roe Deer were seen at Wicken until new wet grassland areas were created as part of the Wicken Vision. Now small groups can often be seen on Burwell Fen. 16 were seen on one occasion in 2006.
Muntjac - can regularly be seen in the woodland areas of the nature reserve, especially in Little Breed Fen.
Chinese Water Deer - occasionally individuals of this species have been seen. This species is slowly increasing its numbers in East Anglia.
BIRDS:
Rare or declining birds that live at Wicken include Marsh Harrier, Bittern, Bearded Tit, Barn Owl, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Cuckoo. In winter, Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owls also take up residence.
OTHER POINTS OF NOTE:
There are an impressive 400 insect species at Wicken that are listed as nationally endangered, rare or scarce in the UK Red Data Books.
The Wicken Fen website is a great site with lots of useful information and updates. Take a look here: www.wicken.org.uk
The birds, dragonflies, butterflies and wild flowers are the most easily seen wildlife when you walk around the Fen. From the Tower Hide there are great views over the Mere (a shallow lake) and of its birds such as herons, cormorants, many ducks and geese, and often a marsh harrier. The bright yellow brimstone butterfly flies at Wicken from March onwards along with 27 other butterfly species. Britain's largest dragonfly, the emperor, is common, as are 18 other species.
The clear water in the ditches, ponds and river (locally called a 'Lode') attract a lot of the wildlife. You can see roach, rudd and perch in Wicken Lode, whirligig beetles and pond skaters whizzing around on the water surface and dragonflies will 'hawk' up and down hunting insects and looking for mates. You might even see a grass snake swimming along a ditch looking for frogs - its favourite food
WHERE IS WICKEN FEN?
The address is: Wicken Fen National Nature Reserve, Lode Lane, Wicken, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB7 5XP. Pop the postcode into www.multimap.com to bring up a map of how to get there.
WILDLIFE AT WICKEN FEN
MAMMALS:
Brown long-eared bat - Occasionally caught in mist nets by bird ringers, and then released.
Noctule bat - Commonly seen on suitable evenings. Tends to fly early in the evening, usually fast and high. It is often audible, making a shrill metallic squeak when it is hunting.
Common Pipistrelle bat - a very common species. It is often seen flying, with its rapid wing beat, around buildings and elsewhere at dusk.
Soprano Pipistelle - occasionally recorded on bat detectors. There is probably a roost in a nearby building to the Fen.
Daubenton’s bat - Has been noted to forage along the Lode.
Whiskered Bat - A roost occurred in one of the Fen buildings. Not sure if it is still present.
Otter - The otter is back at Wicken Fen after an absence of many years. The improvement in the quality of our rivers, the banning of some pesticides, and legal protection, has helped the otter population to recover in Britain. It is now possible to find otter spraints (poo) at Wicken on occasions.
Hedgehog - Resident on the Fen and found hibernating in bramble patches on the drier areas of the reserve.
Mole - Abundant all over the Fen except in the very wet areas during flooding. Dead, presumably drowned, individuals may be observed in flooded areas. Tunnels close to the surface and the mounds of excavated earth are obvious on the droves.
Common Shrew - Abundant throughout the Fen and very tolerant of wet conditions. A few albino specimens have been recorded.
Pygmy Shrew - Occasional in all habitats.
Water Shrew - Trapping results indicate that this species is only occasionally present in sedge fields and fen carr. However, it is the most common species found dead on the ground.
Fox - Probably breeds regularly on the Fen, but it is not often seen. Foxes have also seen on the restored habitats of Guinea Hall Fen and Burwell Fen.
Stoat - Occasionally observed and probably resident on Adventurers’ Fen and Wicken Sedge Fen. Individuals with some white hair have been seen in winter. Sight records suggest that it is more common than the weasel.
Weasel - Occasionally seen and trapped in sedge fields, fen carr and their droves.
American Mink - An introduced species now feral after escaping from the fur farms. It is occasionally seen on Wicken Fen, but we do not know if it breeds here.
Brown Hare - Resident and breeding on Adventurers’ Fen and Guinea Hall. It is an occasional visitor to Wicken Sedge Fen.
Rabbit - Large colonies present along the waterproof banks on Adventurers’ Fen. Confined to the village end of Sedge Fen and the Brickpits area on Little Breed Fen.
Grey Squirrel - Resident and breeding in small numbers in the mature trees near the brickpits and the north side of Wicken Fen. Commonly seen bounding along droves and in areas of fen carr.
Harvest Mouse - Common at ground level in sedge fields during autumn and winter (revealed by live-trapping). Possibly resident all the year at higher levels. Nests have been found in reeds on Adventurers’ Fen.
Wood Mouse - Common in the fen carr, sedge and litter fields. Never reaches high densities.
House Mouse - Rare in sedge fields where a few individuals may occur during the summer months.
Brown Rat - Occasionally seen near buildings around the Fen.
Bank Vole - Usually abundant in sedge fields, litter fields and fen carr wherever the ground cover is dense. In dry years peak number numbers are reached in July or August.
Water Vole - This threatened and declining species was common along the lodes and ditches at Wicken Fen in the 1970s. However, numbers declined in the 1980s and it was probably locally extinct by 1990. The good news is that water voles are back at Wicken, with several sightings in 2006. One pair took up residence in the pond by the Visitor Centre in 2007.
Field Vole - Common in letter and sedge fields wherever grasses replace, or are mixed with, reeds and sedge. They are generally absent from stands of pure reeds and from fen carr.
Coypu - One individual was trapped in April 1978 at Wicken. This was an introduced species which escaped from fur farms, and was eradicated from Britain in the 1980s.
Roe Deer - Very few Roe Deer were seen at Wicken until new wet grassland areas were created as part of the Wicken Vision. Now small groups can often be seen on Burwell Fen. 16 were seen on one occasion in 2006.
Muntjac - can regularly be seen in the woodland areas of the nature reserve, especially in Little Breed Fen.
Chinese Water Deer - occasionally individuals of this species have been seen. This species is slowly increasing its numbers in East Anglia.
BIRDS:
Rare or declining birds that live at Wicken include Marsh Harrier, Bittern, Bearded Tit, Barn Owl, Linnet, Reed Bunting and Cuckoo. In winter, Hen Harrier and Short-eared Owls also take up residence.
OTHER POINTS OF NOTE:
There are an impressive 400 insect species at Wicken that are listed as nationally endangered, rare or scarce in the UK Red Data Books.
The Wicken Fen website is a great site with lots of useful information and updates. Take a look here: www.wicken.org.uk
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Also in: The UK's Best Wildlife Locations
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