#peatland

Got up at 4 am to see the sunrise at the bog, absolutely worth it, it was gorgeous and there was absolutely no one else around. (except for the birds)

Look at that wild orchid!! The bog laurel, the eastern ninebark and eastern solomons plume!!! They're all so lovely.

B O G P L A N T S

I love this place so much, so many pretty plants and animals!!

cotton-grass, leatherleaf, ferns, tamarack trees and sphagnum moss as far as the eye can see!!

Chickadees, grackles, sparrows of all types, red-wing black birds, ducks, mourning doves even sandhill cranes and american bitterns!! and literally so many other birds.

bumblebees, chipmunks, squirrels and rabbits!! And ofc special mention to our wetland heroes.. BEAVERS!!

Leatherleaf (Chamaedaphne calyculata)

Bog rosemary (Andromeda polifolia)

13/03/2026

The RSPB has completed a major peatland-restoration project at Lakenheath Fen, rewetting 120 ha of drained fen on the Suffolk-Norfolk border.

The restored area – equivalent to 168 football pitches – was formerly arable farmland. By retaining rainfall and installing a network of dams, ditches and sluices, reserve staff have raised water levels to recreate a mosaic of fen and wet grassland.

The work is designed to benefit breeding waders, notably Northern Lapwing, Common Redshank and Eurasian Oystercatcher. UK breeding populations of lapwing have fallen by 63% since 1967, while redshank and oystercatcher have declined by 45% and 21% respectively since the mid-1990s, largely owing to habitat loss.

Birds return to restored wetlands

Lapwing have already been recorded on the newly restored peatland, alongside Western Marsh Harrier and a suite of large waterbirds including Great, Little and Western Cattle Egrets and Grey Heron.

Lakenheath Fen lies within The Fens, a landscape that once covered 400,000 ha of eastern England. Less than 2% of this original wetland remains, following centuries of drainage for agriculture. Nationally, an estimated 80% of peatlands are degraded.

Beyond its importance for birds, peat restoration has climate benefits. Although UK peatlands cover only about 12% of land area, they store an estimated 3.2 billion tonnes of carbon. Rewetting prevents further carbon loss from oxidising soils.

Win-win for waders

The RSPB says long-term management will focus on maintaining suitable breeding conditions for waders, with further restoration planned if funding allows.

Nature Reserve Manager Dave Rogers said: "These peaty soils will all be lost in The Fens in the next 50 years unless we rewet them. Their benefit to us and wildlife is huge. They are brimming with potential to help threatened wildlife and are a natural solution for storing carbon; so, it's a win-win all round.

"By taking this action for nature and through careful long-term management of the newly rewetted land by our staff and volunteers, we know it's just a matter of time until we see threatened wildlife species reappear here – and indeed the Red-listed lapwing that has already been seen on the peatland has proven that point.