Ouse Fen Nature Reserve

Where the River Great Ouse spills into the Cambridgeshire Fens, a reedbed is coming to life. Currently a transforming working sand and gravel quarry into Ouse Fen nature reserve. When it is complete, Ouse Fen will boast the biggest reedbed in the UK.

The extensive reedbeds and other habitats, including open water and grassland, are managed by the RSPB for nature conservation.

Swaying reedbeds are home to marsh harriers, bearded tits, otters and the secretive bittern. A visit at dawn or dusk may reveal a barn owl hunting over the grassland and scrubby margins. Ducks, grebes, swans and wading birds gather on the floodplain wetlands from autumn through to the spring.