Editing Strumpshaw Fen RSPB reserve (section)

==Wildlife==

===Birds===
;Residents 
*[[Eurasian bittern]]; in spring, the male's 'booming' song can be heard. Though they are hard to see as they are well camouflaged. 
*[[Common kingfisher]] present all year and carrying fish back to nests in spring and summer.
*[[Western marsh harrier]]; in spring, pairs perform 'sky-dancing' high in the sky. 
*[[Cetti's warbler]], the loudest British song bird with a distinctive (once learnt) 'explosive' song. 
*[[Bearded tit]], 
*[[Western barn owl|Barn owl]], they often nest in the woodlands and can be seen hunting at dawn and dusk
*[[Eurasian bullfinch]]es
;Waterfowl include 
*[[Gadwall]], 
*[[Great crested grebe]] and 
*[[Little grebe]]s. 
;Summer migrants 
*[[Hobby (bird)|Hobby]], 
*[[Eurasian reed warbler|Reed warbler]], 
*[[Blackcap]], 
*[[Common whitethroat]].

==== Winter residents ====
* [[Hen harrier|Hen Harrier]]
In autumn the reserve is visited by migrating birds both heading south and those seeking refuge from the  Arctic winter. These often form large flocks in the winter that gathering to feed or at dusk flying off together to form large roosts. [[Waxwing]]s sometimes visit in search of winter food from Scandinavia.

===Insects===
[[File:Swallowtail Butterfly RSPB Strumpshaw Fen Norfolk - geograph.org.uk - 599384.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Swallowtail ''Papilio machaon brittanicus'' photographed at Strumpshaw Fen.]]
Its Fen provides one of the few breeding sites in [[Great Britain]] for the [[Papilio machaon|swallowtail]]. The [[subspecies]] found at Strumpshaw, ''Papilio machaon brittanicus'', is endemic to the Fens of Norfolk and Suffolk in the UK.<ref>[http://www.lba.uk.com/BUTTERFLES_B21I3U.aspx Lepidoptera Breeders Association]</ref> It is slightly smaller and more heavily marked in black than subspecies ''machaon'' and ''gorganus'' which are widespread throughout mainland Europe. It nearly always lays its eggs on milk parsley (''[[Peucedanum palustre]]'') in contrast to its European cousin that will select most [[umbellifer]]s. Swallowtail can be seen from late May to mid-July and often again in mid-August to September. It is the largest resident British butterfly at 8 to 10&nbsp;cm wingspan.

In early spring and summer the reserve is the habitat of 23 species of dragonfly, including the rare [[Norfolk hawker]] which is protected under Schedule 5 of the [[Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981]], and listed in the British Red Data Books on Insects as Category 1 ([[Endangered species|endangered]]).

Another important dragon fly is the [[scarce chaser]] (''Libellula fulva'').{{clear}}

===Molluscs===
* [[Desmoulin's whorl snail]] (On the [[list of endangered species in the British Isles#Molluscs|list of endangered species in the British Isles]])

===Plants===
It is one of only a handful of waterbodies in the country to contain [[holly-leaved naiad]] (''Najas marina''), a species on the flowering plant section of the [[list of endangered species in the British Isles#Flowering plants|list of endangered species in the British Isles]] and is protected under Schedule 8 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Other important plants are [[Peucedanum palustre|milk parsley]], [[Lathyrus palustris|marsh pea]], [[Cladium|saw sedge]], six varieties of orchids including the rare aquatic [[macrophytes]].

Its flower hay meadow is an ecological relict with a high plant diversity due to the continuing  centuries old practice of receiving only a cut in late season for a hay crop. In June it is coloured by [[Iris pseudacorus|yellow flag]], [[Comarum palustre|marsh cinquefoil]], [[bog bean]], and [[ragged robin]] (a source of nectar for the adult swallowtails). In early July, there are common [[sorrel]], the purple glass [[Yorkshire fog]], [[southern marsh orchid]]s, [[yellow rattle]] and [[Valerian (herb)|valerian]]. These are followed by [[purple loosestrife]] and [[Filipendula ulmaria|meadowsweet]].

===Mammals===
* [[Eurasian otter]]s
* [[European water vole|Water vole]]s
* [[Chinese water deer]]