An RSPB warden has admitted he is “startled” by how rapidly wildlife has started colonising a reserve’s newest piece of wetland.

It is a year since the charity began work transforming arable fields into a watery habitat as part of an expansion of its Lakenheath Fen reserve on the Suffolk/Norfolk border.

Site manager Dave Rogers said: “We’ve seen some immediate reaction from some species - and marsh harriers in particular.”

The birds, which are of conservation concern, are breeding elsewhere on the reserve and have found the new habitat a rich source of prey.