84 Species and counting.

Well the new year has seen lots of visitors to the lakes here at Lackford enjoying the frosty still mornings and various wildlife around the site.

Lovely crisp mornings at Lackford.

We've also had some wet weather of late too, but don't let that stop you from looking for signs of wildlife on the reserve. This week, the footprints of a particularly large mammal was found in the mud on the reserve.

Red Deer slots

Many people have been visiting the reserve to start off their years birding list and Lackford is the ideal place to get this started with 84 species of bird recorded so far. Some are easy to find such as the Gulls in their 15,000 strong roost on the sailing lake, our STILL murmuring Starlings in the evening whose numbers are down to about 3,500 (but still impressive), or Egyptian Geese. Then there are those regular, but not always guaranteed, visitors such as the Kingfisher and Bittern and then there are the much harder to find species such as our Tree Sparrows, Water Rail and Brambling. Good for those who like a challenge!

Egyptian geese in flight

Mistle Thrush finds a tasty snack

Lapwing have been spotted on the reserve in numbers around 500 this week as well as a large amount of Gadwall, 146.

Lapwing

Gadwall on the centre pond.

Watching wildlife

A good time to visit the reserve at this time of year to see some wildlife has to be the afternoon. A nice walk around visiting the various hides, you will get to see some of the Goosander from Bill's hide on the Slough, Egrets have been seen flying around the reserve too. Then you may get to see the Bittern which comes into roost around 4pm at the double-decker hide. Then watch as an influx of Starlings begin to murmurate in front of the Visitor Centre. There's so much to see here despite it being the middle of winter and as Nick of Norfolk said on Twitter:

Nick's tweet on Twitter

A big thank you goes out to Nick and all of our other members too. Without our members, none of what we do at Lackford, or our 49 other reserves, would be possible.

Goldeneye

And it's not all about birds either, the winter season provides plenty of photo opportunities such as the various fungi which can be found and with a recent report from the BBC about the huge increase in flowering plants in winter this year, some are bound to be found at Lackford.

Turkey-tail bracket fungus

Hazel catkins in the middle of winter.

Don't forget the little ones

This time of year when the overnight temperatures plummet, finding food on a regular daily basis becomes a matter of life and death for some of our smaller birds. So it's important to keep your bird feeders and bird table topped up with bird food and easy access to unfrozen water.

We have a variety of bird food for most birds for sale at Lackford in various size bags including the much loved sunflower hearts which are a vital source of energy for small birds such as tits.

A welcome visitor at bird feeders this time of year, the Long-tailed tit.

All change

As mentioned in previous blogs, there are some wonderful changes coming to Lackford this year. So that we can implement some of these changes, the Visitor Centre will be closed from Monday 19th January - Thursday 22nd, re-opening on Friday 23rd. 

We hope this doesn't cause you too much of an inconvenience.

Till next time, take care.

Walking in a winter wonderland!

Well the Xmas season is well and truly upon us by now and these cold winter days sees the reserve looking beautiful with mists rolling across the still lakes, the lovely sunrises and sunsets, Lackford really is the place to spend a little quality time with a long quiet walk around our beautiful reserve.

Still morning sunrise

The view from the Double-decker hide

Bring your binoculars along with you, or hire some from our visitor centre to use around the reserve. There are plenty of winter ducks spread across the several lakes such as Goosander, Goldeneye and Pintail and most are visible from our 11 hides. 

Tufted duck by Ian Goodall

We currently have Bullfinches showing on the paths and around the centre as well as Siskin and new this week, Redpoll's have also arrived.

You might even get to see a Nuthatch like this one taken by Rich Berry:

Nuthatch finds a tasty little morsel by Rich Berry

If you want to see something a little different, why not look out for some Snipe on the Slough.

Snipe by Peter Rutt

And on the way back, look to the sailing lake for our 10,000+ gull roost. If all this hasn't quenched your thirst, then why not finish your walk in our lovely warm visitor centre where you can sit down with a nice warm drink and slice of cake and watch the birds on our feeders, you may even get a chance to see our regular visitor, the Kingfisher, like this one snapped by Ellie Stones.

Ellie Stones first ever shot of a Kingfisher, and what a shot too!

There's still one more wonder to see whilst in the visitor centre and that's our wonderful Starling murmuration which happens right outside the centre and can be viewed from the comfort and warmth inside. Last week the murmuration reached around 17,000 birds, but as the reed bed the Starlings are roosting in becomes more and more unsuitable (several thousand birds create a lot of waste) the numbers are beginning to drop. So make a visit soon before this amazing natural spectacle comes to an end. 

Christmas shopping all done?

Not many shopping days left now and for those of you who are still struggling to find that special something to give as a gift this Christmas, you need look no further than our on site shop.

Our selection of bird feed and feeders ideal for any garden.

We have plenty of bird feed and feeders for any bird loving gardener, or books for the nature lover in your family.

A fine selection of gift ideas for Xmas

And for the younger members of your family, we also have a fine selection of soft cuddly wildlife toys, or face masks, or for the more intrepid young explorers, we also have bug hunting kits.

Some of our cuddly owls

If you would like to give something just that bit more special, why not give a Suffolk Wildlife Trust membership? For a minimum monthly direct debit donation of £4 a month, you can give a gift of our beautiful members book by Steve Alyward that details all our beautiful reserves, a regular magazine that keeps our members up to date with all that is happening within the trust, a wildlife project and spotters book for our younger members in the family membership is also included. ALSO, this special offer also includes The Mammals of Suffolk Book by Dr Simone Bullion which details all of Suffolk's mammals with detailed colour pictures and distribution data and a lovely cotton bag to take it all away in. 

The new hide

As many of you will know, the path down to Steggall's hide has been closed for the last week whilst the reserves team finish off the new hide and remove the old one. The new hide will be officially opened on 18th December from midday, please come down and have a look, the reserve's team of volunteers have done a wonderful job.

Highlights of 2014

Well, as 2014 comes to an end, it's time to look back at some of the highlights over the last year at Lackford.

We had a great number of fledging birds on the reserve with many numbers of birds having 2nd and 3rd broods and 7 Barn Owl's also fledged, which is a great number for this species. Also 11 Great Crested Grebe's also fledged.

Nightingales and Turtle Doves were recorded breeding on the reserve.

A Great Reed Warbler stopped over for 24hrs

9 Black Tern were recorded using the Sailing lake

6 Cuckoo's were recorded egg laying on the reserve too.

We had a great butterfly year this year with Grayling being recorded for the first time at Lackford.

Dragonflies and damselflies also had a good year with 18 species being recorded.

And last but not least, a brand new, fantastic looking hide was built which will be opened this week.

Looking forward to 2015

We have lots of exciting new ideas for 2015 including a bit of a revamp for the centre as well as some new live wildlife cameras and a Bioblitz are just a few things happening at the reserve. Keep an eye on our blog for more updates about latest events. 

Xmas opening

The visitor centre will be closed from 24th December to 31st December.

Frozen Festive Fun!

There are still few spaces left for this event on 22nd December 1-3pm, but places need to be booked in advance. Cost is £4 per child (4-10 year olds), there will a winter trail and they will be able to create 'Frozen' inspired festive crafts and other Xmas decorations. This is a good opportunity to finish the Christmas shopping whilst the kids have some fun!

It's getting chilly!

Well, it's now December and the chilly mornings are with us. Despite the various flooding events last week that saw much of the reserve closed, the birds were not deterred from visiting with Pintails  and Goosander being spotted on the Slough, Goldeneye on the sailing lake and our regular Kingfisher and Sparrowhawk on the visitor centre pond. Bullfinches have also been seen around the centre in the car park and by the pond. Redwings and Fieldfare still continue to be seen on the track leading to the reserve.

Pintail by Ian Goodall

The Starlings are still murmuring and numbers are growing with an estimated 17,000 at last count. The time the murmuration happens is never set and can be early or late. Best to get here around 2pm so you can have a nice walk around the reserve and then settle in the visitor centre with a nice cuppa to see the display, which last week, was quite spectacular.

The new hide

The new hide is nearing completion and is on course for its grand opening on the 18th December. The path to Steggall's is closed from the Atlas hide onwards this week whilst the old hide is removed from the site.

Looking good, new hide is almost complete.

Well it's now December and the weather has begun to turn. Despite the various flooding last week due to the River Lark bursting its banks, it hasn't deterred the birds. A few Pintails have been sighted on the Slough as well as more Fieldfares and Redwings spotted around the reserve. The Kingfisher is still showing well at the centre lake. Goosanders, Goldeneye's, Bullfinches and a Little Egret have also been spotted around our reserve and the Sparrowhawk is still a regular visitor.

Naturally Art

We had one of our Naturally Art workshops this week where children get to create things inspired by the natural world.

Rosie and a friend get to work

All getting ready to start the day

Wonder what these will grow into????

The finished creations from our Naturally Art participants

We have a Naturally Art workshop on a Saturday once a month, why not bring your child to express their imaginations! Or, if you can't wait till next month, why not bring them along to our Frozen Festive Fun Christmas Activity Afternoon on 22nd December 1-3pm for 4-10 year olds. There will be a winter trail, Frozen inspired festive craft activities and other decorations and all for only £4.

Pre-booking is essential for this event as places fill quickly, to book your place call 01284 728706