Bags of Help!

Well things are really looking good here at Lackford Lakes. The artworks up around the Slough have now been completed and many of the visitors are liking the new improvements. The area around Reed hide has been opened up and re-profiled and is now called the shallows. This should bring the waders in closer to the hides and has already enticed in a pair of snipe and some oystercatchers.

Another TV

Yes, those kind people at Hughes have kindly donated us another TV for the centre at Lackford. The first TV donated to us by Hughes relays all the activity from our wildlife cameras straight into the centre. But the new TV will show your wonderful wildlife images in the centre. At the moment, the TV is currently showing some drone footage of Lackford taken by our volunteer and facilitator in getting the new TV, John Lord. It’s also showing some wonderful images of our winter ducks taken by regular contributor Ian Goodall.

New TV from Hughes.

We want to keep the images seasonal and with spring just around the corner, we want to see your images of those spring arrivals, courtship activity, etc. All we ask is that the image be a high quality jpg 1080 x 1920 and has to be taken at Lackford. Please email your photos to us at lackford.centre@suffolkwildlifetrust.org We can’t promise to use everyones photos, but we will do our best.

Another camera

Yes, more good news, Handykam has kindly donated us another camera to be used at Lackford. This is a welcome addition to the current three cameras we have as we get even more views of what is happening around the centre. We were planning to use the camera in an owl/kestrel box mounted on the centre, but we found out that there is some work that will need to be carried out soon on that part of the building and a nesting bird would scupper those plans. But fear not, Visitor Officer Hawk Honey put on his thinking cap and has come up with ‘Pond Cam’!

Now, visitors to the centre, can see what is happening below the calm surface of the pond outside on the TV inside the visitor centre. 

And in this clip, we see a mallard drake feeding quietly before the female comes in and stirs it all up and shows him how it’s done.

A more unusual and less seen creature from the one above can be seen swimming past on our Facebook page.

Bags of Help!

From this Saturday, Tesco shoppers will be able to cast their vote for Lackford Lakes and help decide whether we receive £8,000, £10,000 or £12,000 towards improving the site.

The supermarket has teamed up with conservation group Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help campaign in hundreds of regions across England and Wales.

The scheme will see three community groups and projects in each of Tesco’s 390 regions awarded grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the five pence charge levied on single-use carrier bags.

The public will vote in store from 27 February until 6 March on who should receive which amount.

At Lackford the Bags of Help initiative will allow us to resurface a section of the Kingfisher Trail to improve access for pushchairs and wheelchairs. 

But if shoppers vote for us to receive £10,000 or £12,000 the Trust will be able to resurface more of the path, replace a wooden bridge on the Kingfisher Trail and purchase a new mobility scooter.

You can vote for Lackford by shopping at Tesco at St Saviours Interchange, Bury St Edmunds IP32 7JS

For more information click here

Recent works at The Slough.

The recent earthworks at The Slough have now been completed and everyone is liking the end result. As you can see, The Slough has been re-profiled in an attempt to bring the waders and other wildlife much closer to the hides. This new area is now known as The Shallows.

The Shallows from the Double-decker hide.

This new area along with a few other changes means we’ve now got a new map, which can be seen in the visitor centre alongside the new TV and sightings board.

March events.

The year is zipping along and already we find ourselves in March, where does the time go? We’ve got lots of events lined up for this month and something for everyone and they can all be found here or from the listing on the right if you’re on a desktop computer. But don’t leave it too long as these events begin to book up early, so don’t miss out. 

Lots of fun at Naturally Art

Paul’s Monthly Guided Bird Walk Wed 9th

Easter opening!

Yes, Easter is almost upon us, but that doesn’t stop us here at Lackford because we are open ALL WEEKEND including Bank Holiday Friday and Monday. So if you’re stuck for something to do, do pop down and see us.

Sightings.

Our bird species list continues to grow here at Lackford and we’re now up to 87 species for the year! Latest on the list is a peregrine that was spotted from Steggall’s hide flying over. Our newest arrival this week saw not 1, not 2, but 3 red-crested pochard, two males and a female. A pair of these successfully raised some chicks here last year and we wonder if any of these are those chicks? One of the males has gone down to Wilson’s Flood and the other pair are sitting at Mill Deep. 

Red-crested pochard by Ben Moyes

4, yes 4 kingfishers were observed fighting at the weekend at Hawker Pool by the false kingfisher bank. The following day there were 3 with 2 males trying woo a female. Has spring sprung????

Great-crested grebes have been doing their bonding dance on Long Reach and this was seen and captured by one of our wildlife guides Jim Palfrey.

Great-crested grebes do their dance of love!

Bittern hasn’t been seen in the last week, but this does not mean it isn’t there as bitterns are an expert when it comes to camouflage. However, regular visitor Stuart Finley managed to photograph this bittern as it flew past Reed hide.

Bittern in flight

Tree sparrows have been heard from the field feeders and plenty of bullfinch, siskin, redpoll, goldcrest and marsh tits have been spotted around the reserve, especially Winter hide and Ash Carr.

Buzzard’s and marsh harrier’s have been regularly sighted these last few weeks drifting lazily over the reserve and snipe, oystercatcher and goosander’s can still be seen on The Slough and the long-tailed duck is still here and often seen on Hawker Pool or Long Reach among other places. See the staff to find out her latest location before you go off hunting for her.

The otters  have been sighted occasionally around Hawker Pool and we are still getting our several thousand gulls roosting on the Sailing lake overnight with the odd rarity amongst them such as Iceland gull.

Don’t forget to pop into the centre when you arrive to check out where all the latest sightings are before you walk round.

Otterly brilliant

Quite a little burst of warm weather of late has sat over Lackford and this has made for good views of the kingfisher and the otter, the latter seems has taken quite a liking to Mill Deep, which can be viewed from Fullers Mill hide. Visitor Assistant Hawk Honey took a stroll down there this week in the hope of setting up a trail cam to catch some video footage of the otter, only to find the otter happily fishing away just feet from him. He managed to catch this video.

The otter has been spotted on the reserve everyday for nearly a month now and it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of moving on, which is good news. Lets hope it continues to make Lackford its home.

Kingfishers also seem to be happy here at Lackford and have been spotted all over the reserve at the following hides: Double-decker, Bill's, Bess', Atlas, Steggall's and the Visitor Centre. 

Kingfisher on the 'T' piece at the Visitor Centre

New for Suffolk

A first ever record for Suffolk was recorded last weekend, when Visitor Assistant Hawk Honey spotted an ichneumon wasp flying against the glass window in the centre. Hawk caught the wasp and took some photos before releasing it back outside. Later, with the help of ichneumon specialist Gavin Broad, the wasp was identified as Dusona falcator (sorry, it doesn't have a common name). This species preys on the larvae (caterpillars) of the buff-tip moth, which it paralyses and takes to a nest chamber, where it lays an egg on the caterpillar before sealing the chamber. The caterpillar will be food for the wasp larvae during the winter months until spring the following year.

On submitting a record of this find to the Suffolk Biological Records Centre, we found out that it was a first ever record for Suffolk! Looking further into the records, there only seems to be one other record of this species in the UK, which makes the find even more important.

Dusona falcator in the hand.

and from the side.

Other sightings from around the reserve have included water rail at the Double-decker hide along with green and common sandpipers. Little egret, teal, tufted ducks and little grebe have also been spotted here. Great crested grebes, hobby's, pochard have been seen from Bess' hide looking across Long Reach. As the autumn season begins to get into full swing, we are more likely to see more ducks arriving at the reserve and before we know it, all the winter regulars such as goosander, goldeneye and pintail will soon be back.

A sure sign that autumn is on the way is the arrival of wigeon on the sailing lake. 24 were spotted last week and although often seen at the sailing lake, it is always best if you pop into the visitor centre on your arrival just to check where they were last spotted, as they do like to move around form time to time. Goldcrest, nuthatch and siskin have been spotted in Ash Carr near the corner of Hawker Pool.

Goldcrest at Ash Carr by Colin Robson

A few butterflies are still to be seen on the warmer days with comma, painted lady and red admiral's still being reported.

Painted lady still seen on the reserve.

Grass snake has been seen in several locations around the reserve along with slow-worm's too.

Grass snake photographed by our wildlife guide Colin Robson

There are a few dragonflies and damselflies still about despite the cold spell and we are now seeing some migrant hawkers as well as the odd willow emerald damselfly. 

Another unusual ringing!

Some time back, you may remember the image of the greylag goose with a bright orange ring neck collar being photographed on the reserve by regular visitor Rich Berry.

Unusually rung greylag at Lackford by Rich Berry

Well it would seem the greylag wasn't the only one with this unusual attire, as regular visitor and member Mike Bishop grabbed this photo of a canada goose on the reserve.

Another rung goose by Mike Bishop

We sent the information to Lee Barber at BTO who sent us back this information about the latest ring wearer.

Recapture History for ALJ

Ring No              Type   Age    Capture        Date          Init    Details

Canada goose

5270632              N        4M                         06/07/15    DJH  Nunnery lakes Reserve Nth

                            O         2      Sighted(R)   25/07/15    NJM  Nunnery, Thetford, (1km,W, 19days)

                            O         2      Sighted(R)   07/08/15    JHM     "    "      "      "   " (1km,W, 32days)

                            S          2      Sighted         12/09/15   MBI   Lackford lakes (14km,SW, 68 days)

Lee also went on to say 

The bird you saw was an adult male ringed at the BTO Nunnery reserve this year. This bird has been interesting as it has not been seen away from here since being ringed. The age code 4 means that it hatched before the current calendar year when it was ringed. The age code 2 means it was seen as a fully grown bird (i.e. not a chick). 

So if you see any other birds wearing a ring like ALJ or FJH above, then grab a photo and pop into the centre to let us know and we'll find out more about it for you.

Don't forget...

Yes, don't forget to check out what's happening at Lackford in the coming weeks by clicking on the Forthcoming Events section found down the right-hand side of this blog. 

If you have any photos that you've taken on the reserve, don't forget to send them to us so we can show them off for you.

The Summer Fair

It's been a little quiet on the bird front at Lackford this week, yet the kingfishers have been showing very well and a day doesn't go by without a visitor reporting their sighting of this fantastic bird. They have been spotted from 7 places around the reserve including Steggall's, Atlas, Bess', Orchid, Bill's and the Double-Decker hides and the bench at Hawkers Pool. The current hotspot seems to be the Double-Decker and Bill's hides with many a great photo being taken by our regular visitors.

Kingfisher © Ian Goodall

Another sighting that has become quite a regular sighting over the last 2 weeks is of an otter. It is often seen from the hides on the north side of the reserve and in particular from the Double-Decker around the overflow pipe to the left hand side. When is it best to be seen? That's the had part. It doesn't seem to have a regular timetable and has been spotted at various times of the day, it really is luck of the draw.

Otter from the Double-Decker hide © Barry Woodhouse

Green sandpiper has been spotted a few times from Bill's hide and other waders such as common sandpiper, greenshank and black-tailed godwit have been spotted from time to time. Teal, pochard and lapwings can also be seen from various locations around the reserve.

One rarity to Lackford also appeared this week in the shape of a house sparrow. We know that sparrows have had a hard time of it of late and that they are not actually rare. However, Lackford is not the usual habitat for these lovely little birds, so it was quite a pleasant surprise seeing these on the feeders outside the visitor centre.

The hot weather of late has been very good for our insects too with plenty of dragonflies and butterflies being seen on the wing around the reserve. Of these butterflies, painted ladies, peacock, small tortoiseshell, brown argus, common blue and red admirals have been many. 

Painted lady © Joe Myers

On the dragonfly front, we have seen a few brown and southern hawkers, common and ruddy darters, banded demoiselle's, emerald damselfly, and lots of common blue damselflies.

Ruddy darter © Duncan Fletcher-Brown

The hornet's nest is still present with the occupants going about their business without bothering anyone, including those spectators who watch the comings and goings. One hornet to watch out for at Lackford, is not actually a hornet, in fact, it's not even a wasp. It is actually a fly, the UK's largest fly at around 2cm long, the hornet mimic hoverfly (Volucella zonaria) is a harmless copy-cat that uses its looks for two purposes. Firstly, by looking like a hornet, it is able to sneak inside the nest of hornets without being attacked. It gets inside the nest to lay its eggs, which provide a service to the hornets by eating the detritus at the bottom of the nest and thus helping to keep the nest clean. The second reason for such a clever disguise is of course, camouflage. Not many, if any creatures actually attack hornets, so looking like one, despite being completely harmless, goes a long way in helping to survive. If you would like to see one for yourself, hotspots for these are along bug alley between Reed hide and the Double-Decker. They can often be seen nectaring on the bramble flowers.

Hornet leaving the nest © Duncan Fletcher-Brown

Not a hornet, just a fly. © Hawk Honey

Summer Fair

This Sunday 30th August, sees our annual Summer Fair at Lackford Lakes. There will be lots of activities, crafts, pond dipping, stalls and much more. Although entry to the reserve is usually free, for this one day only, there will be a charge of £3 adult, £2 child.

Hopefully we will see you at the weekend.