It's all kicking off!

Yes, spring already we hear you cry. It only seemed like last week when we were getting over new year and now we have our first sping arrival in the shape of a chiff chaff, which has been seen and heard chiff chaff-ing away along the path between the visitor centre and Bernard's hide. Another spring visitor that's also been seen and heard is a blackcap on the sailing lake path near the bench. Dunnocks can be seen around the reserve singing from the calling posts. This spring activity comes just in time for our spring activities here at Lackford.

We've got lots happening here at Lackford this spring starting with our Spring safari activity day on the 31st March where we will be looking for wildlife in the streams, lakes, ponds and woods of Lackford Lakes.

On the 1st of April, we have Family Friday where you can explore the reserve to see how many springtime challenges you can complete.

Our regular Naturally Art workshop is on the 2nd April as well as our wildlife weekend the Sounds of Spring, which runs throughout the weekend. This is the time of year when the air is filled with the sounds of birds calling for a mate. How many different species will you hear? Are birds the only thing you'll hear? On the Sunday, you can take a Wildlife Wander with the guides on a tour of the reserve and see some of the wildlife that lives at Lackford and how they are getting ready for spring.

On the 5th April, we have Love bugs and crazy daisies activity morning for 4-7 year olds, where they can go on a hunt for the mini beasts that inhabit the reserve.

At the end of the week on the 8th April, we have Young wardens who will be sharpening the conservation skills by working on the reserve.

There's always plenty happening at Lackford, don't forget to check out our forthcoming events list on the right of this page, or click on the link at the top.

Another first for Lackford!

Yes, another species has been recorded for the first time at Lackford in the shape of a raven, two in fact. The were spotted deep in combat with a pair of red kites over the sheep fields by several people and thankfully, captured on camera by our regular visitor and contributor Ian Goodall.

Two ravens circle one of the red kites © Ian Goodall

In pursuit, the raven identified clearly by its size and diamond shaped tail © Ian Goodall

Tables turned, the red kite dives after one of the ravens © Ian Goodall

Quarrel over, the red kite drifts majestically away © Ian Goodall

This just goes to show that even when the weather is overcast, raining or dreary, that the action doesn't cease. A big thank you to Ian for allowing us to use these photos.

Another unusual capture.

This weekend saw the kingfishers displaying well around the reserve, especially at the false bank at Hawker Pool. 

Male kingfisher approaches the false bank © Ian Goodall

However, another regular visitor Alan Theobald managed to capture this unusual situation at Bernard's Hide.

Kingfisher with a Great Crested Newt © Alan Theobald

Yes, the male kingfisher managed to catch and eat this great crested newt at Bernard's pool, which just goes to show that the lakes don't just have fish and crayfish in them, there's newts too. Thank you Alan for sharing.

It doesn't stop there, yes, there's more. Barry Woodhouse, another regular contributor managed to get a photo of this very shy individual also at Bernard's hide.

Water rail © Barry Woodhouse

Water rail are more often heard than seen with their screaming call being emitted from the reed beds, but of late, several have been showing well sneaking out of cover.

Elsewhere on the reserve, everything has been getting busy as spring finally gets under way. Our Visitor officer even caught this black-headed gull trying to chase off a mute swan, which in turn was seeing off a canada goose. 

Back off!! © Hawk Honey

So as we've seen, it doesn't have to be all blue skies and sunshine for you to see lots at Lackford, there are things happening all the time, so don't miss out!

Sightings

Red-crested pochard are still being seen mainly from Steggall's hide on Wilson's Flood near the pontoon. Shelduck have grown in number and we now have about a dozen that can be seen on The Slough along with oystercatchers, redshank, teal, shoveler and the odd kingfisher and snipe.

Snipe have also been showing very well at Bernard's hide, with the occasional jack snipe turning up from time to time. As seen above, water rail are also being spotted here too.

In Ash Carr, nuthatch, siskin, grey wagtail, goldcrest, great spotted woodpeckers, marsh tit, coal tit and treecreepers are regularly being spotted. Plenty of wrens are also being seen around the reserve too.

Wren looking for insects © Hawk Honey

Barn owl has been spotted on some evenings from the Double-decker hide. Buzzards are a regular spot over the reserve and red kite are also getting seen more. In the fields next to Ash Carr, look out for a pair of kestrels often seen perched in the lone tree.

Kestrel pair in Ash Carr field

Also in the field this weekend, 70+ redwing  were spotted feeding up getting ready for the long flight north.

Redwing getting ready to leave © Barry Woodhouse

Don't forget, soon the spring migrants will be arriving at Lackford and we want your sightings. So if you think you've seen a new arrival, please pop into the centre and let us know.

Incoming!!!

Well, as predicted, the spring arrivals have made a big push and we've seen lots of new arrivals this week. This was the Spring arrivals sheet at the start of last week:

Last week's arrivals list.

And this is how it stands after this weekend:

This week's arrival list.

As you can see, the lull in the cold westerly wind has allowed a large influx of migrant birds to arrive.  A lot of these sightings are thanks to you, our visitors to the reserve who come back into the centre after a wander around and let us know what's been seen, thank you.

The Willow Warbler has been heard singing in the car park and as you can see from above, we still await the Garden and Reed warbler, the latter of which should appear any day soon as it has already been spotted at one of our nearby reserves Redgrave & Lopham Fen on the 10th April.

One of the first to lead the way last week was a Cuckoo, which could be heard in Ash Carr, and two lucky visitors, Jane and Ken Rowe, actually got to see it. However, the weather changed again and it is thought that the bird has moved on as it hasn't been heard since. But fear not, according to the BTO Cuckoo Tracker, many of the tagged cuckoo's are yet to arrive back. So plenty more to come.

Another bird that's been a bit elusive this week is our Kingfisher's. Often a familiar and popular sight at Lackford, however, now is the breeding season and the females are most likely sitting tight on the nest whilst the male is off out on the constant hunt for food to feed the female. There have been a few glances of the birds around the reserve, but not many where the bird is sat perched. So keep your eyes open, they are still around, just a little busy, that's all.

One bird that has been seen and heard in increasing numbers this week was the Blackcap. 

A singing Blackcap.

A not so tasty snack!

Those regular visitors to Lackford know that our cake is a lovely tasty snack to reward yourself with after a long arduous walk watching all the wildlife that is here. Hard work, but someone has to do it! However, there was one who found what it thought was a tasty snack, but was not impressed. Who? Our regular night time visitor to our feeder cam, the Tawny owl. But this time, he brought along a catch, an unfortunate toad. However, it didn't take long for the owl to realise that toads are not good food and the scene ended well for the poor toad who made his escape.

Toads have a couple of defence mechanisms that help stop it getting predated upon. The first is that they emit a foul tasting poison from their skin. This causes the predator to be sick and secondly the toad when attacked will puff itself up and make itself as rigid as possible, again making it awkward for it to be consumed. This last defence can be seen in the video just before the toad launches itself of the feeding post. It's also interesting to note that the feet and under belly feathers of the owl are clearly quite wet, which means that it actually took a dip in the shallows to catch the toad as opposed to catching it on dry ground.

Not just birds

As the temperature rises, it's not just the birds that are coming out to play. The insects too are beginning to emerge with lots of sightings of various butterflies this week including Comma, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell, Brimstone, Red Admiral, Small White and Green-veined White. New visitor Robert Quadling got some amazing shots of the insects that were about last Thursday and shared them on Twitter (@SWTLackfordLake).

Green-veined White © Robert Quadling

Beautiful Peacock butterfly © Robert Quadling

Plenty of these now to be seen, Bee-fly © Robert Quadling

As you can see from the above photo, Bee-flies are also in abundance at Lackford. These are flies that look like bees and are parasitoids of mining bees. They seek out the holes of mining bees and then flick their eggs from their tails into the hole of the bee whilst hovering over them. The species above (Bombylius major) is known as the Dark-edged Bee-fly and is quite common in Southern England. 

If you see or photograph an insect whilst walking around Lackford and want to know more about it, then pop into the centre and ask our staff, or send your photo to Hawk, or insect man at hawk.honey@suffolkwildlifetrust.org and we will endeavour to help you.

Another regular sighting this week has been the Stoat and one person who was lucky enough to grab a photo of it was regular visitor Ellie Stones who shared her picture of it on Twitter.

Peek-a-boo Stoat. © Ellie Stones

Spring holiday events

We had some events on over the Easter break and one of the was Egg Quest. Demand for this event was so high, that an afternoon session had to be set up to cater for it with over 90 people attending.

Activities for all.

Daisy with her self made mouse mask

Collages and big smiles

Bringing the art out in kids

A selection of the collages that were made.

Thankfully, the weather stayed lovely and sunny and everyone had a good time. If you would like to attend one of our events at Lackford, then please see our Forthcoming events panel on  the right hand side of this blog, or alternatively, you can look at our What's on guide for the whole of Suffolk here.

Sightings

Well, as you already know from above, lots of new things about. But there was also another new arrival that wasn't on the list and that was Little Gull. These have been varying in numbers all week from 2 -12 birds seen at the sailing lake and also at Steggall's. Barry Woodhouse managed to get some shots from over the Sailing lake.

Little gull in flight © Barry Woodhouse

Little Gull © Barry Woodhouse

Other sightings include the Red Crested Pochard's at Fullers mill hide, the Great Crested Grebe's are now nest building near Bess' hide and this is also thought to be where the Kingfisher's are nesting too. Ash Carr is still good for Nuthatch, Coal and Marsh tit, Blackcap, Goldcrest and Treecreepers. Redshank, Oystercatchers, the occasional Goshawk and Red Kite can be seen from Bill's hide and Chiffchaff's can be seen and heard nearly everywhere from around the reserve.

Tufted Ducks, can be seen at the Sailing Lake and at Steggall's and the Sparrowhawk has been seen from various parts of the reserve.

A pair of Tufted Ducks © Barry Woodhouse

House Martin's were also spotted over the sailing lake and the centre which brought our bird species total up to 118 birds for 2015

The current bird species list for 2015 so far

Remember, if you have sightings you wish to share or add to our board, please do so by popping into the visitor centre.

One Swallow, does not a summer make

Aristotle once said, “One Swallow, does not a summer make...”. Well it’s a shame he wasn’t at Lackford this week then, when yesterday (Monday), 10 were seen above the centre. The first were spotted over Lackford by our regular visitor and contributor Ian Goodall on April 1st (of all days), over Long Reach where Bess’ hide is situated. Ian managed to get these shots from Bess’ hide.

Swallow © Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

So, what does this mean for Lackford? It means that there’s a very good chance that a lot of Spring arrivals will start arriving. Blackcap has, after a lot of false sightings, eventually turned up at Steggall’s and Ash Carr and there’s a lot more to come, just take a look at our Spring arrivals list, which can be found pinned to our sightings board in the visitor centre.

Plenty more to come at Lackford.

So with the wind direction set to change to a nice easterly/south easterly this week, we are expecting a lot of new arrivals at Lackford. Why not come down and see if you can help us spot these as they come in!

Activities at Lackford

We’ve had quite a few activities at Lackford this week, which were well attended by children enjoying the Half-term break. The Springtastic event was one of the sessions that was fully booked and enjoyed by all despite the windy weather.

The children and their creations at the Springtastic event.

Judging by all those smiley faces, a good time was had.

Out and about exploring the reserve.

And the activities are set to continue this week with our Egg Quest event on Thursday 9th April. The morning session is fully booked and due to the high demand, we have organised an afternoon session too from 2-4pm. But act quick as this is already half full and filling up fast. To book, call 01284 728706.

Sounds of Spring!

This weekend will also see the next Themed weekend in our Wild for the Weekend programme. The Sounds of Spring will explore the many sounds you can hear in the wild at Springtime and if you pick up a spotter sheet at our visitor centre, you can follow the trail and see if you can work out the sounds situated along the route. There is no charge for the activity, but a donation would be appreciated. Sounds of Spring starts this weekend 11am - 4pm.

Sightings

Well as we are aware, Swallows and Blackcap  have arrived on the reserve and more are to come. 3 Med Gulls have been spotted from the Steggall’s hide along with the Egyptian geese and their goslings.

Egyptian geese and goslings © David Ward

The Canada goose is still on the nest near the Double-decker hide and David sent us in this picture too.

Canada goose on the nest © David Ward

This time of year its not all about chicks and nests, there are territories to defend and unwanted attention to fend off and new member and novice photographer Pat Cutting caught this fantastic action shot of two Canada geese at odds with each other.

Time to scarper © Pat Cutting

Ian Goodall managed to capture these stunning shots of two pairs of Great Crested Grebe’s defending their territory. 

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall 

© Ian Goodall

© Ian Goodall

The Nuthatch is still down on the Lackford Stump as well as the Marsh Tit and Coal tit and many others. Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers are being heard everywhere, but particularly in Ash Carr. Chiffchaff is to be heard everywhere around the site and Cettis Warbler’s are heard mainly around the Sailing lake path and near Bill’s hide. 

Nuthatch posing © Tracie Emerson

Red Crested Pochard can still be seen at Fullers Mill Hide, but they are tending to stay towards the far end of Mill Deep lake. On the raptor front, 10 Buzzards were seen circling over the centre car park and a Sparrowhawk was also spotted displaying over the centre. The Kingfisher has been a bit elusive of late and we put this down to that they may be nesting around the Double decker and Bess’ hides. The female is probably on the nest and the male is busy catching food. 

The sightings board.

This is how the sightings board looked as of yesterday, don’t forget, when we are open, you can find the board inside the visitor centre next to the map. We need your sightings so that others may see what’s about. 

Lackford’s Got Talent!

Well the reserve team have been quite busy this week making a slight alteration to the paths near the Double Decker hide. This was necessary as the open area led to confusion for some, causing them to be a bit lost.

The big machinery was called in.

Using some of the Poplars that were cut down a few weeks ago, a barrier was put in place.

The poplar trunk was then covered with Breckland soil.

By covering the logs with the soil, a unique habitat has been created for invertebrates to live in. In turn, this will benefit other wildlife that will feed off the insects within.

A natural barrier.

This natural barrier will keep people on the paths and hopefully not lost. Then they can enjoy the pleasure of the reserve without a care in the world.

Help for our little friends!

As many of you may know, our hedgehogs have been in serious decline for sometime now with populations down from over 30 million in the 1950’s to just over 1 million now. This trend is not good and we must do all we can to help our spike little garden friends. They provide a valuable service in our gardens eating such pests as slug, snails and leaf beetles. However, the increase in vehicles on our roads, nice clean tidy gardens, pesticides and shiplap fencing to define the borders of our gardens, have not been favourable changes for the hedgehog.

We can do little things to help hedgehogs by reducing our use of pesticides in our gardens, leaving a small gap of a few inches under our fences and garden gates, leaving a pile of leaf little or just let the leaves accumulate a bit around your garden. If possible, you can give them a real boost by providing them a shelter for them to raise young in and/or hibernate in during winter.

An empty wooden box should suffice, along with any leaf litter you can leave lying around. The hedgehog will collect her own nesting material and drag it to the box. We have a wonderful volunteer called Bob who makes hedgehog boxes for the Trust with all proceeds going towards the Trust and these are sold at Lackford with instructions for only £25. 

Hedgehog nesting boxes for sale at Lackford.

They do have a tendency to sell quickly, so make sure you get yours and give Suffolk’s hedgehogs (and your garden) a helping hand.

Your photos!

Many of you have been answering the call to share your photos and wow, what a talented bunch you are, keep them coming.

The Red Crested Pochard is still visible from the Fullers Mill Hide and was captured by Joe Jackson who sent his photo in via email: lackford.centre@suffolkwildlifetrust.org (put ‘For the blog’ in the subject line).

Red Crested Pochard © Joe Jackson

Joe also managed to find a spot where the Nuthatch’s are nesting and grabbed these wonderful shots as they flew to and from the nest.

© Joe Jackson

© Joe Jackson

Chiffchaff’s are in full swing with their song now at Lackford and are often seen from time to time too.

Chiffchaff © Joe Jackson

The Great Crested Grebe’s have been displaying down at Atlas hide and we’ve been getting some great photos sent in. Jon Winnan sent us these:

Having a break © Jon Winnan

Close up © Jon Winnan

A member of the visitor team caught this shot in mid display.

And when they’re not displaying, they have to build up that energy and feed. Greg Veness caught this shot of one of the Grebe’s making off with a spikey, but tasty Perch. He shared it with his followers on Twitter by using our Twitter name (@SWTLackfordLake).

© Greg Veness

Jon also caught this Snipe showing it’s plumage off.

© Jon Winnan

© Jon Winnan

Barry Woodhouse also sent us his images of a Kingfisher he captured here at Lackford.

© Barry Woodhouse

© Barry Woodhouse

© Barry Woodhouse

© Barry Woodhouse

We would like to thank all of you for your images and please keep them coming. If you have any images that you have taken at Lackford that you want to share with us, then email us with the words ‘For the blog’ in the subject line and we will do our best to feature them.

Sightings

Not 1, not 2, but 3 Sand Martin’s have been spotted over the sailing lake this week, a sure sign that the weather is improving. A female Marsh Harrier was seen flying past the visitor centre too.

Female Marsh Harrier.

Our yearly total is now up to 102 today thanks to a Common Crane seen flying south over the reserve. Peregrine, Red Kite’s and Buzzard’s have also been spotted flying over too! 

Red Crested Pochard as mentioned above at Fuller Mil hide, Cettis Warbler can be heard from the path along the sailing lake where Goldeneye can be seen bobbing around. The Kingfisher is still showing up at the visitor centre pond from time to time and Chiffchaff’s can be heard and seen at various points around the reserve. Siskin, Coal tit, Marsh tit & Nuthatch have all been showing well down at Ash Carr. Here’s photo one of our staff managed to get lately.

Nuthatch © Hawk Honey

Snipe have been seen down at Steggall’s and Bill’s hide on the Slough. Also spotted on the Slough have been Shelduck, Heron’s, Redshank and Teal.

Redshank seen from Bill’s hide.

Don’t forget to pop into the centre when you arrive to find out what’s happening, the staff are very friendly and don’t bite. Also let us know what you’ve seen regardless of how common or unimportant you think it is. We often get novice birders visiting the centre and people from abroad on holiday who have not seen birds we think are quite common.

Also, if you use Twitter, do pop in and say hello, it’s good to put a face to a Tweet from time to time.

Hope you all have a good week, see you next time.