The best in Suffolk

As may know, last weekend was Bioblitz weekend at Lackford Lakes and what a wonderful weekend it was with people coming from far and wide to be part of it. One family traveled all the way up from Dorset just for the Bioblitz and said they enjoyed every moment of it.

The Bioblitz got underway with a bird walk led by our bird expert Paul Holness with over 50 species of bird being spotted in the 2 hour walk. Dr Simone Bullion then led the setting of the mammal traps, which was attended by several families interested as to what we might find scurrying around in the undergrowth.

Dr Simone Bullion demonstrates small mammal trapping.

As the sun set, the moth traps were set ready to catch the nights moths and then we moved on to the other night's flying creatures, bats. Lots of people turned up for the bat walk, which was led by Bill Landell from Suffolk Bat Group and Visitor Assistant Hawk Honey. The evening was ideal and it wasn't long before the first bats of the evening were out feeding much to the delight of those in attendance who all had bat detectors leant out by the visitor centre and the bat group. The evening was filled with the sounds of clicks from the detectors and "ooo's" from the spectators as the bats wheeled and dived around them.

A glorious moonrise whilst watching bats

Everyone returned form the bat walk to get wonderful views of the night sky with the help of the Breckland Astronomical Society
The Sunday morning had a glorious start with sunny warm skies, which looked, and proved promising for the day ahead. First off, we had to find out what the moth traps had caught. There was quite a variety of moths in the trap, including a couple of hawkmoths and some beautifully coloured ruby tiger and August thorns.

Hawk Honey shows visitors Terry and Peter some of the moths caught.

Black arches

Hawk with a pine hawkmoth

Colin Jakes, our resident bird ringer held a drop in session showing and explaining to people why birds are rung and Martin Sansford from the Suffolk Naturalist's Society and Suffolk Biological Records Centre led a Breckland's plant walk, identifying and recording all the plants they came across.

At 9:30am, it was time to empty the small mammal traps and once again Dr Simone Bullion was on hand to lead the proceedings. The traps were pretty successful overnight catching several bank voles and the odd wood mouse. Unfortunately, no shrews were caught, which would have added to our records.

Education officer Emma Keeble and spider expert Alan Thornhill led the minibeast and spider walk, which was eagerly attended by several children as was the always popular pond dipping which turned up many dragonfly and damselfly larvae.

The reserves team of Will Cranstoun, Giles Cawston and Joe Bell-Tye led the afternoon wildlife walk across the reserve pointing out many of the reserves special features and wildlife. This moved on to a Dragon & Damsels walk led by Suffolk County recorder for Odonata (dragonflies) Adrian Parr. This saw those on the walk going to parts of the reserve that is usually closed off to the public.

Finally, the day was brought to a close by bee expert Adrian Knowles and butterfly expert Rob Parker leading the bees and butterfly walk.

Rob & Adrian explore the shrubs looking for butterflies & bees.

During all of these events, Suffolk Biological Recording Centre were on hand to record all of the findings over the 24 hour period. The one thing we did not expect to find, but were happy we did, is that we broke the Suffolk Bioblitz record by recording the most amount of species in 24 hours! Yes, 657 species were recorded, but that number is set to change as some recorders need to add their findings and some other records also need to be verified or discounted. Amazingly, over a 1000 records were submitted over the 24 hour period and for this we would like to say thank you to everyone involved who help make this Bioblitz Suffolk's best ever. This includes all the volunteers who helped on the day, the experts from SNS and SBRC and the staff, not only from Lackford, but head office too. Last but not least, a big thank you to everyone who attended and enjoyed themselves looking for wildlife at Lackford. If you would like to see what was recorded, then click here

In other news...

The juvenile kingfishers continue to show well across the reserve, hotspots continue to be Bess', Atlas and double-decker hides and Hawker pool. Another visitor that is becoming more and more frequent and has been seen nearly every day in the past week or so is the otter. Several photos have been sent in to us and shared via our Twitter and Facebook accounts.

© Allan King 

© Barry Woodhouse

© Duncan Fletcher-Brown

As said before, the kingfishers are showing well too and again the photos have been coming thick and fast.

 Juvenile female kingfisher © Barry Woodhouse

© Barry Woodhouse

Juvenile male © Allan King

Little grebe's are also being spotted around Fullers Mill hide with their young and a snipe was reported from the Slough at the weekend.

Little grebe © Barry Woodhouse

The great spotted woodpeckers are still being seen at the feeders outside the visitor centre.

Great spotted woodpecker © Barry Woodhouse

Of course, Lackford isn't just about birds. A great variety of other wildlife has also been spotted around the reserve as seen and photographed by our many visitors and contributors to this blog, which we thank you all for.

Brown argus © Rich Berry

And with wings shut © Jim Palfrey

Dragonflies have also been in abundance as the weather is perfect for them to hunt and mate in.

Southern Hawker © Jim Palfrey

Duncan Fletcher-Brown got three for the price of one in this shot of the butterflies nectaring on hemp agrimony on the kingfisher trail.

Painted lady, meadow brown & peacock © Duncan Fletcher-Brown

Volunteer wildlife guide Joe Myers happened on this 22 spot ladybird and got a photo of it just before take off.

Lift off! © Joe Myers

And this ladybird lookalike, but not a ladybird, was this fungus beetle.

Fungus beetle 

A slightly unusual find was made by visitor assistant Hawk Honey when he came across this robber-fly with common blue damselfly prey along the summer trail.

Nom, nom, nom.

Last but not least, we had some amazing footage of an unexpected visitor to the mammal box this week.

A busy summer ahead!

Well all the schools have now broken up for the summer period and this means that the visitor centre at Lackford will now be open 7 days a week! Yes, now you can visit the visitor centre everyday during the school holidays between 10am - 5pm and enjoy cake and a hot drink as well as browsing the shop for bird food, ID guides or binoculars.

This weekend also sees the start of our Bioblitz Countdown. With only a week away from our first ever Bioblitz at Lackford, we can’t wait to see what you will find. Last year, another one of the Trust’s education centres, Foxburrow Farm, held a successful Bioblitz and some amazing records were made. Children were finding things that had never been recorded on the site before including 4 rare species of bee and wasp. Lackford has a diverse range of varying habitats in it 360 acres, so it’ll be likely that something unusual will turn up, will it be you that finds it???

Saturday 1 August from 4pm

4pm - Bird walk with local expert Paul Holness. No need to book 
6pm - Setting up mammal and pitfall traps. No need to book.
7pm - Family wildlife walk with the Lackford warden. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
8.30pm - Star gazing with the Breckland Astronomical Society. No need to book
8pm - Moth trap set up. No need to book
9pm - Bat walk with Bill Landall and Hawk Honey. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
10pm - Nighttime amphibian session. Please book - online or call 01284 728706

Sunday 2 August 

6am - Early morning wildlife walk. Please book - online or call 01284 728706

6am - Empty the moth trap. No need to book
7am - Bird ringing session. No need to book
7am - A look at Breckland plants. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
9.30am - Emptying the small mammal traps. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
10am - Checking the pitfall traps for mini beasts and spiders. No need to book
11.30am - Family pond dipping session. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
12am - Wildlife walk with a focus on reptiles. Please book - online or call 01284 728706
1pm - Dragon and damselfly session. No need to book
2pm - Bees and butterfly session. No need to book
Solar viewing throughout the day with the Breckland Astronomical Society. No need to book

As you can see, there really is something for everyone. Suffolk Biological Records Centre will be on hand to record all of the findings and experts will also be available throughout the day to help identify your finds. You may also notice that Breckland Astronomical Society will be present during the 24 hour period showing people the wonder of the night skies and solar viewing through special filters that allow people to look at the sun without injury. 

Places are beginning to fill up quickly on the bookable activities, so be sure not to miss out and book your spot for a great day. You can book your place here and then click on the relevant activity.

Remember, all the activities are FREE, so don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

With all these exciting things happening, news soon gets around. A new visitor to the Lackford area must’ve heard about what is happening at Lackford lakes and decided to check us out.

A peacock checks out the visitor centre at Lackford.

Can this be added to our 131 species of bird on the reserve this year, we think not. Peacock’s have yet to become a naturalised bird here in the UK and therefore stays off the list.

Sightings

This time of year usually sees the bird life getting a bit quiet and Lackford is no exception. The kingfisher is still showing off and on and can be seen in various places, but mainly from Bess’, Atlas and the double-decker hides. Stephen Whayman caught these fantastic images and shared them to our Twitter page.

Another elusive visitor to Lackford, yet often sought, is the turtle dove. Rich Berry managed to get a couple of shots though as the birds were seen in one of their usual places on the wires above the drive into the car park.

Turtle dove tightrope walking © Rich Berry

Having a stretch © Rich Berry

Some great spotted woodpeckers have been seen at the visitor centre feeding station. Hopefully, we will be able to get it on one of the cameras soon, when it gets over its shyness.

Great Spotted Woodpecker pays a visit to the feeding station.

Insects are one of the things that are not being so elusive on the reserve at the moment, with butterflies, bees and dragonflies being spotted all over the reserve. Duncan Fletcher-Brown and wildlife guide Jim Palfrey have been out getting some stunning shots of these.

© Duncan Fletcher-Brown

© Duncan Fletcher-Brown

© Duncan Fletcher-Brown

© Duncan Fletcher-Brown

© Jim Palfrey

So as you can see, this week and this summer sees lots happening at Lackford including lots of events after our Bioblitz with our summer activities.

Summer activities at Lackford

Don’t Forget, join us on our countdown to the start of the Bioblitz on Twitter (@SWTLackfordLake) and spread the word. We look forward to seeing you!

You stuck the ring where???

Well the weather of late seems most un-June like, yet the wildlife doesn't seem to mind too much as things are carrying on pretty much as normal at Lackford. This includes the kingfishers at Hawker pool which have now fledged and can be seen on various parts of the reserve.

Newly fledged kingfishers by Joe Jackson on Twitter (@EyesOnWildlife)

Our regular visitor and contributor to the blog Ian Goodall also managed to get some shots of one of the adults visiting and leaving the nest hole shortly before the young fledged.

Adult visiting with food. Note how the fish's head is pointed outwards so the young take it the right way.

Young fed, off to find some more.

Shawn Pearce even got a good shot which he also shared on Twitter (@spearcephotos)

Kingfisher in action by Shawn Pearce

Big thanks to everyone for sharing their fantastic photos, really appreciated.

You put the ring where???

A very unusual photo appeared on Twitter via Rich Berry this week, of an unusually ringed bird.

Ringed Greylag 'FJH' by Rich Berry

After a little digging we were able to find out more about this bird via the person responsible for ringing it, Lee Barber, Recoveries officer at BTO Thetford. Lee emailed us to say:

The bird you have seen are part of a monitoring program with the aim of finding out where Greylag and Canada Geese move to after they have been ringed and neck collared during their annual moult. I have attached a poster that gives a bit more detail into this project.  The bird you saw was an adult male ringed at BTO HQ, Thetford in 2014. This bird has been interesting as it has not been seen away from the BTO since being ringed and hasn't been reported for some time. 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). It is good to hear this bird is still going strong... 

Lee also sent us the recapture history for FJH:

FJH's recapture history 

At first when we began digging, it was thought that FJH was part of an Icelandic ringing project. However, as we can see, FJH comes from much closer to home. But still an interesting find and if you see anything like this at Lackford, please let us know so that we can inform others. Big thank you to Rich for sharing this photo and well done for spotting FJH.

What's the point of nettles?

Let's face it, nettles are not everyone's idea of a garden plant. No-one actually plants nettles in their garden, yet they are a very important plant in our ecosystem as Rich Berry proved with this photo taken last week on the reserve.

Nibbly caterpillars enjoying the nettles.

Yes, these caterpillars love nettles and we love the caterpillars, especially as these are the caterpillars of the beautiful peacock butterfly. One to keep an eye out for when you visit Lackford.

Another one to watch out for at Lackford are our beautiful bee orchids. These can be seen along the path leading from the centre to Bernard's hide. East Anglian columnist Nicola Miller shared her photo of the bee orchids on Twitter:

Bee orchid by Nicola Miller (@NicMillersTale)

Sightings

Well as we already know, the kingfishers are showing very well and after weeks of only being seen at Hawker Pool, they can now be seen across the reserve with sightings coming in from Double-decker, Bernard's and Reed hides.

Raptors are also showing well with daily sightings of red kite, hobby, sparrowhawk and buzzard over the reserve.

Adrian Sheppard spotted this water rail yesterday at Reed hide.

Water rail by Adrian Sheppard

The great crested grebe and their chicks can still be seen from Bess' hide and the red crested pochard still has three chicks and can be often seen at Fuller's Mill hide. Shelduck's still have seven chicks and can be seen from Bill's hide. There was a touch of drama today at the centre when a female mallard brought her chicks to the centre pond and abandoned them! She flew off shortly after arriving with the chicks, which left the onlooking visitors feeling a bit anxious and worried. But thankfully, after about 20 minutes, she returned and calm was restored to the centre.

The butterflies and dragonflies are showing up well at the reserve with sightings of meadow brown, ringlet, painted lady and large skipper and emperor dragonflies also being spotted on the reserve. The best place to see these are on the summer trail and the path towards Bernard's hide.

Tony and Sandy (@tonyandsandy) had a very productive day recording all these beautiful moths at Lackford recently

A wide selection of moths seen at Lackford (left to right: Longhorn moth, silver ground carpet, straw dot, cinnabar moth, clouded border, snout and a geometrid moth)

If you would like to see more moths close up, then don't forget to come along on our Wild for the Weekend on the 4th and 5th July, where we will be displaying some of the moths caught in our traps here at Lackford. This is always a popular event and we will be displaying our moths at 1 pm on each day that weekend. Don't miss out!!!

Don't miss this either!

Our new provider of optical equipment, Viking, will be at Lackford this weekend (27th June) to demonstrate their range of optics. If you think you deserve a new pair of binoculars or are thinking of getting a scope perhaps, or even just want to peruse and try some out, then come on down between 10am - 4pm in the visitor centre.