red eyed damselfly © Joe Jackson

SWT Lackford Lakes

Well the weekend and this week so far have been one minute sunshine and then the next rain, but it has not stopped the wildlife here at Lackford Lakes.

Fledging birds have been seen all over the reserve despite the terrible weather. Blue tits, treecreepers, long-tailed tits and blackcaps are being spotted all over. The kingfishers have been visible around the Hawker Pool. The parents have been seen carrying large fish to the nest bank so please keep your eyes open for fledging Kingfishers!

Last weekend a spotted flycatcher was seen for the second time at Lackford feeding over the centre pool. It is often perched on the edge of the branches and will dart in and out to catch its dinner. If you do see this amazing bird please let us know in the visitor centre!

Damselflies and dragonflies are being seen all over Lackford. Look out for their striking colours and the beating of the wings flying past you.   

Four spotted chaser © Joe Jackson 

Sadly our dragonfly & damselfly identification on 25th June is now FULLY BOOKED. But... do not fear, every Saturday throughout June at 1pm we will be doing Discover the moths of Lackford. 

There is no need to book but be ready at the visitor centre just before 1pm.

The above video was taken at lackford two weekends ago and shows some of the species that are around at the moment.

Over the last few days our bee orchards have been flowering. We have at least 3 in bloom at the moment with many more preparing to burst into colour in the coming weeks.

One other event that has taken place this week is the appearance of a good range of butterfly species:brown argus, speckled wood, green veined white, red admiral and holly blue but on the top of the list is the painted lady making its appearance for the first time.

Great crested grebe on its nest © Gregory Veness

There are no new birds to add to our list but a count of 100 lapwing are on The Slough, along with the odd common tern.

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!

Hi Ho slither away....

Well the hot days of summer have eventually fell upon us and with it the burst of insect activity that comes with hot summer days. Dragonflies are in abundance across the reserve and our largest native dragonfly the emperor dragonfly can often be found patrolling the pond outside the visitor centre. Elsewhere, black-tailed skimmers, broad-bodied chasers, banded demoiselles, red-eyed damselfly and many more odonata can be found. 

Black-tailed skimmer by Rich Berry

Four-spotted chaser by Colin Robson

This abundance of dragonflies has brought in one of its top predators, hobby’s, which can often be seen flying over the Slough or Mill Deep catching and eating their catch on the wing, an amazing sight to see.

The kingfishers have been quite active of late and are often seen down at the double-decker hide. Mind you, it pays to have a little patience and wait for a bit if you want to have a good chance of seeing this beautiful little bird. Several visitors got some cracking shots of this striking bird.

Ellie Stones managed this lovely shot.

Rich Berry caught this juvenile perched.

Stephen Whayman shared this action shot on Twitter

Sorry if you’ve sent us photos which haven’t been included here, but our telephone/internet situation at Lackford still hasn’t been resolved and therefore we have no access to our emails at present. The situation is completely out of our hands and we hope will be resolved soon, so watch this space.

Butterflies are another species that’s been taking advantage of the hot spell with many meadow brown, gatekeeper, ringlet, painted lady, red admiral, comma, large skipper’s and many more being seen around the reserve.

Ringlet by Rich Berry

Large Skipper by Colin Robson

Comma by Colin Robson

A pristine looking Red Admiral by Colin Robson

On the subject of Lepidoptera, last weekend saw the next instalment of our Wild for the Weekend themed weekends with Summer Wildlife. As usual, the moth traps had been set up overnight and the warm overnight temperatures meant there were to be some wonderful finds in the trap.

Plenty of Elephant Hawkmoths were in the trap

A male Drinker moth

We even had a visit from our largest resident moth the privet hawkmoth pictured below.

A Privet Hawkmoth

As usual, the moth sessions were well attended and the gasps of amazement were all around as beautiful moth after beautiful moth were lifted from the trap.

Monday opening!

As most of you will know, the visitor centre has always been closed on Monday’s (except for Bank Holidays). Well this i set to change for the period of the school summer holidays and as from Monday 27th July, the centre will be open on every Monday up till Monday the 31st August. So now you can enjoy coffee and cake after your walk every day of the week!

Yes, the Bioblitz soon approaches and our website is now live and can be viewed here. Please have a look and book onto any of the events you would like to attend. The events are free, but numbers are limited, so don’t miss out!

It’s not just wildlife.

Lackford is renowned for its biodiversity when it comes to wildlife, but as Ellie Stones proved, it’s also a place to get some stunning scenic shots, especially sunsets, and shared this lovely photo of the visitor centre on our Twitter.

Sunset in reflection of the visitor centre. Ellie Stones

And finally...

By now, all of us would have seen the weasel riding on the back of a flying woodpecker. However, David Offord managed to capture this series of fantastic photos from Bess’ hide of a damselfly hitching a lift on the head of a swimming grass snake!

Who would like to add a caption? 

A big thank you to David and all of our other contributors to the blog, keep your photos coming and don’t forget, Suffolk Wildlife Trust have a wonderful photo competition that’s free to enter and has some great prizes. You can find out more here.