Levington Lagoon

Levington Lagoon is managed by SWT for Suffolk Yacht Harbour.  Five Bearded Tits were seen there today.

Trimley update

A Peregrine Falcon hunting caused several hundred Teal to scatter. Other observations included Wheatear, Bearded Tits, Buzzard and Water Rail. There were c1500 ducks and geese on the reservoir.

Reserves update

Birds at Trimley during the last few days include 4 Spoonbills, Short-eared Owl, Bearded Tits have been showing well in front of the reservoir hide, 4 Greenshank, up to 6 Mediterranean Gulls, several Buzzards and 2 Marsh Harriers daily and good numbers of wildfowl and geese.

At Levington 144 Avocets, 128 Grey Plovers, c70 Golden Plover and a Curlew Sandpiper.

Trimley Update

Three volunteers working with me today were Tom, John and Rob.  John spent all day in the tractor topping one of the meadows whilst the rest of us were grafting on a number of tasks.


Rob resting and wondering how he is going to pull up the remaing three feet of an 8in x 8in gate post before installing a new one.





Tom installing the gate latch, note the pre-war geared brace (may even be pre First World War).

Today we saw our first Goldcrests of the autumn; the Short-eared Owl is still present; other observations include Sparrowhawk 3, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard 2, Wheatear 2, Stonechat, Swallows 12 and a Redpoll.



Reserves Update

A Great White Egret at Levington Lagoon (found by Ernie Lucking) then later I saw the Egret at Trimley Marshes whilst drinking a well earned cuppa!

A Short-eared Owl and an Otter was seen by the reservoir hide (Mark Angiss). Other birds at Trimley included c450 Coot, c200 Gadwall, 16 Little Grebe, 110 Redshank, Greenshank 2, Spotted Redshank, 12 Snipe, 2 Ruff, 2 Buzzards, 2 Marsh Harriers plus several Redwing, Song Thrush and Brambling.

Reserves Update

Snape Marshes: Derek and Lesley (wardens) saw  a Jack Snipe at very close range and reported that the number of Common Snipe are increasing.  Also, they noticed Badger footprints along the public footpath in one of the muddy areas.

Trimley Marshes: On Saturday I saw a Clouded Yellow (very few seen this summer) and on Saturday Nick Mason found a very late Willow Emerald Damselfly. Birds included Ruff, Greenshank, Bar-tailed Godwit and ducks are totalling around 1,000.  Water Rail are being seen easily infront of the reservoir hide.



Water Rail



















Newbourne Springs:  Thanks to Mike Wise (warden) and his hard working volunteers, and not forgetting the Trust's Hebridean sheep the fen areas are looking fantastic.

SWT CONSERVATION DAY and AGM at Felixstowe

During the morning we had lectures on Hidden Treasures of East Anglia 's Secret Sea - Rob Spray , Seasearch East : North Sea Herring – the Myths, Mysteries and Mismanagement - John Nichols, CEFAS : Safeguarding the North Sea marine environment - Kirsten Smith , North Sea Marine Advocacy Manager for the Wildlife Trusts.

After an excellent lunch over 70 attendees visited the Trimley Marshes reserve.  First we had to ferry people from the car park to the Visitor Centre by 4x4. In one of the pictures below you can see Sir Kenneth Carlisle and David Thomlinson taking a back seat.

Trimley Update

Another early morning start (0530hrs) at Trimley, my nets were up by dawn (0630 hrs). Birding was good again; Barn Owls were hunting over the top fields, so pleasing to see these charismatic birds once again on the marshes. On a length of fencing, perched within a few feet of each other, were two Reed Buntings, a Wheatear, Whinchat and a Stonechat.  I caught and ringed  afew more birds, which included another Water Rail and a young female Stonechat.

Trimley Update

Yesterday we had our first Brent Geese; winter is just around the corner!

Today we had a Wheatear, three Buzzards, several Kestrels, a Marsh Harrier and two Sparrowhawks. Duck numbers are building up and we still have Reed and Sedge Warblers with us.

Early this morning I caught and ringed an adult male Water Rail.