"Red sky at night, shepherd's delight. Red sky in the morning, shepherd's warning." This ancient saying certainly rang true this Tuesday at Lound Lakes, when this spectacular sunrise was followed by a day of heavy rain. Many thanks to volunteer Warden Roy Richardson for these gorgeous images. 

Kestrels are typically seen hovering, their pointed wings held out, hunting for voles. This one was caught on trail cam at Carlton Marshes, devouring a successful kill. Kestrels nest in holes in trees, old buildings, and abandoned crows' nests, laying between four and five eggs. When the eggs hatch, both parents help to feed the young chicks. 

Rotational fen cutting stepped up this week at Carlton Marshes, with warden Lewis cutting vegetation with the Softrak, which allows us to work soft ground where no other vehicle can reach. Vegetation is cut and removed every 5-7 years to create a mosaic of fen structure across the marsh. The first year’s growth is sparse and this thinner reed is good for breeding marsh harrier, water rail and bittern. As the reed-fen matures more new and old reed stems create thicker habitat which is preferred by bearded tit and warblers. As well as maintaining a diverse habitat, this work will create some open areas where birds are easier to spot from Tower Hide. 

Warden Joe and the wonderful Trimley Marshes volunteers have been replacing small spiral guards on recently planted hawthorn, blackthorn and dog rose with tube guards. The scrub was getting visibly browsed by deer as soon as it grew above the spiral guards, so they needed replacing with something taller to ensure they could become established. The team reused redundant tube guards from the wider estate at Trimley, which had the benefits of both being cost-free and also meant they were reusing single use plastic. County Councillor Stewart Bird provided a generous grant of £900 from Suffolk’s Locality Budget, which was used to purchase the wooden stakes for the tube guards. Many thanks to the Council for providing funding, Trimley Estate for the tube guards, and the hard work of our volunteers, which should ensure the scrub will now grow more densely and provide nesting habitat for birds such as bullfinch, blackcap and linnet.  

It’s no wonder so many bird species drop in at Carlton Marshes - look how inviting and wet it looks from the air! Many thanks to Mike Page Photography for this recent aerial shot of the nature reserve and visitor centre. 

The North East Reserves Team visited Holkham Estate recently to meet with the team there and discuss wetland management techniques and the estate’s breeding bird successes. 

Meadows & Heaths Warden Ben has been cutting gorse and scrub in Rendlesham Forest this week. This is the first phase of converting a former forestry clear-fell area to maintained open habitat for woodlark and nightjar. This is a new area of the Sandlings Forest SPA (special protection area) which is going to be managed in partnership with Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Forestry England.