The North Suffolk team used a fire sledge to burn woody off-cuts from successional shrub at Darsham Marshes this week. A fire sledge is a moveable platform which burns wood without damaging the ground or allowing nutrients from the ash to enter the soil in these sensitive floristic locations.

Ellen Shailes, Broads Warden, oversaw contractors at Gunton Meadow who laid a hedge and partially cleared trees from around the pond. This work will maintain a mosaic of structure on site, allow more light into the pond and reduce the leaf fall burden to benefit aquatic plant and amphibian life.

A fleeting glimpse of a bullfinch spotted beside the Lackford Lakes Visitor Centre. Michael Andrews, Visitor Officer said ‘The bullfinch is a large, plump finch that feeds on buds and fruit in woodlands, hedgerows, parklands, gardens and orchards. Beautiful, easy to tame and skillful at mimicry, it was often taken as a cage-bird in times past. Shy and secretive, its melancholy call may be the only indication of its presence in a thicket. Bullfinches usually nest in shrubs, such as hawthorn and blackthorn, making a flimsy nest out of twigs and moss.’

Redgrave & Lopham Fen has been experiencing flooding not seen in at least a decade. The extra areas of open water iced over during the cold snap this week, their smooth, glass-like features in stark contrast to the feathered tops of reed catching the welcome warmth of the sun, softening the scene.