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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 32

LIVING ON THE BOUNDARY1 TONY BROWN Hopton is midway between Gorleston and Lowestoft, the most eastern part of Norfolk, with the county boundary skirting the village. In certain parts of the village it is difficult to decide exactly where the boundary lies and some of the farm fields appear to be divided so that part is in Norfolk and part in Suffolk.

Obviously we have no problem living in this Situation except when it comes to recording wild life. The difficulty arises as to which county the records should be assigned. Birds and insects, for example, know no such boundaries.

Therefore some overlapping must occur. In many cases the records of non-static wildlife must apply to both counties equally.

In and around the village there are several areas of particular interest to naturalists which are well worth recording. One is the Lound Waterworks Reserve, now belonging to Essex and Suffolk Water Company but under the watchful eye of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. The reserve has recently been opened to the public, who are encouraged to use specific footpaths laid out for them. I have been 'nature watching' here for over 30 years. Time was when only a few serious naturalists used the reserve. One could walk around and not see another soul but, since being opened up, it has lost some of its charm. It is regularly used by dog owners, with the usual associated problems.

There are three or four large reservoirs, some holding respectable numbers of fish. Although the Company does not allow fishing in these waters I have seen an early-morning angler around one of the reservoirs occasionally. As the county boundary runs right through the middle of these reservoirs any records from here are of equal importance to both Norfolk and Suffolk.

To the east of the Reserve there is a small private estate of about 20 acres, belonging originally to the old Hopton House Estate, though now under two separate ownerships. For many years I was given liberty to wander around the estate and recorded everything that feil to my notice. The estate is on the county boundary but just in Norfolk. Many birds and insects move freely between this estate and the Waterworks Reserve. For example, the cuckoo that you heard a few seconds ago in Suffolk may be the one you are watching now in the Hopton estate.

There is a small lake on the estate visited by swans, Canada Geese and various ducks. A pair of Canada Geese have bred there regularly since 1988, but the last time swans bred there was in 1982, although they occasionally raise young in the Waterworks Reserve and bring them to the Hopton estate when still very young.

The birdlife within the two sites is varied; there are woodland and field species as well as those associated with water. Great Crested Grebes may be found at the Waterworks Reserve, but not on the Hopton estate. I watched one with some amusement when it tried to swallow a fish that was obviously too large. Nuthatches breed regularly on the Hopton estate. I once saw one with four young feeding them on the ground. Most strangely it was assisted in the feeding by an adult Robin.

1 The vice-county of E. Suffolk (v.c.25) reaches as far north as Breydon Water so all of this area, although administratively Norfolk, is covered by the SBRC. Ed.

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 32 (1996)

LIVING ON THE BOUNDARY

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Several pairs of Coots live on the lake. One pair attended a nest with three eggs. All hatched, but one chick was taken by a pike. The survivors remained with their parents and were fed until almost fĂźll grown. Three more eggs were laid on the old nest and, while the female was sitting, the male occasionally fed the youngsters. Only two chicks survived from the second brood. The parents and the first brood youngsters fed them.

A pair of Spotted Flycatchers nested in an old external lamp on the wall of an old derelict building on the estate. I first saw them nesting there in 1987. On May 27th 1990 I saw that the female had returned to the lamp and had carried out some restoration work on the previous year's nest. On June 3rd there were three eggs in the nest, and they had hatched by June 23rd. Both parents fed the chicks. The next time I saw the nest the chicks had flown but there were five Spotted Flycatchers in the vicinity which I assumed to be the family from the lamp. On July 27th the nest contained three more eggs and I identified the female as the same bird from a peculiar light mark on its head. On August 12th the youngsters were flying for the first time, the parents coaxing them to do so from a nearby tree.

On June 18th 1983 I watched several damselflies along the banks of the lake on the estate. Among the Blue-tailed Damselflies, Ischnura elegans, I noticed a male and three female Red-eyed Damselflies, Erythromma najas, and later saw the male in tandem with one of the females and was able to photograph them.

Since then I have not seen Red-eyed Damselflies at this lake although I have seen a few at the Waterworks Reserve. This year, 1995, has been a good year for them. The females are fairly easy to find at rest on the bankside Vegetation but the males tend to settle on the floating leaves of the Yellow Water Lilies. I have seen many of them mating.

This year there was also a considerable influx of Yellow-winged Darter Dragonflies, Sympetrum flaveolum, along the coast, and some reached Lound.

I have seen in excess of 100 specimens within the reserve, and at least one pair in tandem, so some may successfully breed here. I will be watching for them next year from July onwards.

On August 7th 19941 was Walking in a meadow of the Lound reserve where common blue butterflies are usually abundant and the larval foodplant, Bird'sfoot Trefoil, is common, when I saw three females at rest and fairly close to each other. One appeared to be smaller than the others and when I netted them proved to be a brown argus, Arica agestis. The others were, indeed, common blues, Polyommatus icarus. I could find no other specimens of the brown argus but a member of the Gt. Yarmouth Naturalists' Society found a small colony of them this year (1995) and I found many more specimens. This is the first time that the species has been recorded this far east in Norfolk and the outlook for the species seems good.

1995 will also be long remembered for a Camberwell Beauty which was seen in the area of the Hopton Garden Centre between August 3Ist and September 5th. It must be one of the most photographed butterflies ever. It continuously posed while feeding on Hebes and Buddleias, providing many people with their first sighting of this rare migrant species. A week later my wife found a specimen on our driveway.

In 1964 on a visit to the Lound Reserve the late Dr. E. A. Ellis found the very

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 32 (1996)

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Suffolk Natural History, Vol. 32

rare Pillwort, Pilularia globulifera, growing on the edges of the lakes He recorded it as recently as 1980, and it is still growing there in considerable abundance. It is an aquatic fern, the leaves of which could be mistaken for those ot a grass of sedge, but they coil spirally at the tip.

These few observations from the border of Suffolk and Norfolk may interest those folk that concern themselves with the nature of both counties.

Tony Brown, 16 Mariners Park Close, Hopton, Gt. Yarmouth, Norfolk NR31 9DQ

Trans. Suffolk Nat. Soc. 32 (1996)