CONSERVATION NEWS
Sadly missed
MIKE RAE
Trimley Marshes breeding birds
We would like to pay tribute to Alan Favell, long-time neighbour of Mickfield Meadow, who died earlier this year. Mr Favell always took a keen interest in the meadow and cut the hay for several decades – he was in his mid-eighties when he last made hay at Mickfield just a few years ago. Susan Stone, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust conservation advisor said: “When visiting the meadow, I often called to see Mr Favell and will greatly miss our conversations. I learnt a great deal from him about Mickfield parish, the meadow, and the art of haymaking. I feel very privileged to have known and spent time with him. The Trust’s continuing custodianship of Mickfield Meadow is a fitting memorial to his character and friendship.”
Bags of help Two Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserves have received a combined total of £20,000 from the Tesco Bags of Help initiative for restoration work and visitor improvements. The supermarket teamed up with Groundwork to launch its Bags of Help initiative, which saw grants of £12,000, £10,000 and £8,000 – all raised from the 5p bag levy – being awarded to environmental and greenspace projects.
Thank you
We are grateful to the families of the following friends of the Trust who have recently remembered us in their Will or through an In Memoriam donation.
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SUFFOLK WILDLIFE
On a more positive note, oystercatchers have done well with five pairs nesting and young seen along with three broods of shoveler duck, two pairs of great-crested grebe and at least three little grebe nests. If all that was not exciting enough, marsh harrier bred on the reserve for the first time ever and successfully fledged two young, an extraordinary result for a reserve that lacks an extensive area of reed – the harriers favoured breeding habitat. With some birds looking like they might have second broods, there is every chance numbers for 2016 will be higher still.
Patricia Bracey Veronica Bradford Frederick Burgess Jean Clark Jim Coles Jill Duff Gordon Dunnett Primrose Elliott
Alan Favell Mark Furnace Morris Garwood Shirley Hooton Susan Kerley Sheila Lindsey Michael Mawby John Morris
John Rogers Judith Ryland Teresa Stones Margaret Theobald David Warren Norman Warren Faith Widdicombe Lady Robina Wigan
FOXBURROW FARM
Restoration of three ponds and replacement of an old dipping platform.
Expansion of the wildlife garden, creating a raised vegetable area
for school children who visit the site. Build a pergola and additional picnic benches to give visitors a place to eat and shelter.
£8k
LACKFORD LAKES
Resurface a section of the 850m Kingfi sher trail to improve access for pushchairs, wheelchairs and mobility scooters.
Voting ran in store from 27 February until 6 March – with customers voting using a token given to them at the check-out in store.
IAN GOODALL
ROBERT CANIS FLPA
The 2016 breeding season is the second year with the benefit of the Veolia funded predator fence around the core-nesting habitat and it is already looking like the most successful year ever. Lapwing and redshank have done exceptionally well with 30 pairs holding territories and while it is difficult to confirm numbers, there is good evidence that over 20 chicks have fledged. Avocets have had a tougher time and while at least 10 pairs nested, high levels of gull predation appear to have prevented chicks fledging. This appears to have been an issue for other avocet colonies on the Suffolk coast.
£12k