First thing this morning, Lakenheath saw the quickest emptying of an office in the history of office-emptying. Faster than the rush to the bar when the call of 'last orders' is heard, it wasn't the fire alarm going off, but rather our volunteer John had called out 'Ooh, an otter!' The stampede that ensued was quite frightening but we all got through the door and up to the window intact, with binoculars in hand. The otter had, of course, disappeared from view but after a minute or two of waiting it showed itself again briefly, coming out of the pool, through the reeds and onto dry land right underneath the bird feeders. Dave unfortunately missed the spectacle as he had popped back into the office to grab his camera - by the time he reappeared the otter had ducked under the decking, back into the water and away from the pool via a channel. Two visitors who came into the centre shortly afterwards said they had spotted it as it continued its journey up the channel and into one of the ditches out the back of the centre. Such an exciting start to the day and all thanks to John, our otter spotter, for keeping a keen eye out on the pool.
Yesterday we had a visitor of the human variety, a senior ecologist from Suffolk County Council. Sue came to take a look at our rare poplar trees, which you might find surprising! Lakenheath has many poplar trees - remnant plantation woods from the Bryant and May days plus newer trees that have been planted since the RSPB took over the site. Although loved by the golden orioles, these hybrid poplars are not particularly special it has to be said. However, we do have two native black poplar trees on site which are very special indeed. There are so few black poplars left in the UK that natural fertilisation is highly unlikely and a helping hand is needed to aid the survival of the species. The black poplar is a floodplain tree rather than a woodland tree and habitat loss is a one of the major causes for its downfall. It is also the victim of rather prejudiced planting - the female trees produce very fluffy seeds which many people found rather annoying and messy. More male trees were planted than females and over time the number of female trees dropped dramatically. Work is therefore taking place across the country to try and help the species - estimations are that only 7,000 - 10,000 mature trees remain in Britain, with Suffolk being one of the stronghold counties. The work involves DNA testing to identify clone types and planting out cuttings in suitable locations.
Sue was very excited to see our big male black poplar tree (see photo below) and said it was one of the largest she had seen. It is quite old though and may only last another 50 years or so before it topples over. Our younger male specimen was doing very well according to Sue and flourishing in its location on the washland. Cuttings were taken for DNA testing, to ensure the trees are definitely wild black poplars and not hybrids. If the results are good, then we may be a prime location to plant out a female black poplar somewhere near the two males. We'll keep our fingers crossed for the results!
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - wild black poplar - known as the 'ballerina tree' for its graceful, arching branches
Photo credit: Ali Blaney - the smaller black poplar being inspected
In other news, the work party last week took us back down to Botany Bay, where we installed barriers across the new bunds where they connect to the public footpath. The bunds look like quite tempting pathways at the moment as they lead off into the grazing marshes so the barriers are just to indicate that they are not part of the footpath.
Photo credit: Ali Blaney – Volunteer Martin drilling a bracket hole
Much filling of potholes has been taking place, we had 40 tonnes of tarmac planings delivered last week so we've been flexing our muscles since the delivery and getting as much done as possible before any rain arrives! It's making a real difference and will no doubt be much appreciated by our visitors. Dave and Katherine have been busy with the brushcutters, opening up the bays along the southern and eastern edges of New Fen North reedbed. This allows great views into the channels and pools - keep your eyes open for snipe and even jack snipe, three were spotted in one of these pools a couple of weeks ago!
Finally, the eagle-eyed visitors among you will have spotted that the seasonal interpretation has changed around the reserve - yes, spring is here! Brimstone butterflies have been reported by visitors and Katherine, Dave and I saw a bumblebee down near Norfolk Fen yesterday when the sun was out. Our first coordinated bittern listen of the year took place this morning, with four of us located at the main reedbeds. Three of us saw bitterns in flight but only Suzanne was lucky enough to hear one grunting out in Joist Fen North. It was slightly cloudy and cool this morning, which may have put a bit of a dampner on the male bitterns, but other highlights were to be had including kingfisher, snipe and great crested grebe at New Fen North. You don't have to be here for long before you spot something amazing and with the cranes being seen regularly and the sun starting to shine, our visitors are reporting back to us with big smiles!