Suffolk Wildlife Trust – Lackford Lakes

In our pursuit of nature’s wonders, we do sometimes leave the county of Cambridgeshire and head into Norfolk, that’s our usual modus operandi. Occasionally though we head east into Suffolk instead. One of the closest nature destinations in that county is the SWT site of Lackford Lakes not far from Bury St Edmunds.

Male Siskin feeding in an alder tree at SWT Lackford Lakes
Male Siskin feeding in an alder tree

I should point out that we’re quite lucky living near Cambridge. We have some decent wildlife spots close by, we’re centrally placed almost with various reserves within a 20-minute drive. We’re quite central to many others that are no more than 40-50 minutes drive away. We can even get to the Norfolk or Suffolk coast in not much more than an hour if the traffic’s not too heavy.

Nuthatch perched on mossy log
Nuthatch

Anyway, we don’t get to Lackford Lakes as often as we should, but that said it then means that any trip is quite special when we do. And, while I don’t think we’ve seen any bird or insect species there that we haven’t seen in other places over the years, it’s always fun to visit just for those species that we don’t see commonly on our local patch, such as Siskin.

Foreground shows a Snipe with ruffled tail feathers and a male Teal in the background
Snipe with ruffled tail feathers

We also saw rabbit and muntjac deer, but here’s a list of the bird species we saw, in a vaguely sorted order. There may have been one or two other gull species:

  1. Goldcrest
  2. Siskin
  3. Goldfinch
  4. Bullfinch
  5. Great Tit
  6. Blue Tit
  7. Long-tailed Tit
  8. Coal Tit
  9. Marsh Tit
  10. Dunnock
  11. Chaffinch
  12. Greenfinch
  13. Robin
  14. Nuthatch
  15. Wren
  16. Blackbird
  17. Starling
  18. Lapwing
  19. Common Buzzard
  20. Snipe
  21. Cormorant
  22. Mallard
  23. Mute Swan
  24. Tufted Duck
  25. Gadwall
  26. Pochard
  27. Teal
  28. Wigeon
  29. Shelduck
  30. Great Crested Grebe
  31. Moorhen
  32. Coot
  33. Greylag Goose
  34. Canada Goose
  35. Black-headed Gull
  36. Carrion Crow
  37. Rook
  38. Jackdaw
  39. Magpie
  40. Wood Pigeon
  41. Collared Dove
  42. Pheasant
Nuthatch with fat pellet clinging to mossy log
Nuthatch with fat pellet
Flock of Snipe at Lackford Lakes
Flock of Snipe at Lackford Lakes
Three wading Snipe
Three wading Snipe