This month our reserves team carried out our second year's hay cut at Martlesham Wilds. 

Cutting and removing hay after plants have gone to seed in the summer allows for the soil to maintain a steady nutrient level suitable for flowering meadow species. If the soil is too high in nutrients, the habitat will be less suitable for meadow plants reducing the biodiversity of the site. 

Thanks to the support we recieved from Biffa Award, our the team at Martlesham Wilds have purchased a range of equipment needed to conduct species surveying - including botanical surveys - before the hay cut.

This month we've also hay cut at Martins' Meadows and Hutchison's Meadow.

This month South East and Trimley Warden, Joe has hosted bird ringing demonstration events at Trimley Marshes with the help of licenced bird ringers Justin, Ellie and Dan Zantboer. 

Participants have been able to get up close to birds on the nature reserve and learn more about the bird ringing process and its importance for tracking bird migration and site faithfulness. Highlights included, little ringed plovers, a juvenile kingfisher, and bearded tits. These have been special events allowing participants to get up close to many birds that they usually would only be able to see from a distance. Keep an eye out on our events page for future events.

Our teams at Carlton Marshes and Lackford Lakes welcomed work experience students for a busy week learning about the varied roles across our organisation including conservation, engagement, and communications! 

Getting involved in various different tasks including surveying ponds for invertebrates and newts, learning about different roles within Suffolk Wildlife Trust and visiting our Foxburrow nature reserve both groups of students had a week full of varied tasks. 

You can read recounts from the student's busy week on our blog page.

The team at Carlton Marshes hosted a wonderful evening of folk music from the John Ward Trio at an evening show this August. Guests were able to enjoy the three-part melodies of the band with a grazing platter with a view of the marshes as the sun set beyond the lighting trees. A truly magical experience!

The John Ward Trio have been long time supporters of us at Suffolk Wildlife Trust, we'd like to extend a big thank you to them for helping us raise funds for our work for wildlife.

The North East Reserves team met up with visiting ecologist Dorothy Casey for a morning of looking at dyke systems and botanical surveying on our sites in north east Suffolk. With the aim of encouraging the sharing and development of knowledge the team discussed what makes a healthy dyke system and what key botanical indicator species will be present to show this.

Botanical surveys can be complex and require a wealth of professional knowledge, this session was a good opportunity to practice and build on the knowledge required to assist external professional surveyors when they visit our sites. 

Our team and members have reported some brilliant moth sightings across Suffolk including poplar hawk-moths, hummingbird hawk-moths, and jersey tiger moths.

Each moth is striking in it's own way. The size and scalloped wings of a poplar hawk-moth make this species a favourite to spot, flying at night the best way to see a poplar hawk-moth is to attend a moth trapping event. Hummingbird hawk-moths migrate from Southern Europe and fly during the day to nectar rich plants such as buddleia, with their wings beating so fast they appear orange and can make an audible 'hum'. Jersey tigers are a more recent visitor to Suffolk, with a range limited to the south these moths are considered 'nationally rare', with brown and cream stripes they have a striking orange underwing. 

Rare or otherwise it's always a pleasure to spot these pollinators with their unique features. If you'd like to find out more about different moths you might be able to see, read our moth identification guide.