Your wild summer

The best of the season’s wildlife and where to enjoy it in Suffolk.

Norfolk hawkers are only found in unpolluted fens, marshes and ditches and are on the wing for a short time, during June and into early July.

Be dazzled by dragonflies

On balmy summer days, as the ground warms up and a soft breeze tickles the tops of the reeds, explore a wetland for the chance to see some outstanding aerial predators. More fascinating than their mythical namesakes, dragonflies are found in virtually every freshwater habitat, as well as woods, heaths and gardens. They typically emerge in early spring, with numbers peaking during the warmest summer months. Over 30 different species are recorded in Suffolk most years. One local star species is the Norfolk (or green-eyed) hawker. Historically, they were restricted to the Norfolk Broads and north east Suffolk, but over recent decades have spread to neighbouring counties. It is large and a pale, reddishbrown, with green eyes and a distinctive yellow triangle on its body, separating it from the similar brown hawker. Take time to spot this local speciality this June.

See Them This Summer

† Carlton Marshes claims the record for the highest number of species recorded on a British nature reserve (currently 28).

† Lackford Lakes is a top spot for dragonflies and damselflies as they flit around the edge of the lakes and perch on vegetation.

† Redgrave & Lopham Fen has the perfect mixture of fenland, woodland and grassland habitats for dragonfly hunting.

Reserve info & maps suffolkwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves

Many saltmarshes and coastal sites are highly sensitive including Simpson’s Saltings, so we only allow viewing from the sea wall.

FIELDCRAFT

Sea kale

Sea kale is a plant that deserves our utmost respect and notice, and summer is the perfect time to spot it. It has adapted to thrive in conditions that seem completely inhospitable: salty shingle, battered by the sea. The tough leaves feel leathery to touch and, in the summer, the dainty white flowers give off a delicate fragrance. This plant is edible and was once called ‘scurvy grass’, being popular with sailors as a source of vitamins. It was once so popular, especially with coastal dwellers, that over-harvesting led to its increasing rarity. It is now protected and populations are recovering, and you’re likely to see this species along beaches like Dunwich. It also appears to be indigenous to the UK.

SEE THEM THIS SUMMER

† Dingle Marshes, and particularly the mile-long shingle ridge, is a top place to spot and smell sea kale.

† Simpson’s Saltings is one of the country's most important coastal sites for its wealth of uncommon shingle and saltmarsh plants.

Communities can work together to help a range of species, including the more misunderstood ones like grass snakes.

Spot a basking grass snake

Find out more suffolkwildlifetrust.org/ wildlife-explorer/reptiles/grass-snake

Grass snakes are the longest snake you’re likely to see in the UK. They favour wetlands, but you might also see one in local grasslands and gardens, especially if there are ponds nearby. They are completely harmless to humans (despite their size), and a closer inspection can show an underappreciated beauty, generally olive-green-to-brown, with black barring and a yellow and black collar. They hunt amphibians, fish, small mammals and birds, and you might even spot them swimming in water. They will often select compost heaps or piles of grass to lay their eggs.

How to SEE A GRASS SNAKE

† Tread quietly for the best chance of spotting a grass snake. They are highly sensitive to sound and vibrations and will hide rather than risk a confrontation.

† Warm days in late spring and early summer are ideal, particularly in the morning. Grass snakes will bask on warm, flat rocks or patches of grass in the sun.

† Take action for grass snakes by creating homes in your garden. Undisturbed compost or grass heaps, wood piles and ponds create the perfect conditions.

See This

There are around 280 species of hoverfly in the UK. These insects are top pollinators; watch for them hovering over grassland and ponds.

Species Spotlight

Redshank

Admire breeding waders on Suffolk's wetlands.

Understated beauty

Hear This

Listen out for the whirring of a grasshopper warbler at one of our wetland sites. They sound like a grasshopper – or a fishing reel being let out.

Top tips THREE SPECIES TO SPOT

REDSHANK: ALAMY

Long-legged, elegant and striking, the bright red legs of the redshank make this large shorebird easy to identify. Summer redshanks are more understated, being brownish all over with a pale belly, and their straight red bill is tipped in black. In flight, they show a white wedge up the back and a wide, white triangle on the rump. They are noisy, too, particularly in flight, emitting a high-pitched, squeaky, repetitive whistle. Only one other wader in the UK has legs this shade of fiery orange, the spotted redshank, but it would be unusual to see this passage migrant in the summer. More so, their breeding plumage is almost black with silvery freckles, and they are larger and longerbeaked than their more common cousins.

RED legs and red bill with a black tip.

Clockwork chicks

REDSHANK are one of three priority wader species

National declines

Suffolk is home to important populations of both breeding and wintering redshanks. In the summer, the UK population is approximately 22,000 pairs, but this is bolstered to over 100,000 individual birds in the winter, with thousands arriving from countries like Iceland to seek warmth and sanctuary on our coastal wetlands. Facing stark declines since the mid-twentieth century, the redshank is now an amber-listed species, and one of three important wader populations in Suffolk. Alongside the lapwing and avocet, redshanks are a priority for the Suffolk Wader Group, a county-wide partnership committed to supporting our breeding waders at a landscape scale.

Redshanks can be seen at several coastal, intertidal and wetland sites across Suffolk. In the spring, males will initiate a courtship where they raise their wings high in the air to display to females. Their undeniably cute chicks are born around May or June time, looking like small and fluffy clockwork toys. They scurry around hind their parents, learning how to use their long bills to probe for invertebrates. Adult redshank are easily disturbed and will take to the sky at the threat of predators, calling loudly to warn their chicks to hide.

Look For Them This Summer

† Castle Marshes has grazing marsh, fen and freshwater dykes, with open areas home to breeding lapwing and redshank.

† Dingle Marshes has brackish pools that attract waders including redshank, with numbers increasing in the winter.

† Carlton Marshes is a top spot to see displaying redshank in the spring.

Reserve info & maps suffolkwildlifetrust.org/nature-reserves

Lapwing

Dark iridescent backs, a black collar, a long crest and round wingtips. Call 'pee-wit!' in flight.

Black-tailed godwit

Large waders. In summer, they have bright orangey chests. Dagger-like bills are tipped in black.

Avocet

Tall, elegant, black and white birds, with an upturned bill and loud call, 'kluet-kluet'.

Spot This

As night falls, look for bats flitting around lampposts in the gloaming. They emerge just as the sun sets to feast on winged insects – as many as 3,000 a night.

Not Just For Kids

Smell This

Summer is a great time to inhale the heady, sweet fragrance of honeysuckle. This smell is particularly attractive to moths, like elephant hawk-moths.