SIGHTS AND SONDS - Combs and Little Finborough. STOWMARKET Nature can always introduce some curiosities. Since the autumn a tawny owl has been heard call- ing throughout the day on the borders between Combs and Little Finborough. As winter pro- WILDLIFE GROUP NEWS gressed, the calling at night increased as expected. It isn’t clear if the one that calls in daytime also May to August 2018 calls at night. Sadly, I was told that a little owl had been killed on the road. Little owls have nested by the meadow in Little Finborough for many years. But there’s still one around, hunting in the afternoon GROUP NEWS - SAVING OUR SUFFOLK SWIFTS - SIGHTS AND SOUNDS - WHAT’S ON and calling as it gets dark. There is still time for him or her to find a new mate before the breeding season gets into full swing. GROUP NEWS There is a barn owl in Moats Tye, Combs and another near Little Finborough Church. Other sight- Due to the extreme weather in February we had to cancel the Wildlife in Shingle Street talk. ings suggest that there are a few more barn owls around and several nesting boxes are in place to This is the first time that we have had to cancel an event due to bad weather. Fortunately we help them. One large flock of fieldfares has been around for most of the winter, but there seemed have been able to reschedule this for 31st October this year and also include an earlier opportunity to be very few redwings about. The fieldfares seemed to stay mainly on the fields, but those cold to purchase SWT cards and gifts. and snowy days did bring a few into gardens. They really are handsome birds, but they can be bul- In 2017 we raised £493 from the sale of cards and gifts and contributed £450 to the Carlton lies too. They drive blackbirds and song thrushes away from the food, and squabble among them- Marshes appeal. Thank you for your support. selves for possession of a good feeding place. During the summer we will have a stand at Woolpit Steam Fair - 2 /3 June, Earl Stonham Fun Day - A few fortunate householders had yellowhammers coming to feed in their gardens. Yellowhammer 16 June, Combs Fete - 7 July and Stonham Barns Countryside and Falconry Fair - 15/16 September populations have declined in recent years, so perhaps learning to exploit new food sources in win- ter will help restore their fortunes. Goldfinches, which are now so common on bird feeders, were It was inspiring to receive news of the efforts of Stowmarket residents co-operating to help once an uncommon sight in gardens. Learning to use the feeders has helped to increase their num- hedgehogs thrive. Also the wider efforts by communities and organisations to help save our swifts bers quite markedly. We would love to include news of wildlife activities in your area. The deadline for our next newsletter is 6th August. John Thompson Several people reported seeing goldcrests in their gardens for the first time at the end of 2017 and start of 2018. There was concern that the really cold weather would be too much for these tiny SAVING OUR SUFFOLK SWIFTS birds, but several have obviously survived because they are still being seen in gardens and in the By early May our Suffolk Swifts will be churchyard at Little Finborough. completing a 10,000 km journey back to The weather this year seems to have varied between sunny or wet and cold. On one sunny day a the UK from their over-wintering areas in queen hornet was flying in my garden. The weather turned cold the next day, so let’s hope she the skies above Central and East Africa. found suitable shelter and survived to raise a new colony this summer. Ken Mudd They are truly amazing birds! So perfectly adapted to life in the air, they will have WHAT’S ON 2018 been on the wing constantly since leaving Wednesday 27 June - 7.30pm here at the end of last summer – feeding, BENEATH THE SURFACE OF SUFFOLK’S FRESHWATER - Adrian Chalkley sleeping and generally cruising at altitude. Their evocative calls as they chase and Thursday 19 July - 6pm swerve over the rooftops in ‘screaming 14 Swifts : image by Bill Baston MUNTONS MALT and WILDLIFE WALK Part 3 - Melissa Abbott parties’ are one of the special sounds of Wednesday 26 September - 7.30pm summer. STONE CURLEWS AND THE BRECKS - Tim Cowan Apart from a few pairs that nest on cliff faces, throughout the UK Swifts are almost entirely Wednesday 31 October - 7.30pm NEWS and EVENTS RESERVE WORK PARTIES KNOWING YOUR PLACE - WILDLIFE IN SHINGLE STREET - Jeremy Mynott New date John Thompson 01449 676471 Combs Wood Wednesday 28 November - 7.30pm [email protected] Keven Boyce 01449 676610 RED SQUIRRELS - Dougal Urquhart plus WILDLIFE QUIZ , MAGAZINE DISTRIBUTION Bonny Wood All talks are held at the Village Hall, Church Road, Stowupland, IP14 4BQ Entry £2.50 Hella Crosby 01449 721226 Peter Holborn 01449 736683 Walks are free but donations are welcome. Booking essential. For a full description of the events please visit www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/stowmarket or what’s on ONLINE www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/stowmarket www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org.uk Registered charity no. 262777 Living Landscapes Living Gardens Living Seas dependent for their nest sites on holes and crevices in buildings. However, having adapted to our Swifts’ sounds, so broadcasting their calls using a small amplifier and mini-loudspeakers in the urban lifestyles this is now causing real problems for them. mornings and evenings - when birds are most actively prospecting for new nest sites - significantly increases the chances of successful occupancy. Let’s hope it all works out well! This graph, summarising results from the BTO/RSPB/JNCC Breeding Bird The web-based Suffolk Swift Survey hosted by Suffolk Biodiversity Information Service is now in its Survey, shows a dramatic steep de- fourth year. By 2020 we aim to find out whether or not there are breeding Swifts present in every cline in the past 22 years. We have civil parish and urban ward across Suffolk. So we are grateful for all records of ‘screaming par- lost half the Swifts breeding in the UK ties’ (birds flying fast and noisily over the rooftops confirm there is a colony close by); nest sites in – and in Suffolk too. buildings - and also nest boxes that have been installed outside or inside buildings. Please don’t This is most likely due to demolition assume that someone else has added a record – we would rather have duplicate records than of older buildings and maintenance none at all! works on existing buildings that now permanently (and in many cases in- BTO of courtesy Graph In the SWT Stowmarket Local Group area we have Swift records so far for the following places: advertently) exclude breeding birds, Debenham, Great Finborough, Haughley, Little Stonham, Mickfield, Needham Market, Old often from long-established nest Newton, Pettaugh, Stowmarket, Stowupland, Winston and Wyverstone. sites. Please do watch out for them returning here in May and log any records on the Suffolk Swift Survey. However, we have no records at present for the following places: In conservation terms Swift has recently been classified ‘Endangered’ as a UK breeding bird and is Darmsden, Earl Stonham, Forward Green, Gipping, Gosbeck, Great Bricett, Harleston, now seen as a Suffolk Priority Species. Since 2014, Suffolk Wildlife Trust and Suffolk Ornithologists’ Helmingham, Hemingstone, Hitcham, Little Finborough, Mendlesham, Middlewood Group have been involved in a county-wide project called Save Our Suffolk Swifts. Key issues for Green, Nettlestead, Offton, Onehouse, Ringshall, Shelland, Stonham Aspal, Wattisham, everyone working to help Swifts are: Westhorpe, Wetheringsett and Willisham. Raising awareness of how rapidly we are losing our Swifts Surveying to find out exactly where they are nesting in our towns and villages So if you live here or visit these places we would be particularly pleased to have your records. Protecting these existing nest sites as much as possible Even if you are sure there are no Swifts breeding - or they used to breed and no longer do so - Sending Swift survey data to District and Borough Planners so they are well informed when negative records are also useful, as they help us to build up a better picture of their past and pre- determining planning applications sent distribution across the county. Just make a note in the ‘Comments’ boxes on the website Increasing the supply of new nest sites pages. Nest boxes can be attached to the outside of existing buildings, ‘retro-fitted’ into walls and roofs or Full details about SOS Swifts (including how to log your records and how to obtain nest boxes and integrated into new buildings as they are constructed. This can really work. Since installing nest call systems) can be found on the SWT website: http://www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/swift boxes in 2009 inside the church tower at Worlington, near Bury St Edmunds, this brand new exten- Edward Jackson sion of the village Swift colony now has 32 breeding pairs, who fledged 66 young in 2017 ! Closer to home, due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, the current roof restoration project SIGHTS AND SOUNDS - Cedars Park Stowmarket at St John’s church in Needham Market will result in 20 Swift boxes being installed under the eaves Last summer we were all captivated by the hedgehogs we have here on Cedars Park. I had a - 10 on the High Street side and 10 on the King William Street elevation to the rear. Last summer mother with three young ones foraging in the garden and started feeding them as did my there were up to 10 pairs of Swifts nesting in crevices under the chancel eaves, which probably neighbours.