Sixteen members’ cars filled the small carpark at Bellflask Lakes and were given an introduction by Brian Morland. He and his wife Sue moved to the farmhouse in 1996 and transformed it from a derelict cottage with no upstairs windows (he showed us a photo taken in the 1980s) into a lovely home. The site was a set of gravel pits that closed in the 1980s and he and Sue have managed the area for conservation since then, planting trees and wild flowers to create what is now a haven for wildlife with astonishing biodiversity. He has seen over 200 species of birds on the site, including Little Auk and Hoopoe! Bittern and several waterbirds are breeding in the reedbeds, so we kept away from that part of the site. Instead, Brian and Sue led us down to the edge of another of the lakes, past a meadow with hares to a bank covered in Bee Orchid, Common Spotted Orchid and Viper’s Bugloss.
Unfortunately, one of our group had a fall there with injuries serious enough to need an ambulance. He was well cared for by members before the paramedics arrived to take over. We all wish him well for a speedy recovery.
After this the group divided, some retracing their steps to the start while a few continued around the fishing lake back to their cars. Brian’s management of the site has certainly succeeded in attracting a huge variety of wild flowers, insects, birds, mammals and other vertebrates, some of which we saw despite the cloudy, windy weather.
Thanks are due to Brian and Sue Morland for allowing us to experience his gem of a habitat, and to Muff Upsall for arranging the visit.
Nick Gaunt
All photos by Nick Gaunt
