A Guided Walk Round our Sustead Sites

On May 27th a group of volunteers and other supporters of Felbeck Trust gathered at the outdoor classroom on Sustead Common for a tour of the Sustead Cluster. We started off with tea and cake, and a good old chat. Then Trevor outlined how Felbeck Trust came to manage each of the parts that comprise the cluster – Sustead Common, Sustead Surveyor’s Allotment, the Roadside Nature Reserve and Spurrell’s Wood. Each has a different owner but Felbeck Trust manages them as a single reserve for the benefit of wildlife.

The habitat management work that we have done has enabled us to achieve County Wildlife Status for the Sustead Cluster, recognising the biodiversity and scarce plants that we protect there, including the stunning Norfolk Comfrey. Our walk was accompanied by the tinkling sound of the Gur Beck which crosses through the sites, as well as the song of Blackcap, Wren, Chiffchaff and Song Thrush. The cold spring meant that there were not as many insects as we had hoped, but we did catch sight of a Small White, a Speckled Wood and a Red Admiral butterfly, while Trevor spotted an Azure Damselfly.

As we meandered through, we noticed that there was a steady stream of Blue Tits flying in and out of the nest boxes, feeding their young on caterpillars gathered from the mature Oaks on the site, and while we were passing the hide, a family party of Long-tailed Tits was flitting through, calling constantly – evidence that we are definitely doing something right!

Val Stubbs

May 27th 2023