Environment

The Suffolk Moth Group visited a new wood – Elm Wood – for the fourth consecutive year of surveys on the estate in July 2024. In total, 93 species of moth were recorded, bringing the estate species total to 401.

The Suffolk Moth Group volunteers visited Free Wood for the third consecutive year in July 2023, recording 105 moth species – 59 of which were new to their site list. The species total for Free Wood now stands at 278.

Dragonflies were recorded as part of Rougham Estate’s ongoing Pond Survey of its 37 ancient and very well-connected woodland, grass and arable edge ponds.

The Suffolk Moth Group volunteers undertook two survey events during 2021 on the Rougham Estate – a September moth trapping survey and an October leaf mining survey.  They recorded 116 species in total – and are returning earlier in the year in 2022 to increase the list. 

Over 117 species of woodland fungi have been recorded in Rougham Estate Trust woodland by volunteer surveyor Juliet Hawkins in a few autumn surveys in 2020 and 2021 – this is a fraction of the species that were present.  

Mosses and liverworts are bryophytes and they reflect habitat diversity at a big and micro-scale and the presence of rarities can reflect the health of the environment locally too. Volunteer Bryophyte County Recorder Richard Fisk carried out a bryophyte survey over targeted areas of Rougham Estate in 2019.  Of Suffolk’s total of 319 mosses (288 since 1980), 101 species ie 26% of Suffolk’s species were found in this survey of Rougham Estate habitats.  And of Suffolk’s total 79 liverworts (63 since 1980), 10 species ie 13% were recorded in this survey.  Several rare and unusual species were recorded and a few of the common species were missing.

Rougham Estate’s 37 ancient and very well-connected woodland, grass and arable edge ponds have been regularly surveyed since 2003 to prioritise those for restoration and to guide ongoing conservation management. The 2021 survey demonstrated that the open, sunny and well-vegetated ponds have a very satisfactory combined total of 49+ species of aquatic and emergent native plants. Two ponds contain Endangered Tassel Stonewort Tolypella intricata – found in two of only nine ponds Suffolk. Sampling aquatic invertebrates at the best ponds produced a good total list that included 32 species of water beetle, of which eight are Nationally Notable species and eight are Locally Important. Several ponds support priority Great Crested Newts, despite this being a relatively low pond density area with large areas of lighter soils.