TERN - Winter 2023

Tern norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

WINTER 2023

Nature photography competition winners announced

Speaking up for nature, with NWT Ambassador, Nick Acheson

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Tigh Mor Trossachs: HPB’s historic mansion beside Loch Achray in the Scottish Highlands

Enjoy exclusive holidays for life in some of the UK and Europe’s most unspoilt places

“In my experience, HPB has all the ingredients of a perfect holiday – stylish and comfortable homes, excellent leisure facilities, and all in such beautiful parts of the world. As a Bondholder, I’ve got a lot of holidaying to look forward to in retirement!” – Sue Barker Sue on a recent birdwatching trip to HPB’s El Pueblito de Alfaix in Almeria, southern Spain

Ospreys over Loch Achray at Tigh Mor Trossachs

Nature right on your doorstep HPB has always strived to protect our natural heritage, looking after the environment and working closely with nature. Many of our properties in the UK are situated in National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with a number having achieved awards for their sympathetic architecture and natural landscaping. Both here and overseas, HPB always seeks to find the most beautiful and unspoilt locations.

You can holiday in any of more than 1,400 HPB-owned properties at over 30 UK and European locations for the whole of your lifetime and then pass the benefits on to your children or grandchildren. An initial payment of as little as £5,000 means that you can look forward to truly memorable holidays in beautiful places, with top quality accommodation year after year after year.

To find out more about HPB, please read ‘Exclusive holidays for life’ on the right and then request your FREE information pack.

hpb.co.uk/nwt Call FREE on 0800 66 54 90 Visit

Scan the QR code Tigh Mor Trossachs; HPB's turreted HPB support The Wildlife Trusts on the banks of Loch Achray in their aim to save mansion and protect in the Scottish Highlands the UK’s wildlife and wild places.

That’s why we will donate £300 for every Norfolk Wildlife Trust member who becomes a Bondholder.

Henllys, HPB’s former Franciscan monastery, offers

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See summary ofcaptivating the terms views and conditions onStrait the left. of the Menai and the

spectacular Snowdon mountain range beyond

Exclusive holidays for life

An initial payment from £5,000 and a quarterly fee of just over £35 (that is around £140 a year), which can increase in line with but not exceed the Retail Price Index Excluding Mortgage Interest (RPIX), gives you access to all HPB’s holiday homes. For each HPB holiday, you will pay a no-profit user charge covering only property running and maintenance costs and use of on-site facilities.

The charge is the same throughout the year and for a studio averages about £347 a week and around £533 a week for a two bedroom property.

Larger properties are also available. After an initial charge of 25% your money is invested in a fund of holiday properties and securities. The fund itself meets annual charges of 2.5% of its net assets at cost, calculated monthly. Your investment return is purely in the form of holidays and, as with most investments, your capital is at risk.

You can surrender your investment to the company after two years or more (subject to deferral in exceptional circumstances) but you will get back less than you invested because of the charges referred to above, as well as other overheads and changes in the value of the fund’s properties and securities.

This advertisement is issued

by HPB Management Limited (HPBM), the main UK agent and the property manager for HPB, authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, registered at HPB House, Newmarket, Suffolk, CB8 8EH. HPB is available exclusively through HPBM. HPB is issued by HPB Assurance Limited (HPBA) registered in the Isle of Man and authorised by the Financial Services Authority there. HPBM promotes only HPB and is not independent of HPBA. Holders of policies issued by HPBA will not be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if the company becomes unable to meet its liabilities to them but Isle of Man compensation arrangements apply to new policies.

The Wildlife Trusts donation

will only be made if: 1. You quote “Wildlife Trusts” when requesting further details; and 2. You have not previously requested or received information about the Holiday Property Bond from us; and 3. You invest in the Holiday Property Bond within 24 months of your initial enquiry and do not cancel that investment within the statutory 30 day cooling off period.

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WELCOME

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Norfolk Wildlife Trust is a charity dedicated to all aspects of wildlife conservation in Norfolk. Established in 1926, we are the oldest in a partnership of 47 Wildlife Trusts located throughout the UK.

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Become a member

As a member of NWT, you will help us to create a Living Landscape for Norfolk, where there is more space for wildlife, better connection of wildlife habitats and where people live healthier, more sustainable lives. You will help us look after more than 50 fantastic nature reserves, ensuring they remain havens for wildlife and people.

If you are not already a member of NWT, please join today.

Alternatively, you could give membership as a rewarding and worthwhile gift to a friend or relative. To become a member from as little as £3 a month you can: • Visit our website norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk • Call us on 01603 625540 • Ask a member of staff at one of our five visitor centres

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Tern is published three times a year by Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Advertising sales

by Countrywide Publications.

Printed by Micropress Printers Ltd. Editor: Nick Acheson Designer: Scott Poulson/Hannah Moulton While every care is taken when accepting advertisements neither Norfolk Wildlife Trust nor Countrywide Publications can accept responsibility for unsatisfactory transactions that may arise. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily those of Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST Bewick House, 22 Thorpe Road, Norwich NR1 1RY, UK T: 01603 625540 E: info@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk All contents © Norfolk Wildlife Trust.

Reg Charity No: 208734 Cover photo: Paul Richards NWT2023077

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Welcome From the Chief Executive

The UK State of Nature report published this September is full of sobering statistics on the fortunes of our wildlife.

This is a time for urgent action, but it’s also a moment to take heart that nature is making the headlines and take hope from the conservation successes achieved when we work together.

As members, you are already part of a huge movement to protect nature.

Following the launch of our new strategy A Wilder Norfolk for All, we hope you’ll come with us as we raise our ambitions and voices for wildlife (p. 22).

When the challenges facing wildlife feel overwhelming, a flick through Tern magazine certainly helps to buoy the spirits. This edition demonstrates the amazing diversity of our work.

Helping the next generation act for nature is a crucial focus of our new strategy. Our Wilder Learning Manager shares some of our initiatives on p.16, and we hear from two of our young Wilder Wardens on p.17.

The colder, darker seasons can tempt us all to spend more time indoors, but here in Norfolk we hope you are enticed outside by the fantastic winter wildlife our county has to offer (p.36).

Wishing you a warm and wildlife-filled winter, Eliot Lyne

Head to our news pages for updates on our new urban nature reserve, award-winning colleagues and the first breeding spoonbills in the Broads in nearly 400 years (p.4). Learn how we’re supporting rare stone curlews on p.20 and about a conservation partnership in the Brecks to bring back northern pool frogs on p.32.

CONTENTS 04

Wild news

34

Discover

10

Species spotlight

36

Explore

12

Wildlife roundup

38

Take action

16

Wilder learning

40

Gardening for wildlife

20

Stone curlews

42

Learn with Tern

22

Speaking up for nature

44

Get involved

28

Photography competition

46

From the President

32

Pool frogs and pingos TERN | Winter 2023

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WILD NEWS Highlights from Norfolk and national news from The Wildlife Trusts

Award-winning work against invasive plant ‘Julia has taken the task of Crassula removal at Thompson Common to her heart, certainly going above and beyond, to a point where we are almost free of it, something I feared would never happen,’ said Jonathon Preston, Nature Conservation Manager for West Norfolk. ‘It is a very difficult job to search for the plant among the sharp sedges and lush plant life of hundreds of pingos. Once found, removal needs to be done absolutely meticulously, repetitively and with strict biosecurity

to avoid spreading it. Well done Julia and your team of volunteers!’

Julia said: ‘It was such a surprise to win the award. I would like to say a massive thank you to all the volunteers who have helped with the project. The award is for all of you and your careful dedication to eradicating this invasive pondweed from some of Europe’s most important biodiverse ponds.’

Crassula in a pingo

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© NWT

© Phil Barnes

© NWT

Our intrepid Crassula Project Officer Julia Mumford-Smith has won the ‘Above and Beyond’ category at the Norfolk Biodiversity Awards for her team’s dedicated work, funded by Anglian Water Invasive Non-Native Species Fund, to remove Crassula helmsii from sensitive habitats at NWT Thompson Common. This fastgrowing invasive aquatic plant outcompetes native flora and reduces oxygen levels if left unchecked, by forming dense, impenetrable mats.

Julia receiving her award Young volunteers TERN | Winter 2023

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WILD NEWS

The annual count of green-winged orchids at New Buckenham Common took place this summer and Reserve Manager Kyle Jennings was delighted with the result. ‘Staff, regular volunteers and members of the public – from the village and from further afield – carried out the count. They split into small groups to record each flower spike.

The total of 26,413 spikes is a huge increase compared to historical records.’ Some recent alterations to the management of the common may have been key to this success. ‘Grazing of cattle by the common rights holders’

grazier has been pushed back to midJune,’ Kyle explained, ‘when previously it began in early May.

© NWT

Annual count breaks record at NWT New Buckenham Common ‘We have also undertaken scrub control around the ponds and on grassland to ensure orchids and other species are not crowded out. We have found that numbers of orchids are especially good in areas where we have cleared invasive scrub. It was not just a case of cutting down scrub, though. We have improved its structure through layering and selective removal and the common remains alive with birdsong in spring.’

Green-winged orchid

© J.Symonds

Welcome back to the white-spotted pinion With over 2,500 species in the UK, moths form a large and diverse group of insects. Many species are rare on account of their precise requirements.

James Symonds, NWT Weeting Heath Warden, monitors moths assiduously and has extensive records for the site.

This summer James was both delighted and surprised to catch a white-spotted pinion moth, a species which is very rare throughout its European range. It came close to extinction in the UK after elm disease removed over 99% of mature elm trees from the landscape. The moth’s caterpillars rely on the shoots, known as epicormic foliage, that grow directly from the trunks of the largest elms.

Breckland is an exceptional area for rare moths, and Weeting Heath is a particularly important site, though

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this was still an unexpected find.

The moth was caught in a light-trap, which allows moths to be inspected and released without harm.

‘This species has clung on in places where the odd stand of elms has survived, mostly in their stronghold in Huntingdonshire,’ says James, who is delighted by his discovery.

‘In recent years white-spotted pinions are appearing away from their traditional sites, suggesting that they may have adapted to the young suckers of elms, which are generally not affected by elm disease.’

With luck, this individual moth marks a turning point in the fortunes of the species in Breckland.

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WILD NEWS

Momentum grows at new city nature reserve guided walks, presentations and workshops in the neighbourhoods surrounding Sweet Briar Marshes, and via an online survey.

Though expressed in multiple ways, several themes recurred. They included keeping the wild feel of the reserve, ensuring it was accessible to all, and providing activities to bring people closer to nature.

We’re delighted to have received funding from Biffa Award, as part of the Landfill Communities Fund, to pay for the infrastructure needed to graze cattle at Sweet Briar Marshes. The benefit of having a grazing herd on a nature reserve such as this is that they create varied grass heights and therefore a mosaic of habitats – helping us ensure the reserve is in top condition for wildlife.

Exciting plans for our new city nature reserve, NWT Sweet Briar Marshes, are taking shape following the success of our community engagement phase.

In November we held drop-in sessions to exhibit sketches and design ideas for the reserve at local community centres and in Norwich city centre.

You can have a look at the exhibition and architect’s drawings on our website.

Over a thousand people shared their aspirations for the future of the 90acre wildlife haven at drop-in sessions,

We are busy putting everything in place to open Sweet Briar Marshes to the public as soon as possible,

© Sarah Wilde

© Denzil Dean

Landscape specialists Sheils Flynn have been working with us and the local community on a plan for the future of Sweet Briar Marshes. This will capture the feedback received from communities and show the possibilities and constraints identified through our growing knowledge of the site.

though we will continue to work on our vision for the reserve over the next few years. We can’t wait to share this precious wild space with you in 2024.

Find out more: norfolkwildlifetrust. org.uk/SweetBriar

Bringing nature nearer at Roydon Common © Ashley Saunders

Our new Grimston Warren Wetscapes project will focus on making vital improvements to the way in which we manage water across the rare, wildlife-rich wetlands of Grimston Warren, the Tony Hallatt Memorial Reserve and the Delft.

Scarce blue-tailed damselfly

Earlier this year, we were delighted to receive £210,350 from the FCC Communities Foundation as part of the Landfill Communities Fund to deliver an exciting new project which will build on our successful restoration of the Tony Hallatt Memorial Reserve and neighbouring sites for wildlife.

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Over the last 20 years, NWT has worked hard to restore the heathland and wetland habitats of these precious sites. We have been thrilled to see much of the flora and fauna return, in addition to new species colonising from next-door Roydon Common.

Our Wetscapes project will build on the success of previous restoration of these sites, providing new habitat for species such as scarce blue-tailed

damselfly, insectivorous sundews and tormentil mining bee to expand in number and geographical range, and enhancing our ability to manage both new and existing spaces for wildlife.

The project will also enable us to improve conservation grazing across the sites and invest in new ways to survey how our wildlife is faring, giving us important information on the best ways to manage rare species in the future.

Over the next two years, we look forward to seeing some of the sites’ rarest wildlife – currently confined to remote wetlands – expand into more accessible areas, bringing wetland wildlife closer for everyone to enjoy.

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WILD NEWS

BWWC funds Rare spoonbill road repairs at Broad breeding success Hickling Visitor Centre at Hickling Broad

For some years visitors to NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes have had to approach the Visitor Centre car park along a rough, unmade road. The last spur of Stubb Road is unclassified and outside local authority jurisdiction.

© John Tallowin

In July 2023, with generous full funding by our corporate supporters the Bird Watching & Wildlife Club (BWWC), a £21,000 resurfacing project took place over two days. Contractors MW Surfacing of Wymondham scraped the existing uneven road and installed a new 90mm asphalt surface to highway standard, ensuring safe and comfortable access to the reserve for vehicles, cyclists, pedestrians and visitors with limited mobility. New speed bumps were also installed.

Spoonbills at Hickling Broad

This summer we celebrated the success of breeding spoonbills at NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes, at the first known nests in the Norfolk Broads in around 400 years. We weren’t alone in our excitement: the story made it into the media an extraordinary 332 times, in regional papers across the UK and national outlets including Channel 4, BBC, ITV, Daily Mail and Daily Telegraph.

Hickling Broad has become a haven for spoonbills in recent years, thanks to a combination of habitat management and an increasing British population.

Robert Smith, Senior Reserves Assistant for Broads North, said: ‘It has been a privilege to monitor the spoonbills over the past few years at Hickling. We can

now officially celebrate the return of a lost breeding species to the Broadland landscape with the first fledged spoonbill here since the mid-17th century.

‘Watching the fledgling fly around the reserve and hearing its trilling call as it pesters its parents for food is truly wonderful.’

NWT is extremely grateful to BWWC for its support of this long-term solution, delivered in time for the new seven-day opening of NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes throughout winter 2023–24.

The spoonbill is a large white heronlike species that stands three feet tall and has a wingspan of four feet. It gets its name from its long bill, which has a flat spoon-shaped tip. The species is of European conservation concern and a very rare breeding bird in the UK. It is believed there are just eight breeding sites in the whole of England.

New ways to read Tern

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© NWT

Tern magazine can now be read on our website as a text-only document.

You can make changes to font size and background colour, for easier reading, and enjoy Tern using a screen reader. This issue is available to download at norfolkwt.uk/PlainTextTern

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© David Marney

WILD NEWS

Long wait pays off as Ranworth osprey finds a mate Osprey at Ranworth Broad

This summer we were delighted to confirm the presence of a pair of ospreys at NWT Ranworth Broad, raising hopes for future breeding success.

The male osprey arrived at Ranworth in early April 2023 and took ownership of the new platform supporting the nest there, raising hopes that a female might join him. Around two months after his arrival, a female osprey was spotted at the reserve.

Ospreys are migratory birds, present in the UK from early spring to autumn.

They currently nest in parts of Scotland, Cumbria, the East Midlands and Wales.

It is not unusual, on migration, to see a travelling osprey over any large body of water.

At Ranworth Broad ospreys have often stayed longer in recent years, even spending the best part of the summer. In 2022 a pair was present for most of the season, and, having taken expert advice, during the following winter we installed a platform to secure the nest the birds had built in trees beside the broad.

Adam Houlgate, NWT Broads South Lead Officer, explains the significance of having a pair at Ranworth for a second consecutive summer: ‘The birds have been seen around the nesting platform most days,

though they also leave to explore their surroundings and feed. We believe we have seen attempted mating, but the female was never seen sitting on the nest for continuous periods as she’d have done if incubating eggs. It may be that they are young, inexperienced birds, not yet ready for parenthood.

‘It has been over 250 years since ospreys bred in the Broads. Although it was too late in the season for this pair, the fact that they stayed together at the nest and showed signs of mating bodes well for success in future years.’

With a bit of luck, visitors to Ranworth Broad may spot ospreys next spring and summer, on the nest platform we have installed within view of the Visitor Centre. Our seasonal boat trips onto the broad give visitors even closer views of the platform and the other wildlife of this exceptional site.

In fond memory of Mary Dorling Brendan Joyce OBE NWT CEO 1995-2017 When I started at Norfolk Wildlife Trust in 1995, Mary and Don Dorling were already well-established members of the Trust’s family, having joined as life members in 1965. Don became a Trustee in 1992 and Mary was a regular volunteer on the HQ reception desk. It quickly became obvious that they both had hearts of gold and showed their fondness and support for staff and volunteers wherever they went.

In many ways, they lived for the Trust and, of course, the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists’ Society. When not out birdwatching or visiting nature reserves, they would be volunteering at Cley, 8

Ranworth and Hickling visitor centres, as well as in the office.

Don became Chairman in 1997 for four years, after which he became a Vice President and was awarded the Sydney Long Memorial Medal for his long-standing services. It did not go unnoticed, however, that Mary was very much a driving force and constant support for Don, as well as making her own distinguished contributions to NWT and NNNS. It seemed only right that Mary should take on the role of Vice President after Don’s death in 2016.

Years before, as they were looking for yet more to do, I set them on the task of researching the Trust’s archives

and records with a view to compiling a historical record of key milestones and events. This was a mammoth task that they finally completed in 2006. It uncovered many hidden and forgotten gems and provided vital material for Wild and Wonderful Norfolk published jointly by NWT and Eastern Daily Press as part of the Trust’s 90th Anniversary.

Don and Mary were a great support to me and became friends. I would often visit to update them on the latest developments. Sadly, I was unable to visit Mary in recent years due to Covid and my own health problems, but she will be sorely missed by me and all the staff and volunteers past and present who remember her.

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TERN | Winter 2023

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

© iStock

BARBAST E

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The barbastelle bat is among the rarest mammals in the UK, with few breeding colonies known, most of them in Norfolk. This dark-furred, pug-nosed bat, with large, crinkled ears which meet above the bridge of the nose, seems to favour ancient landscapes with a mix of deciduous woodland, wet meadows, old hedges and rivers.

The widespread loss of deciduous woodland is likely to have contributed to the barbastelle’s decline in the UK. And, like most British bats, this rare animal has suffered from the massive-scale intensification of agriculture over the past century.

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SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

T ELLE BAT

maternity colonies, scattered across fragments of remaining woodland, the super-colony is of vital importance to the survival of this highly protected bat in the UK. Alarmingly, Dr Packman’s research has also revealed that barbastelles are avoiding the measures put in place for bats along the Norwich Northern Distributor Road and that colonies of barbastelles present within 2.5km of the road, prior to its construction, can no longer be found.

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© Professor Iain Barr

Over the last year, NWT has employed conservation scientist and bat expert Dr Charlotte Packman, who has studied bats in Norfolk for more than a decade. Her research, in collaboration with the University of East Anglia and Norfolk Barbastelle Study Group, has revealed the crucial importance of the Wensum Valley for the barbastelle bat. She has documented a unique super-colony of barbastelles along the proposed route of the Norwich Western Link Road. Comprising multiple, linked

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WILDLIFE ROUNDUP

Wildlife roundup

WORDS AND PICTURES BY ROBIN CHITTENDEN, WILDLIFE PHOTOGRAPHER AND WRITER 12

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WILDLIFE ROUNDUP

The lesser scaup looks only subtly different from a greater scaup (a species which winters in Norfolk in small numbers)

© Robin Chittenden www.robinchittenden.co.uk

Left: The lesser scaup, seen at Bawburgh Lakes Right: A brown booby in its native habitat

This summer three bird species have been seen in Norfolk for the first time. One, the brown booby, would have been unthinkable in the UK, let alone Norfolk, only a few years ago. But this brown and white gannet-like bird, from tropical seas, has been turning up in the UK since 2019, often several individuals at a time. Most have occurred in the southwest of the UK, but this year a few made it into the North Sea. The Norfolk bird was seen only distantly, in flight, past three coastal locations.

The black-winged kite was somewhat less unexpected in Norfolk, though only a decade or two ago the species was restricted to breeding in a few spots in the driest locations in Portugal and the extreme west of Spain. In the blink of an eye it has expanded its range and now breeds as nearby as northern France. The black-winged kite is a gorgeous pale grey and black bird with gleaming red eyes, which

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hovers like a kestrel when hunting for large insects and small mammals.

The first black-winged kite for the UK was seen for less than an hour this spring in Wales. Perhaps it was this same bird that dropped in at NWT Hickling Broad this autumn, having summered undiscovered in the UK. After a few days it relocated to south Suffolk and then to north Essex, before presumably heading across the Channel.

Of this summer’s three new birds for Norfolk, the longest awaited was the lesser scaup, seen at Bawburgh Lakes, also known as Colney Gravel Pits. This North American diving duck, although rare in the UK, has become more than annual. The lesser scaup looks only subtly different from a greater scaup (a species which winters in Norfolk in small numbers) and the bird was initially dismissed as a greater scaup, despite its presence in TERN | Winter 2023

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WILDLIFE ROUNDUP

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summer. Luckily it stayed around for a few weeks, giving plenty of time for the misidentification to be corrected.

Norfolk’s first lesser scaup associated with closely related tufted ducks.

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Bush-crickets seem to have done very well this summer. The great green bush-cricket used to be restricted in Norfolk to an area around Reedham, but the species popped up in numerous locations this summer, especially along the coast.

Over the last few years, several hundred large marsh grasshoppers have been released in suitable habitats in west Norfolk in an attempt to reintroduce the species, which became extinct in the county in the 1960s. With many Orthopteran species doing so well, the reintroduction could not have been better timed. There is some ink in the ointment, however, as one predator of grasshoppers is also doing very well. The strikingly scary-looking, but (to humans) completely harmless, wasp spider can now be found almost anywhere in rough grassland in Norfolk. These beautiful animals have a penchant for preying on grasshoppers.

Several hundred large marsh grasshoppers have been released in suitable habitats in west Norfolk © Robin Chittenden www.robinchittenden.co.uk, 2020Vision

Great green bush-cricket

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W h it N S b

“I W s w u th s le w b

Black-winged kite

Wildlife to look for in winter

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Winter is a time of finches across the county. Siskins and lesser redpolls are often common in winter, especially in alder woods along rivers. In years of good beech mast, large flocks of bramblings may visit Norfolk woods too.

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Historically extinct in the entire country, two flocks of common cranes – the UK’s tallest birds – now winter in Norfolk.

Around 60 cranes can be found in Broadland, with numerous birds coming to roost near Stubb Mill at NWT Hickling Broad. A second flock of a similar size winters in the Ouse Washes and is often seen around WWT Welney Wetland Centre.

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‘I d n u J h c g

In late winter many species associated with spring begin to stir. Even by the end of January, adders and bufftailed bumblebees may emerge from hibernation. Adders can be easiest to see at this time, as they bask in the winter sun close to their hibernacula.

As at all times, care must be taken to avoid disturbing these declining animals.

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turmeric could be helpful and bought supplements… and then stumbled upon Turmeric+.”

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“Soon after taking it I experienced that ‘light-bulb’ moment”

collagen formation for the normal function of cartilage.

“Soon after taking it I experienced that ‘light-bulb’ moment - I realised my knees felt like they used to. I take Turmeric+ religiously now. I walk around 200 miles a month and even my customers have remarked on my mobility.

“Walking is great for fitness as

well as your mental health. Being able to walk easily has made a huge difference to my life and I feel fitter now than I did twenty years ago.”

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WILDER LEARNING

Wilder Learning Expanding our work with children and young people will be integral to meeting our strategic goal of inspiring 1 in 4 people in Norfolk to act for nature by 2030. Here’s a taste of some of what we do and what we plan to do next.

© NWT

Inspiring the next generation

Isabelle Mudge, Wilder Learning Manager Our Wilder Learning team has four passionate, full-time members of staff, who have the privilege of inspiring the next generation to explore and take action for our precious wildlife and wild spaces.

To achieve this, we engage with young people in many ways, including work with schools and groups on our wonderful nature reserves, in community spaces, and in their own settings. Our interactive sessions include sand dune surveys, conservation management, dyke dipping and wild art.

We also run family events, such as our popular fossil-hunting and rock-pooling sessions at West Runton, and our longstanding Wildlife Watch club for families at NWT Hickling Broad.

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In addition, through our Foxley Enclave project local schools have learned about ancient woodland habitats and their regeneration, while the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme, has enabled local communities to celebrate the special wildlife of NWT Thompson Common.

Finally, the team attends external events throughout the year, including the Norfolk Show, Gressenhall Apple Day and Norwich Science Festival.

Last year we engaged with over 4,000 children and young people. In the future we plan to increase our positive impact for nature and young people alike, offering new ways to encounter and take action for wildlife.

This autumn, with support from our Children and Nature Fund and Friends of Holt Hall, we launched our Wilder Schools pilot project. The pilot sees

us empowering three schools to use their grounds for wildlife, learning and wellbeing. Our approach enables school communities to improve grounds for biodiversity in the long term, contributing to nature’s wider recovery.

Our Wilder Wardens group for 11-17 yearolds, led by an NWT warden at Hickling Broad, has been active for almost a year. We are delighted with its success, and it is only the beginning of what we want to achieve. We plan to extend our Wilder Wardens programme to other parts of the county and develop further nature-themed workshops relevant to young people. Most importantly, we want to ensure youth voices are heard and acted on through the creation of a youth forum.

With nature in catastrophic decline, our work with children and young people – the caretakers of the future – is more important than ever before.

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WILDER LEARNING

Will you help create more opportunities for Norfolk’s young people to connect with nature?

Your support for our Children and Nature Appeal could help to: • Grow our Wilder Schools network, helping children and wildlife in more schools across the county thrive.

• Offer more young people the opportunity to become a Wilder Warden in new locations.

• Create new and accessible opportunities for young people from all backgrounds to enjoy the benefits of being in, and caring for nature.

Pledge your support for the next generation of Norfolk conservationists at norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/can

Meet our Wilder Wardens

Andrew

Hetty

We asked Hetty and Andrew, two of our Wilder Wardens, to share their experience with us: How did you get interested in nature conservation and wildlife?

Andrew: I’ve always enjoyed being in nature and trying to spot wildlife. As I’ve gotten older I’ve taken more notice of people like Sir David Attenborough and Chris Packham saying that we need to be more mindful of our environment.

Hetty: My Dad is an ecologist and works with river wildlife so I have always been surrounded by wildlife and nature. When I was younger I used to feed a baby robin which would come into our garden every day. We also used to care for hedgehogs who were too small and feed them until they were well enough to go into hibernation.

What prompted you to join our NWT Wilder Wardens group?

Andrew: I met Isabelle at a careers fair towards the end of 2022 and got talking to her about Wilder Wardens. As I’m interested in studying environmental science when I go to college I thought this would be ideal for me.

Hetty: I always wanted to help wildlife. I found

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out about Wilder Wardens by going to an open evening at Sheringham High School and signed up to be contacted.

What have you enjoyed about being a Wilder Warden?

Hetty: I have most enjoyed watching baby tawny owls being ringed. I also especially enjoyed seeing the cranes, as I have never seen them before.

I really enjoy going to these sessions TERN | Winter 2023

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WILDER LEARNING as they have allowed me to make new friends and I can help wildlife at the same time.

Andrew: So far, the part of being a Wilder Warden I’ve enjoyed the most has to be when we went out on a boat on the broad itself and did some birdwatching, as well as spotting the rare swallowtail butterfly.

What are you hoping to get out of volunteering with NWT? Hetty: I am hoping that I will be better able to help our local environment, as this is really important to me.

Andrew: I’m hoping to get a better understanding of things we need to

do to help preserve wildlife, not just in Norfolk.

What is your favourite wild space in Norfolk and why?

If you were prime minister, what would you do to help nature thrive?

Hetty: My favourite wild spaces in Norfolk are often places such as wildflower meadows and wild woods that aren’t interfered with by humans very much.

I really like Natural Surroundings in Bayfield as it has all of these things and is along the River Glaven. There is something there for everyone.

Andrew: If I were prime minister, I would make it standard that every building has a green roof, providing wildflowers for pollinators and soaking up rainwater.

I would make sure that every town and city has wild areas, to help bugs and insects and for the general public’s wellbeing.

Hetty: If I was prime minister I would reintroduce even more species such as beavers, as they really help by creating habitats for other animals. I would also try to stop single-use plastics being used as they pollute the environment.

Andrew: My favourite wild space in Norfolk has to be Cley Marshes because it doesn’t matter what time of year you go. There is always something to see or do. I love seeing spoonbills, egrets, grey herons and cormorants and also enjoy the local landscape and other wildlife.

Alan Marchbank, Volunteer Coordinator

were an enjoyable and successful introduction to the work of NWT. ‘I just wanted to say a huge thank you for the week,’ one student wrote to us.

‘I had a really nice time and it was really beneficial to me. I also found it really interesting to get an insight into Norfolk Wildlife Trust. It has definitely made me consider becoming a member/ volunteering for you guys!’

After the success of our first work experience week in 2022, when six students aged between 14 and 17 learned about the wide range of roles at NWT, we expanded the programme to two weeks in 2023, with eight places available each week. As expected, the two weeks were fully subscribed.

This year the itinerary included visits to our reserves at Ranworth Broad, Sweet Briar Marshes, Holme Dunes and Cley Marshes, and introduced the students to roles in visitor centres and out on reserves, including the work of our Wilder Learning team.

Activities undertaken by the students included fen raking at Upton Broad, reed clearance at Filby Broad, and checking on the ponies and cattle at Buxton Heath in a downpour, giving them a great flavour of outdoor work.

The students were also exposed to the realities of the climate and biodiversity crises, especially at Holme Dunes where they saw the effect extreme weather 18

© NWT

Wilder work

With such ringing endorsement, we look forward to running work experience again in 2024!

Dyke dipping at Hickling Broad

has on dune erosion, plus our struggle to protect beach-nesting birds such as ringed plover and oystercatcher. From conversations held with the students it was clear that these issues are very important to them, with several of them expressing a desire to work in conservation to help to tip the balance in favour of the natural world.

According to feedback from the students, our work experience weeks

Creating a flower bed in Mile Cross

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TERN | Winter 2023

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STONE CURLEWS

Year-round management for stone curlews Bob Morgan, Reserves Officer

Most UK birdwatchers probably saw their first stone curlews at NWT Weeting Heath.

Several pairs are as good as guaranteed here each summer, and this is thanks, in no small part, to the reserve being kept in optimal condition for them.

Stone curlews are secretive birds, and surprisingly difficult to see. They are exceptionally well camouflaged – their streaked tan plumage perfectly matching the bare sandy ground they favour – and they are most active at dawn and dusk. In addition, despite numbers increasing in recent years, there are still fewer than 325 breeding pairs across southern England, with the bulk of the population in Norfolk and Suffolk. Our hides at NWT Weeting Heath allow fantastic views of one of the UK’s most elusive birds, without causing them unnecessary disturbance.

The stone curlew remains a vulnerable species. The decline of the rabbit, on account of myxomatosis and viral haemorrhagic disease, and a move away from sheep-grazing on the Downs and Brecks led to the stone curlew’s grassland habitat changing.

A combination of increased sward height and the disappearance of bare ground was not to their liking. A low point was reached in the 1980s when 20

the population dropped to just a hundred breeding pairs. The concerted efforts of conservation bodies and landowners have since seen the UK breeding population slowly rise.

Habitat management is a constant requirement to keep Weeting Heath in tip-top condition. ‘We have to create bare or sparsely vegetated ground for stone curlews to nest on,’ explains Reserve Warden James Symonds. ‘Previously intervention was not necessary, but with much lower rabbit numbers we need to be proactive to get conditions right. We create bare ground plots in a number of ways, but our primary method is to use a tractor-mounted rotavator. In addition, when funding has allowed, we’ve completely stripped off the turf.

Scraping off several centimetres of topsoil is really effective for removing the nutrient-rich layer that has been subject to years of unnaturally high levels of aerial nitrogen, and which encourages excessive grass growth.’

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STONE CURLEWS

© NWT, Lawrie Webb

Top left: James Symonds, NWT warden, nest monitorin Top right: Rotavating Bottom left: Topsoil removal Bottom right: Stone curlew female, Weeting Heath

Like many other conservation projects, the selection and management of land for a key species, such as the stone curlew, may benefit a whole suite of associated plants and animals.

‘The results of turf-stripping compared to annual rotavating are subtly different, but both are equally important,’ James continues. ‘Turfstripping caters for a wide range of species, as the plot goes through various successional stages, over a number of years. This is ideal for perennial flora, such as maiden pink, white horehound and Spanish catchfly, to thrive. Without intervention they would be outcompeted by coarser grasses.’

As it requires a large digger and the removal from the site of tons of topsoil, turf-stripping can be costly.

Rotavating has proved less timeconsuming, is easier to organise, and can be repeated annually.

‘Because the management of a rotavated plot is yearly,’ says James, ‘it is beneficial to annual flowers such as fine-leaved sandwort, annual knawel and basil thyme. Annual plants need to set lots of seed, so they flower in abundance, in turn providing an essential source of nectar for insects.’

Many of the rarest flowers of Breckland only prosper where such bare ground plots are created regularly, as disturbance may be required for the successful germination of their seeds. Many invertebrates, including rare spiders, ground beetles and moths, are peculiar to these conditions too, with the grey carpet moth found nowhere else in the UK. It’s not only NWT staff that manage this unique and precious landscape as livestock are permanently present too, keeping the sward height in a favourable condition throughout the year. Grass growth is of course subject to weather conditions, but James sets

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himself targets for the summer. ‘I aim to keep at least fifty per cent of the sward below two centimetres between May and mid-July. Outside the breeding season we undertake forage harvesting to get some additional sward off, if necessary. The livestock also help to reduce scrub encroachment.

Anything extra we remove with chainsaws and hand tools in winter.’

The reserve’s star stone curlews, that make an appearance each year on our webcam, give us a rare view into the lives of these remarkable birds. This summer the pair fledged four chicks from two broods – the maximum we could hope for – showing that the reserve’s year-round management is much to their liking.

Illustration:Jacqui Bricknell TERN | Winter 2023

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE

Speaking up for nature NICK ACHESON, NWT AMBASSADOR

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Just recently the latest State of Nature report was published. This is a hugely important document, for many reasons.

For starters, no other country on earth has such extensive understanding of its biodiversity. It is credit to 50 years of UK naturalists, scientists and conservationists that it exists. And it is credit to our conservation charities and institutions – some 60 of which contributed – that its publication has been possible.

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE

© Jimmy King

p

We have campaigned tirelessly to protect the habitat of the rare barbastelle bat from the devastating impact of the Western Link Road (Read more about the barbastelle on p.10) So much for the good. The rest is lamentable. The UK, the report finds, is one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth. In spite of every effort – over many decades – by energetic conservation NGOs, visionary private landowners, and everyone who supports them, nature and the environment continue – even now – to be degraded in our green and pleasant land.

Species studied have, on average, declined in abundance by 19% since 1970, State of Nature tells us. Over the same period, the distributions of 54% of flowering plants and 59% of bryophytes (mosses and liverworts) have decreased. 16% of our species are now at risk of extinction in the UK. Read those statistics again but, this time, visualise species that you love – the skylarks whose joyous songs entwine

your dog walks, the early forget-menots whose shy blooms promise spring is coming, the wild hordes of pinkfooted geese which haunt our winter skies – and imagine a none-too-distant future in which these touchstones of our changing seasons have gone.

Never to return. Because of us.

I am old enough to remember many species which have already gone.

Nightingales had become scarce in north Norfolk by my youth, but they brought rapture to every spring. Now they have gone. Wood warblers still bred in places along the Cromer Ridge, their bright songs cutting through the sharp green foliage of late April. They too have gone. Spotted flycatchers bred every year in my parents’ garden, looping between old trees. No more.

Turtle doves visited the garden too.

If their decline continues as predicted,

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soon they will be nationally extinct.

Tree sparrows nested in the village.

Gone. Willow tits still lived there too, where a stand of poplars had been left unharvested by the river. They have gone from all of Norfolk now. Just one last male sang this year, found by a friend who has witnessed – and tried to stall – their agonising decline: bird by bird and silent wood by silent wood.

When will it be enough? When will we finally wake to the fact that we are biodiversity too: that our every breath, every mouthful of food we eat, our every sip of water, every fibre with which we clothe ourselves comes – directly or indirectly – from the natural world?

When will we realise that our economy, our education, our priceless NHS, and our mental wellbeing all depend on a healthy, functioning environment?

When will we drop the euphemism that TERN | Winter 2023

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE than 70% since the 1970s.) I doubt it: we have driven nightingales, turtle doves, willow tits, spotted flycatchers, lesser spotted woodpeckers, lapwings, tree sparrows, corn buntings and wood warblers from the landscape with barely a regretful thought. Why would house sparrows be excepted?

Will the eventual loss of the house sparrow from parks and gardens be enough? (This scenario is not unlikely: house sparrows have declined by more

A wholly different outcome is possible, though. And choosing it is up to us: citizens, voters, landowners, businesspeople and conservation NGOs.

As in all good stories, the path to reach this better future will be arduous and long. Resistance will come from every quarter, especially from those whose short-term gains are threatened by the delivery of longterm environmental good for all. But this is the fight of our lives – the fight of human history – and we must stay committed, compassionate and strong.

For a different outcome is possible.

Indeed it is essential.

© Tabs Taberham

species have been lost; and own up to the fact our culture, our industry and agriculture have actively eradicated them? When will we be so distressed that we demand of our short-term politicians that they put our long-term environmental interests at the heart of government?

Cranes at Ludham Marshes. Private landowners, government bodies, volunteers and conservation NGOs have worked together to ensure the cranes’ success

If we can restore the crane to the uk’s wetlands, we can restore all our biodiversity 24

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE

Together we must demand that – having left the EU – our laws protecting nature be not just replaced, but strengthened – made greatly more ambitious – for our societal good, just as we were promised On the eve of publication of State of Nature 2023, I was interviewed about common cranes by ITV News at NWT Hickling Broad. I had been asked for a story which bucked the trend: a species which – despite the catastrophic erosion of biodiversity and our shared environment – was recovering.

I chose the crane because it is a shining but all-too-rare example of what we need to do, of how we need to work together to change our future for the better. Hunted to extinction in the Tudor period, this magnificent bird was absent from the UK for 400 years. When the first pair returned to the UK in September 1979, they chose NWT Hickling Broad. Soon they moved next door, to the Horsey estate of the late John Buxton, who for many years became the dauntless guardian of British cranes. Monitored and kept secret by the RSPB, English Nature (the predecessor of Natural England), Norfolk Naturalists Trust (as we then were) and by John himself, the cranes raised their first chick on his farm in 1982. Slowly, over decades, nest by nest and chick by toffee-coloured chick, the population grew, under our collective care. When I was cutting my teeth as a naturalist in the early 1990s, the UK flock still counted fewer than a dozen birds.

Now there are more than 70 pairs, raising between them up to 40 chicks a year. The reasons for their success are many. Wetlands – such as the RSPB’s Lakenheath Fen and our own NWT Wissey Wetlands and Potter Heigham Marshes – have been recreated for them and for many other species. A second population has been painstakingly introduced in Somerset and Gloucestershire, with birds from the two regions now mixing. Private landowners, government bodies, volunteers and conservation NGOs have worked together to ensure the cranes’ success. And the cranes themselves have become ambassadors for wilder wetlands, symbols in people’s hearts of what we are capable of achieving: with ambition, when we work together across sectors, when the goal is more important than the obstacles along the journey.

If we can restore the crane to the UK’s wetlands, we can restore all our biodiversity. But to do so we must – with one loud, united voice – tell our leaders, our elected representatives, businesses, retailers, industry and the media that we will no longer stand for nature-depleted landscapes, we will not tolerate a shattered climate. Together we must demand that – having left the EU – our laws protecting nature be not

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just replaced, but strengthened – made greatly more ambitious – for our societal good, just as we were promised.

Only once the law supports our landowners and farmers in reconnecting wild spaces across their properties can our nature reserves – priceless, hard-won, long-protected stores of species, genes, ancient habitats and ecosystem interactions – become our gift back to the land, replenishing the whole of Norfolk with lost wildlife. With nature more threatened now than ever in our history, with our nature protection legislation up for grabs, with the stakes for our society as high as they have ever been, now is a time for forging these crucial partnerships. Now is a time for dreaming and delivering wild. Now is a time for hollering for the return of wildlife to every inch of Norfolk, and beyond. Yes, far beyond.

This is the fight of all our lives.

Quite without exaggeration, it’s the fight of human history.

But together – lifted on the wingspan of our magnificent returning cranes – we’re mighty.

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE

Defend nature – how to speak up Simply by being one of our 37,000 members you are already doing a huge amount for wildlife in Norfolk. You may already be speaking up for nature, but here are some ideas in case you would like to do more: Contact your local representative Who holds power in your community?

By contacting or meeting up with your MP, local councillor or perhaps business leader you can help them to understand more about a local nature issue you care about.

Contact your MP: parliament.uk/get-involved Contact your local councillor by visiting your local council website.

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Speak out against damaging developments We champion wildlife through the planning system by working to ensure that wildlife issues are considered both in strategic plans and individual planning applications.

You can help us by commenting on applications which may affect local wildlife. We can provide advice on how to do this here: norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/planning

Get involved in neighbourhood planning

Contact your local media Writing an open letter to your local newspaper’s Opinion Pages is a great way to raise awareness of issues facing local nature. You could also write a press release or contact a journalist directly – a direct message on social media is often the quickest way.

Join in with our campaigns Keep an eye out for local and national campaigns we’re involved with, such as our opposition to the Western Link Road on account of the devastating impact it will have on the rare barbastelle bat.

Encourage your parish or town council to develop a Neighbourhood Plan containing policies to protect and recover nature in your local area.

Find out more: neighbourhoodplanning.org

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SPEAKING UP FOR NATURE

The Wildlife Trusts: our priorities for the next UK government The Wildlife Trusts have created a set of asks detailing what we want to see – and what nature needs – from the UK government. Our asks are broken down into five key sections, each with three simple steps outlining how it can be achieved. The Wildlife Trusts are calling for whomever makes the next UK government to: Bring back our lost wildlife Nature is declining at a speed never previously seen and shows no signs of slowing. We need the government to reverse this trend and put nature into recovery. They must ensure that at least 30% of land and sea is protected for it by 2030. They must also stop the damage to our seas through sewage discharges and river pollution, as well as safeguarding Marine Protected Areas from development and destructive fishing methods. Finally, we want to see wild beavers in every major river catchment in England, Scotland and

Wales – restoring wetlands and making space for nature.

come; farmers need more support to adapt to climate change.

End river pollution

Green our communities

Many of the UK’s rivers are polluted beyond legal limits, and less than half are in good condition ecologically – but the Government can take action. Firstly, they must ensure that environmental watchdogs have the powers and resources to enforce the law, with regular monitoring and commensurate penalties for parties who knowingly break it. They must halve nutrient pollution from sewage, wastewater and agriculture by 2030. Finally, we need stronger protection for chalk streams, one of the world’s rarest habitats.

Too many of us live in polluted, naturedeprived neighbourhoods. These poor-quality living conditions are damaging people’s health and cutting lives short. We need a Natural Health Fund to reduce the strain on the NHS and public services. We need a legally mandated right to a clean and healthy environment, protecting nature and the health and wellbeing of us all. And we need all children to be given the opportunity to learn outdoors.

Fund wildlife-friendly farming

Climate change is driving nature’s decline, while the loss of wildlife and wild places leaves us ill-equipped to reduce carbon emissions and adapt to change. It’s a vicious cycle that demands immediate action. We need the UK government to help nature and people adapt to climate change, protect the blue carbon in our marine environments, and make our homes more energy efficient.

Farming is one of the main causes of wildlife declines, but it doesn’t have to be. Government can support farmers to grow in harmony with nature and help bring wildlife back. They need to double the budget for wildlife-friendly farming, halve the use of pesticides and protect farming against climate change. The extreme heat and droughts in 2017 and 2022 provided a taste of the reality to

Tackle the climate emergency

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PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

‘Hares in the snow’ by Paul Richards

Nature photography competition winners announced Over 600 photographs were submitted to our photography competition, illustrating the stunning variety of wildlife that calls Norfolk home.

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Paul Richards’ image of hares in the snow was chosen as the Judges’ Overall Favourite. Amelia Jane Balls earned the well-deserved title of Best Young Photographer for her image of a hare in spring sunshine. Each of these lucky winners received a pair of binoculars from competition sponsors ZEISS’ new SFL (SmartFocus Lightweight) range, worth over £1,200. Both winning images and 10 runners-up feature in our annual calendar, with proceeds going towards our conservation work.

The competition was judged by conservationist and wildlife presenter Jess French; wildlife photographer and cameraman Josh Jaggard; wildlife presenter, conservationist and author Ajay Tegala; and Norfolk-based photographer Paula Cooper.

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PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

‘Hare in spring sunshine’ by Amelia Jane Balls

‘There was such a wealth of fantastic photographs,’ said Ajay, ‘that judging was a challenge but also an absolute pleasure. The winning image captures a unique moment in time, in very wintry weather. As well as admiring the beautiful hares in the snowy landscape, you can really imagine the patience and layers of warm clothing that were required to take the photograph.’

Our wildlife calendar is available to purchase for £9 from NWT Visitor Centres at Hickling Broad, Ranworth Broad, Holme Dunes and Cley Marshes.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust

2024 Calendar

‘I loved the winning image,’ Paula said.

‘It was very atmospheric, taken in falling snow and showing the interaction of the hares. The standard of the entries was great, really celebrating the wildlife we have in Norfolk, making it so difficult to judge.’ norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk

To view all of the winning shots, visit norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/photocomp

See page 30 for Q&As with our winners TERN | Winter 2023

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PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITION

© Paul Richards

© Amelia Jane Balls

Q&As with our winners

Paul Richards Judges’ Overall Favourite

Amelia Jane Balls Best Young Photographer

What is your favourite wild place in Norfolk?

Lying on the beach at Titchwell photographing the waders along the shoreline.

What is your favourite wild place in Norfolk?

How Hill in Ludham is one of my favourite places.

I also like to go to the beach to see the seals.

What inspired your love of nature and nature photography?

I was brought up in Mid Wales alongside the River Wye. My childhood was all about watching kingfishers, tickling trout, fishing for salmon, discovering local wildlife. That childhood interest carried into my work as a Countryside Manager, and now as a retired avid wildlifewatcher and photographer.

What’s the story behind the winning shot?

I like the photographic 30

opportunity that ‘bad’ weather brings – often enhancing the atmosphere in a picture. In this instance we were exploiting the snow and wind brought in by the storm and spent the whole day out. I took advantage of the hares as they chased each other across the field, with the wind whipping up the snow behind them.

Any top tips for wildlife photography?

Spend time getting to know your subject. The background is as important as your subject. Practise your fieldcraft so you can approach your subject without disturbing it.

Make the most of the light.

Patience, perseverance and practice!

What inspired your love of nature and nature photography?

I love being outdoors and going on adventures.

My Nanna and Grandad like to take me to different places. My Grandad likes taking photos of insects and landscapes.

What’s the story behind the winning shot?

One morning I went out for a walk with my Mum. We live in Potter Heigham and on a field near our house we saw a few hares sitting. We slowly approached the hares and took a few photos.

This was my favourite photo.

Any top tips for wildlife photography?

Fast shutter speed and take lots of photos.

With thanks to world-leading optics manufacturers ZEISS, for their generous sponsorship of our nature photography competition.

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POOL FROGS & PINGOS

Globally rare frog to benefit from new Norfolk habitat We are delighted to be leading a partnership to expand ancient habitat in the Brecks for the rare northern pool frog.

Thanks to funding from Natural England’s Species Recovery Programme, we are working with the Woodland Trust and Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust (ARC) to restore numerous lost Ice Age ponds – known as ghost pingos – as habitat for the pool frog.

The northern pool frog, the UK’s rarest amphibian, was successfully reintroduced to NWT Thompson Common in 2021, reversing its disappearance in the 1990s.

On newly acquired land surrounding Thompson Common, our Pool Frogs and Pingos project will create a tapestry of wildlife habitats, allowing the existing 32

population of pool frogs to expand its range and increase in number.

At Mere Farm, a 130-acre site that borders Thompson Common, we are excavating lost pingos on former agricultural land. This work builds on the success of our Reinstating Lost Ponds project at Watering Farm, also adjacent to Thompson Common, which was delivered as part of the Brecks Fen Edge and Rivers Landscape Partnership Scheme, supported by National Lottery Heritage Fund. Just over the fence from Mere Farm, at Green Farm, the Woodland Trust aims to create semi-natural habitat on 300 acres, including the restoration of a series of ghost pingos. ARC will lend its expertise, ensuring that restored pingos are ideal for pool frogs, and will monitor the ponds for pool frog activity in the future.

‘What’s so brilliant about this partnership,’ says Jonathon Preston, NWT Nature Conservation Manager, ‘is that it enables us to work at a landscape scale. We can potentially restore 32 pingos and create four new ponds on over 700 acres of wildlife habitat, allowing the pool frog to grow in population and giving even more space to other Brecks wildlife.

‘It takes a great deal of detective work to establish the locations of the ghost pingos, so there is a lot of excitement as we dig down into the earth, knowing we’re reaching far back into history to support wildlife in the future. The next excitement will be when the pingos fill with water. Then it’s a case of waiting for these very rare frogs to arrive!’

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POOL FROGS & PINGOS

© Robin Chittenden

Northern pool frog – Pelophylax lessonae

Excavating a ghost pingo on Mere Farm

Formed while woolly mammoths still roamed the land, pingos are shallow, fluctuating pools created by small hillocks of ice melting and making depressions in the soil. Pingos harbour a variety of interesting flora and fauna. However, as agricultural practices intensified, the ponds were frequently filled in and these vital wildlife-friendly features were lost from the landscape. As we excavate a lost pingo, a layer of black peat indicates the original base of the pond, containing seeds and organic matter which can regenerate, apparently miraculously.

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© NWT

The northern pool frog became extinct in England at the end of the 20th century, with the last known colony at NWT Thompson Common. Research carried out in the 1990s showed that the English pool frog belonged to a distinct and threatened northern group of pool frogs found in Norway and Sweden. As a part of the Breaking New Ground Landscape Partnership Scheme, Norfolk Wildlife Trust worked with Amphibian and Reptile Conservation to plan the frogs’ return, using the latest approaches to recovering lost species.

In 2021, thanks to the work of ARC and other partners, we were able to announce the successful reintroduction of pool frogs at Thompson Common.

Read more about this historic reintroduction here: norfolkwt.uk/poolfrog

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Discover This December, January and February we would like you to look out for three thrushes that may be seen in the countryside foraging for food or – if you are very lucky – visiting your garden. If you spot a redwing, fieldfare or mistle thrush in Norfolk this winter please share your sighting with us.

Redwing

ghtings Send your si fieldfare of redwing, rush and mistle th line to NWT’s on ey Spotter Surv

The redwing is a small thrush that visits us in winter to feast on berry-laden bushes in hedgerows, orchards, parks and gardens.

Mistle thrush

The redwing is dark brown above and cream below, with a streaked breast and distinctive orangey-red flanks and underwings. It has a very smart face, with cream eyebrows and dark brown cheeks.

Redwings can often be spotted in flocks with fieldfares, moving from bush to bush looking for food. Apples and berryproducing bushes like hawthorn may attract redwings into the garden.

The mistle thrush is a large songbird, commonly found in parks, gardens and woodland. Its name is probably derived from its love of the sticky berries of mistletoe. Once it has found a berry-laden tree, a mistle thrush will guard it from would-be thieves. In turn it helps the mistletoe, planting its seeds while wiping its bill on bark to remove the fruits’ sticky residue. It also disperses the seeds in its droppings.

A tiny population of redwings does breed in the UK, but most of our birds come from Scandinavia and Iceland for winter.

Fieldfare Often spotted in large flocks with other thrushes, the fieldfare is also a winter visitor, which enjoys the seasonal berries found in our hedgerows, woodlands and parks.

The fieldfare has a chestnut-brown back and buffy breast, streaked with black.

It has a black tail, dark wings and a pale grey rump and head. Fieldfares are sociable birds and can be seen in flocks of more than 200, roaming the countryside. They may venture into gardens in a severe winter.

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Make your unt! o c s g n i t h g i s

The mistle thrush is pale greyish-brown above, with a white belly covered in round black spots. It is larger and greyer than the similar-looking song thrush.

Other names for the mistle thrush include storm cock and rain bird, as it can be heard singing loudly from the tops of high trees after spring rains.

Mistle thrush

Log your sightings: Log your sightings of redwing, fieldfare and mistle thrush this winter via our website norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/ spottersurvey. Don’t forget that for a valid record we need to know what you saw, when you saw it, where you were and who you are. We will share wildlife records submitted with the Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service, Norfolk’s biological records centre.

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DISCOVER

Fieldfare

Redwing

Illustration: Mike Hughes Wildlife Art

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Explore The North Norfolk coast in winter Key

With trees bare, flowers gone to seed, and insects hidden away in hibernation, you might think that winter wasn’t a good time to watch wildlife.

However, along the North Norfolk coast this couldn’t be further from the truth. Grey seals are pupping on our sandy beaches and flocks of many birds are at their peak.

Information

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© David Savory, Collette Goddard, Ron Scott

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The Norfolk coast is a wonderful mixed landscape of dunes, saltmarshes, reedbeds, grassland and freshwater scrapes. At NWT Cley and Salthouse Marshes the pools visible from the hides offer food and shelter for hundreds of ducks, accompanied by an array of waders. A stroll along the reserve’s boardwalk may reveal a flock of bearded tits calling in the swaying reed. With luck a bittern might fly past, venturing from one dyke to another. On a brisk walk along the shingle beach you will most likely find a flock of snow buntings. These lovely birds are often approachable as they rarely see people in their high Arctic summer home. When disturbed, they take to the air in a flash of white and tan, falling like a flurry of snow further up the beach. A shorelark or Lapland bunting may be close by too.

Many of us enjoy the winter spectacle of vast skeins of wild geese. Pink-footed geese spend the winter roaming the To Holt Norfolk countryside, moving from one harvested sugar beet field to another, feasting on discarded tops. Norfolk is the winter home of a sizable percentage of the UK’s wintering population and arable fields along the North Norfolk coast are a good place to see them.

Another wild goose that is likely to be encountered here is the brent goose.

Unlike pink-footed geese, brents prefer truly coastal habitats, often feeding along saltmarsh creeks, up-ending occasionally to graze on eel-grass.

When gathered in coastal grassland, they can be quite confiding, allowing birdwatchers close views.

Dark-bellied brent geese from northern Siberia are numerous in Norfolk. A few pale-bellied brents, from Greenland or Spitsbergen, are found among Norfolk flocks in most winters.

Luckily for us, here in Norfolk we have some of the most diverse and spectacular coastal habitats in the British Isles, and even in winter they are full of magnificent wildlife to discover and explore.

If you are in need of a rest, or shelter from the elements, you can enjoy panoramic views of the reserve and its wildlife from our warm and welcoming cafe.’

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EXPLORE

Christmas and New Year at Cley In addition to the wealth of wildlife to experience at Cley, we have events and exhibitions throughout the year.

Here’s a selection of what’s on:

© Richard Osbourne, Elizabeth Dack, Georgia Shackleton, Robert Gillmor

Christmas Crafts Thursday 21 December, 10.30am Join us for a morning of crafting, drawing inspiration from the Cley landscape to create unique Christmas decorations from natural materials.

Saving Britain’s curlews, with Mary Colwell from Curlew Action

Boxing Day walk

Thursday 8 February Mary gives us an overview of the status of curlews today and an update on what is being done to save them. Since 2016 there has been a significant increase in curlew projects, especially in lowland areas where they are most endangered.

Join us for a leisurely Boxing Day stroll around the reserve, taking in the sights and sounds of winter wildlife on the Norfolk coast. 1.30pm

Georgia Shackleton

Robert Gillmor Retrospective Saturday 17 Feb – Wed 17 April We are honoured to host a retrospective exhibition of the work of renowned Cley artist the late Robert Gillmor, former president of the Society of Wildlife Artists and keen supporter of NWT. Robert’s work is cherished in the world of natural history and graced the covers of countless books in The New Naturalist series. Many of Robert’s clear cut lino prints celebrating the natural world were inspired by wildlife at NWT Cley Marshes. We hope all will enjoy this stunning exhibition and we thank the Gillmor family for their continued support.

Friday 19 January, 7.30pm Georgia Shackleton shares songs from her debut solo album Harry’s Seagull.

A celebration of East Anglian traditional singers, it is a bouquet of songs of empowerment, love, loss, land and sea, peppered with tunes from across the region.

For more information about all our events and to book: norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/events

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Take Action Orchids on the verge Over the past three years we have been delighted to help Old Buckenham resident Godfrey Pratt, after he made a wonderful discovery on the road verge in front of his house. Godfrey tells us his heartwarming story: ‘My wife and I moved to our house in Old Buckenham in 2016. Following the practice of the two previous occupants, I regularly cut the roadside verge outside the house to keep it looking neat and tidy, like our neighbours’.

We realised these tenacious plants had been there all the time, each year being repeatedly mowed down. We decided in future that we’d let nature take its course and stop chopping their heads off. I wanted to make sure the verge was managed for these plants to thrive, so got in touch with Norfolk Wildlife Trust for advice. We were contacted

by Aaron Brown, Nature Conservation

Officer, who explained the importance of cutting the long grass just once, at the end of the summer, when flowers have set seed, then raking away all of the mown grass to reduce soil nutrients. Aaron and I kept in touch, and the following season he kindly provided us with some seeds of yellow rattle, sulphur clover and pepper saxifrage, collected from a country lane in the local area. These are now becoming established. When Aaron visited us in June to conduct a species count, we were amazed to discover that, after just three years, we were providing a home to 56 plant species, including this year for the first time pyramidal orchids.’

Below left: Bee orchid Below right: Godfrey Pratt in Old Buckenham

© NWT

Towards the end of 2019, our daughter went through major cancer surgery.

Not surprisingly, some of my regular jobs didn’t get done, one of which was mowing the roadside verge. While

my daughter was convalescing, we would take a regular daily walk. As we walked back to the house, alongside the overgrown roadside verge, she noticed orchids growing in the grass. Those first plants we saw were southern marsh orchids, but a few weeks later we noticed that we had some bee orchids too.

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GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE

Saving water illustrations by Hannah Bailey, photo © Sarah Cuttle

for wildlife

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We’ve all noticed the recent changes in weather patterns.

More of us are experiencing drought more often, and can expect to more frequently in future. Winter is the perfect time to start preparing your garden for a parched spring and summer.

Wildlife suffers in drought. Birds like robins and blackbirds struggle to find worms and grubs to feed their chicks when the soil dries up. What’s more, leaves shrivel, putting caterpillars and other grubs that eat them at risk, while flowers produce less nectar, which has a knock-on effect on pollinators.

As gardeners, we should adapt to drier conditions by growing more drought-resilient plants, but we mustn’t neglect the wildlife that also uses our gardens. By topping up bird baths and ponds, using grey water to hydrate our plants and providing supplementary food when natural sources have (literally) dried up, we can make life easier for wildlife struggling to adjust to climate change.

Our reliance on mains water should be at the heart of dealing with drought. Aim to use less tap water, which means saving more rainwater. Collecting

water in winter to use in spring and summer will not only keep your garden growing and your wildlife thriving, but will also reduce pressure on reservoirs and rivers when it’s dry, and sewerage systems when it’s wet. When reservoirs dry up our rivers are drained as backup but, conversely, heavy showers can result in sewage discharges into rivers and the sea. Everything is connected – simply by saving rainwater and using less mains water we can save local species, save entire river ecosystems, and still have attractive, species-rich gardens.

Kate Bradbury is passionate about wildlife-friendly gardening and is the author of Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything.

Recently, she has provided advice for the Coronation Gardens for Food and Nature website.

Get more tips for growing in harmony with nature at mycoronationgarden.org

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GARDENING FOR WILDLIFE

Save water Invest in water butts now to store up winter rain.

Buy as many as you can afford and connect them to the downpipe of your house for maximum flow.

(Councils may offer cheaper versions or you might find a bargain at your local tip.)

Create shade Grow tall plants or trees, or let your hedge grow taller rather than cutting it back this winter. Plants in shade are less likely to scorch and the soil remains wetter.

Make a rain garden If budget allows, transform your space so that all rainwater soaks into the soil slowly, rather than going down the drain.

Add a pond Now’s a good time to dig a pond, which should fill naturally before spring.

Ensure it has shallow margins and sloping sides, and consider running a pipe from your shed roof so it fills automatically when it rains.

Use grey water Keep a bucket in your shower, a washing up bowl in your kitchen sink, and syphon water from your bath to hydrate your garden.

Use eco detergents to reduce the impact on soil health and use the water immediately so it doesn’t go bad.

Grow more plants Cover every inch of space with plants, including climbers up walls and fences. The more plants you grow, the more humid your environment, the less dry the local atmosphere.

Mulch the soil Cover bare areas of earth with bark chippings, home-made compost, gravel or even plant material to lock in moisture, which will help plants grow.

Grow drought-tolerant plants Replace thirsty plants like Astrantia, Astilbe and Persicaria with droughtresilient plants like lavender and salvia, but don’t stop growing natives as many species rely on them.

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LEARN WITH TERN

Learn with Tern The word Eulipotyphla hardly trips from the tongue, but this is the name of the order of familiar mammals generally known as insectivores.

In modern Norfolk it is represented by five species in three families: Erinaceidae (hedgehogs, one species), Talpidae (moles, one species) and Soricidae (shrews, three species).

© iStock

Of these, the hedgehog is the best known and best loved. Like most native British land mammals, the hedgehog is an animal of the woodland, woodland edge and glades which predominated here before humans felled the wildwood in the late Stone Age and Bronze Age. For thousands of years hedgehogs thrived beside us, snuffling for beetles, worms and other invertebrates in our organic landscape of small fields, thick hedges, green lanes, farm ponds and gardens.

In the twentieth century, with the radical change in our agricultural landscape, it declined enormously.

In much of the country the hedgehog now depends on gardens for its survival.

42

The hedgehog is our only member of the Eulipotyphla to hibernate.

By contrast, moles, whose diet consists largely of earthworms (with some insect grubs in summer), are active year-round. Moles are superbly adapted for life in underground tunnels, rarely appearing above ground. Their huge

front feet, equipped with large claws, allow them to shift earth with ease. In response to a life of gritty darkness, their eyes have shrunk to pinpricks.

The least known of our insectivorous mammals are the shrews (known in the Norfolk dialect as rannies).

Both common and pygmy shrews are widespread and abundant in Norfolk and are easily confused. Pygmy shrews typically have longer, thicker tails in proportion to body size and they are bicoloured: grey-brown with a whitish-grey belly. Common shrews are usually more tricoloured: fading from darker brown above, through mid

WORDS BY NICK ACHESON, NWT AMBASSADOR

brown on the flanks, to whitish below.

Both common and pygmy shrews are insect-hunters and lead very fast lives, rarely living more than a year but breeding as many as three times in that period, with females giving birth to half a dozen young each time.

Largest of our native shrews, the water shrew is generally neatly black above and white below, often with attractive white spots around the eyes and ears. It is very much an animal of wetland habitats, preying on aquatic invertebrates, such as freshwater shrimps and insect larvae, in unpolluted water. The water shrew occurs at far lower population density than our two other shrews.

In recent years the greater white-toothed shrew (previously known in the British Isles only from the Channel Islands) has been found at a few locations in England, though none yet near Norfolk. This large shrew rapidly colonised Ireland following its introduction and has been strongly associated with a decline in the native pygmy shrew there. Time will tell whether the greater white-toothed shrew spreads across the British mainland and whether our native small mammals suffer as a result.

Hedgehog

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GET INVOLVED

© NWT

Conservation management of All Saints churchyard, Hemblington

Though Hemblington church stands some distance from the village, recent conservation efforts have been bringing people together in this peaceful spot.

The Friends of Hemblington Church actively coordinate local wildlife sessions and practical work in their churchyard.

The southern churchyard supports an ancient hay meadow which has been cut and raked in summer since 1985 by the Blofield and District Conservation Group volunteers. The Bure Valley Conservation Group volunteers maintain the northern churchyard, a more recent extension, which is increasing in wildflower diversity.

This work by parishioners and local volunteers has achieved a Community 44

Biodiversity Award and Bronze A Rocha Eco Church status.

These activities encourage local Since 2017 the Friends group has recorded wildlife in the churchyard. people to learn An annual report is compiled and sent to NWT, Caring for God’s Acre and the Norfolk Biodiversity Information more about the Service. In 2022, 45 bird species and 116 wildflower species were recorded. The wildlife in the Friends group also organises The Big Churchyard Birdwatch, part of RSPB’s churchyard Big Garden Birdwatch, each January.

These activities encourage local people to learn more about the wildlife in the churchyard, as well as enjoying the tranquillity and facilities available in the church. Both people and wildlife can find a haven at Hemblington church.

If you would like to learn more about The Friends, please contact the secretary: hemblington@ gmail.com or visit the website: hemblingtonchurch.org.uk

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Give a gift to Norfolk’s wildlife this Christmas With the countdown to Christmas underway, many of us may have already turned our attention to the annual Christmas shopping spree. During this year’s season of goodwill why not give a gift which benefits nature in Norfolk?

We also have a selection of beautiful nature-themed cards.

Tote bags and tea towels

For more information go to: norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/ Christmas

Soaps

Binoculars

250 Club: 2024 Draws

Our 250 Club’s two prize draws for 2024 are scheduled for 28 February and 24 July.

These dates are subject to change, so please check our website nearer the time.

We wish good luck to all ticket holders, and we thank you for your support in 2023, which has seen over £320,000 donated to Norfolk Wildlife Trust projects.

To join the 250 Club please visit norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/250club.

At £12 per ticket, and with odds of 1:15, you can secure your place in the 2024 prize draws. The top prize is £250 and over 100 further prizes are available in each draw.

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FROM THE PRESIDENT

From the President

© Elizabeth Dack

WORDS BY PATRICK BARKHAM, NATURAL HISTORY WRITER AND NWT PRESIDENT

In 25 years as a journalist, I’ve reported on all kinds of people, in many different lines of work.

Lawyers, politicians, teachers, farmers, detectives, medics, musicians – there are impressive and less-thanimpressive people in every profession.

I ended up writing about nature because I love it, and saving it – and our planet – feels like pragmatic self-interest, moral imperative and spiritual enlightenment rolled into one. But I also settled on writing about wildlife because of the people I met who champion it. Conservationists are simply the nicest bunch of people. As cute as voles, as smiley as dolphins, as wise as owls – and as willing to take action to help others as, well, the best human beings.

I don’t believe anyone can be too nice but have conservationists been too herbivorous in recent history?

Have we put the science-led case for nature too quietly? Have we been too meek and mild when faced with vociferous, well-funded opponents for whom a new road, housing estate or industrial venture is a matter of personal enrichment?

There have been a few raised eyebrows about the strength of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s ongoing opposition to the destructive Western Link dual carriageway across the

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internationally renowned Wensum valley; about our joining the outcry against the government’s 2022 ‘attack on nature’ (with wildlife-damaging policies hurriedly withdrawn but now creeping back); and about our recent defence of ‘nutrient neutrality’ rules which help prevent pollutants despoiling our waterways here in Norfolk and elsewhere.

Opponents of ‘nice’ charities which dare enter the political domain sometimes argue that doing so is a violation of charitable aims and threaten to call in the Charity Commission regulator. But the rules are very clear: charities mustn’t support a particular political party but can engage in political campaigning when it is relevant to their aims.

That’s what we are doing now, and a bit more loudly than before. Our aim is for wildlife to be thriving and

abundant in Norfolk, and for people to value, enjoy and take action to protect our nature. Research shows that if we can persuade one in four people to take action, then significant society-wide change can occur.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s labours to protect nature over the past 97 years are visible in our glorious nature reserves but we can also see from today’s nature crisis that our action alone hasn’t been enough. That’s why we’re speaking out, democratically, and with scientific evidence beside us, so everyone can hear. Nature is vital, and if we protect it we fulfil the finer side of human nature, acting beyond our immediate self-interest and in the interests of other people, species and places.

Please join us in action. And next time you glance in the mirror, look more closely: you might just spot your inner vole, dolphin or owl.

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