Weeting Warden's Diary: June

By Sophie Harrison and Abi Nell

The end of May was wet and cold, but despite this a new pair of stone curlews arrived and started sitting on eggs at NWT Weeting Heath. After sifting through our records we discovered that the male bird with ring combination (BTO, ORG, RED, RED) was originally ringed back in 2012 not far from Weeting. He had been previously recorded at Weeting in both 2013 and 2014 with a first nesting attempt recorded on neighbouring land in 2015. His partner with ring combination (LBU, -, LGN, DG/BTO) was first ringed in 2012 on Hockwold heath and had her first breeding attempt with another male in 2014. Stone curlews mate for life and only change partners if one passes away. This male is therefore her second partner and more her own age.
 
A heat wave at the beginning of June gave this pair a fighting chance and they were spotted taking turns to incubate the eggs a few days later. We were able to capture this pair on camera on 6 June and hopes were raised that this pair could rescue this year's breeding population at Weeting. However, a few days before hatching these hoped were dashed! Late one night, a hungry passing opportunist in the form of a vixen took quiet a fancy to these eggs… and had herself a tasty midnight snack! She was first seen at 23:19pm when she carried off the first egg. The crafty vixen then returned to gobble the second egg a minute later. The birds were then seen at 23:25pm when they returned to their empty nest. Dismayed, they abandoned the scrape. Their dismay was also shared by the team here at Weeting!

Since this happening on 12 June, this pair has been feeling sorry for themselves and have been seen moping about the heath looking a bit lost! We have been watching this pair very closely to see if they will have one last breeding attempt before the end of the season. However, as June begins to draw to a close, this look less likely as the stonies will require three weeks for egg incubation and six weeks for the chicks to fledge.  Earlier this week the pair were seen displaying and giving each other food parcels. Maybe this is in consolidation over their loss or it may be a positive sign signalling another breeding attempt! Fingers crossed that July's blog will have some hopeful news!

On Saturday 4 June, Weeting Heath held the event ‘Fantastic Night Fall Flyers’. The aim of the evening was to see if we could find bats, moths and nightjars unique to Weeting Heath. The event was a huge success with a great turnout! Many thanks to Matthew Blissett for his fantastic tepee moth trap set up! This trap along with four others running that night produced some fantastic moths!  Highlights included the Breckland specialist Lunar Yellow Underwing, and also fox moth, clouded buff, and elephant hawk moth (heathland specialists).

However it was the Cream Spot Tiger with its striking distinct colouration that stole the show! Cream Spot Tigers  feed on dandelion, dock and plantain. When threatened, they flash their bright red abdomen and yellow and orange underwing to avoid being eaten! (Rumour on the bird grape vine also informs me that they don’t taste very nice either!!) It may be one of the UK’s most beautiful and distinguishable moths with its striking pale spots, but this defence is necessary when they have one of the UK’s smallest population distributions!

We were out in force with bat detectors that evening,  and  picked up Soprano and common pipistrelle. Even the stone curlews were playing ball that night, as right on cue a pair soared over the pine belt during the late night walk in full view calling loudly to each other! The evening was rounded up with hot chocolates (complete with marsh mellows and cream of course!) and home baked cookies from Weeting’s star baker- Abi Nell.

The weather hasn’t made its mind up this month so has greatly confused many of our breeding species here at Weeting. Consequently, spotted flycatchers have not yet been able to breed successfully in the pines and butterfly counts have been low and in-frequent. However, when the sun decided to shine we had Holly Blues emerge and the first generation of Meadow Browns for the season! The only species that has been unaffected by this weather is the treecreepers! Terry and Teresa that decided to nest behind the VC sign last year decided they wanted a change of scenery. They relocated behind a drainpipe on the side of the west hide. This move was clearly a well thought out idea as they successfully fledged all four chicks!

This month was also the relaunch of the Breckland Local Group. The first meeting was a huge success with guest speakers Matthew Blissett and Sam Neal talking about the fantastic wildlife and reserves in the Brecks, and how important it is to get involved with monitoring and conservation work. The next event is a guided walk at Weeting Heath at 10am on Sunday 10 July. Come and discover the great variety of flora and fauna that Weeting Heath has to offer! Entry is £2 for members and £3.75 for non-members. Pop into Weeting Heath Visitor Centre for more information or contact the Breckland Local Group on 01953 548304 for more information.

An easy way to get involved with wildlife monitoring or recording in the Brecks  is to find out what NBIS (Norfolk and Norwich Naturalist Society) has to offer. Sophie and Abi have been taking advantage of the fantastic free courses from NBIS as part of their Little Ouse Wildlife Recording Festival this month. One Tuesday night they attended a freshwater invertebrates identification session with Dan Hoare (Norfolk and Norwich Naturalist Society) and the NBIS team at St Helens picnic site. The sections of the Little Ouse we sampled were full of life, with many keystone species and species that indicate river health. We discovered larvae a plently including this rather smiley beetle larvae and were amazed by the number of tiny stickle-backs, minnows and bullheads that found their way into the net! Follow the link to find out more about the NBIS events programme.

Now live: watch Sophie show YouTuber, Maddie Moate our stone curlews in NWT's 9 for 90 film in celebration of our 90th anniversary.

 

Wild in the City

Barry Madden, NWT Volunteer

As part of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s celebrations of its 90th anniversary it took over Norwich Forum for a fortnight during May and early June. Who could have foreseen how far the organisation would evolve over the nine decades it has existed; such a transformation and maturation from when in 1926, Dr Sydney Long decided to form a trust to purchase an area of land just east of Cley village to put aside for the protection of its natural bounty. Yet here we are reaping the benefits of an exceptionally successful nature conservation body, still working tirelessly for the benefit of Norfolk’s wild places and the wild creatures that inhabit them. But it is more than that because people are an integral part of the plan. Wildlife needs people and people need wildlife; mutual exclusivity is not an option: co-existence is vital. What a well-run event it was and congratulations are in order to all involved. From storytelling sessions to magnetic pond dipping, from badge making to live artists at work; there was something for everyone. And of course the underpinning message was to cherish the wildlife. Always cherish the wildlife.

My minor role in all this was billed as a simple meet and greet volunteer for the day but turned into something a little more substantial courtesy of a young lady from BBC Radio Norfolk who sidled up and asked whether I would be prepared to say a few words about the event. Being a modest sort and prone to sudden panic I declined and instead pointed her in the direction of the day supervisor who luckily came into view in the nick of time. They toddled off for a chat and I stepped back into my comfort zone - but not for long. Only a few minutes passed before the said young lady complete with microphone, headset and tablet appeared by my side once again to ambush me. But it was fine, in fact I rather enjoyed it because the subject matter was wildlife gardening related to a set of leaflets I had helped produce when gainfully employed by NWT. With those leaflets in front of me as a prompt and no audience to worry about we giggled our way through 5 minutes or so and she seemed quite happy. If you're interested you can listen to my waffle here. I'm on at about 1:30.

Turtle dove, photo by Barry Madden

But of course there is still much more to do; an ongoing programme to acquire more land of conservation potential, connect more people with their natural heritage and develop what has already been gained. To illustrate how NWT is always aiming to enhance its reserves, I visited NWT Weeting Heath recently amidst the swelter of early June. This Breckland oasis  has always been a productive place to spend a little time, and until recently a little time is perhaps all most people would spend there, for once the stone curlews had (or had not) been seen it was time to pack away the scope and move on. Not any more. Now there is an excellent woodland trail that takes you on a loop along rides adjacent to the northern heath where butterflies dance over strips of unmown grass liberally scattered with wildflowers. The stone curlews on the main heath seem to have had a tough time of it this year and it is quite noticeable how the drastic reduction in the rabbit population has resulted in very tall grass covering much of the area. However another pair are well through their incubation of a clutch on the northern side and their piercing calls could be heard echoing across today's sun baked heathland as I progressed. Heartening too was the sighting of a turtle dove, the first I've personally seen in the UK for two years. A singing garden warbler was also nice to find. A whole new dimension to the visitor experience has been created enabling a much better appreciation of the flora and fauna inhabiting this part of Norfolk. The peace and quiet was also most welcome.

 NWT really have done a good job with promoting themselves and local wildlife conservation this year. It is well worth a peek at their website for details of the multitude of other events they are organising during the remainder of 2016. Get yourself along to one or two if you can, or maybe you should think about becoming a member or volunteering. If you care about Norfolk’s wildlife there is, in my opinion, no better way to invest.

Wild at Weeting

By Abi Nell and Sophie Harrison

At Weeting Heath despite the wind and rain, pair 1 persisted and hatched two fluffy chicks on Sunday 8 May. Earlier that day the female was captured on Sock Cam taking egg shell pieces away from the nest. This important behaviour removes any smells and traces of hatching and lures predators away from the nest site. At 3.15pm the first chick was born, and while one parent brooded the chick, the other went in search for worms and insects to feed it with. The second chick then hatched at 4:23pm and soon both were tumbling about the nest.

When the adult returns with the food parcel, the brooding bird lets one chick out at a time so they get their fair share of the food. This maximises survival of both chicks when food is abundant. This behaviour is different from other birds, as it is usually a scramble for food and survival of the fittest when the adult returns to the nest with food. However, if the weather turns and food availability is limited, the parents will focus on and feed the larger chick. As brutal as this may sound, it is better to rear one healthy chick than lose two chicks to lack of food.

After the excitement of watching the chicks hatch, they were closely monitored every day until day seven, when they were predated by crows. The adult stone curlews are still on the Heath and have been seen displaying but we have had no confirmed sightings of them making a new scrape or laying a second clutch of eggs.

As we finish writing this blog, the weather got worse and we have been treated to torrential rain and strong winds. Not good news for ground or tree nesting birds! Fingers crossed that June will bring kinder more consistent weather to save the breeding season for the stone curlews of Weeting Heath.

In celebration of Norfolk Wildlife Trust's 90th anniversary, we held a family fun day on the May bank holiday called ‘Wild at Weeting’. There was a lot going on from kids activities and a cake stall, to a guided walk and a moth demonstration. With a huge team effort from both staff and volunteers, the event was a great success and raised more than £550 for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. 

From left to right John Davies, Maddie Moate, and two children enjoying the fayre all taken by Abi Nell

Our next upcoming event is ‘Fantastic Nightfall Flyers’ on Saturday 10 September. We go in search for nightjars, bats and moths across the reserve. The event runs from 8 until 10 pm and includes a walk around the reserve, inspection of the moth traps and hot chocolate in the Visitor Centre afterwards. Open to adults, children and families. To book your place please phone 01603 625540.

May has brought a few more migrants back to the Brecks. The first cuckoo heard was heard calling on 4 May, and the first hobbys were seen on 5 May. Our spotted flycatchers returned on 6 May are have been busy feeding up and establishing territories. We hope June will see them nesting and fledging some spotty chicks.

The weather warmed up enough to bring out the first holly blue of the season on 1 May! In the first butterfly transect of the season we recorded 42 individuals and 11 different species including speckled wood and small skipper.

Moth trapping has also been more slightly more successful this month. Highlights so far include a chocolate tip and a frosted green. While we have been out on butterfly transects we have spotted some rather striking day-flying moths. The cinnabars are now out in force, hunting out ragwort for their caterpillars to devour. We also came across this beautiful Mother Shipton moth, named after a 16th century witch from Yorkshire!

Green veined white, speckled wood and mother Shipton moth all taken by Abi Nell

  
Sophie, Abi and the volunteers have been out surveying the rare Breckland plants on an arable weed reserve. Breckland speedwell, (Veronica praecox) fingered speedwell (Veronica triphyllos) and spring speedwell (Veronica verna) are all rare Breckland specialist plants. They are monitored annually for population size and distribution for reserve records. We spent several rainy days on our hands and knees counting these rare specimens. They are easily confused with other similar common species, germander speedwell (Veronica chamaedrys) and wall speedwell (Veronica arvensis) which is why we had to get so up close and personal with the plants. The three species are very alike in basic structure but there are a few tell tail signs to help identify them.

Spring speedwell stands upright and is renowned for having the tiniest of dark blue flowers. Another telling feature is that its lower leaves have five distinctive lobes. Breckland speedwell has a flattened heart shaped seed pod, and its lower leaves have a deep red colouration underneath. Fingered speedwell is the rarest of the three species, has small blue flowers and leaves that look like three fat fingers. We used coloured sticks to indicate the presence of a species, blue for Breckland speedwell and pink for spring speedwell. Fingered speedwell was so uncommon that we didn’t need many sticks for that! Safe to say we all dreamt of counting speedwells in our sleep.

Weeting Warden's diary: April snow showers

Sophie Harrison and Abi Nell

After our last blog post the weather and the fortunes of the stone curlews at Weeting Heath took a dramatic turn for the worse. April came with bitter winds and showers of hail, sleet and snow mixed with tantalising glimpses of a warm spring sun. The butterflies and moths of the warm days of March have been most confused, as have the migrant birds arriving expecting to find food a plenty after their long and difficult journey.

Screenshot from the camera

After a few weeks for feeding, preening and staking out territories, all 6 of our stone curlews settled into 3 nesting pairs. Our most experienced pair (Pair 2) were first to lay, but also unfortunately, first to abandon their eggs to the cold after a particularly sharp frost. Pairs 1 and 3 had also settled onto nests a few days after Cynthia and Hew, but pair 3 likewise decided that this English weather was not the best start for their offspring, so also abandoned. These four birds left the heathland in search of shelter and food, and we are waiting to see if they will return to attempt to nest again.

Brave pair 1 have stuck it out, and have made it through the foul weather to enjoy the relief of warm sun in early May. Due to pair ones’ dedication to their brood and some clever camera instillation, we are able to bring you views of the nest live into the visitor’s centre. Sock cam has returned with an upgrade and facelift to capture the important milestones in pair ones nesting attempt. So far we have seen regular nest change overs, the parents defending their eggs against jackdaws and rooks, wheatears scampering around in the background as well as preening and feeding behaviour.
 

Volunteer Phil Hasell planting pines

As part of the Breaking New Ground project in the Brecks, we were given 25 pine trees to help develop the pine line. The pine lines of the Brecks are an iconic feature and provide several benefits to the local environment. They work as a wind break to protect the heathland, and also provide food and shelter for several species of bird (goldcrest, chiffchaff, and crossbills). Their other key role is to act as wildlife corridors to link habitats together, thus supporting rare Breckland specialist moths and beetles. Both staff and volunteers got stuck in to plant the young trees! Over the upcoming months the team at Weeting will be giving them some TLC and lots of watering to help them establish and grow to the size of their ancestors.
 
On Saturday the 23 April, the Breckland Flora group paid us a visit. They were running a workshop on Breckland Speedwell Identification. This allowed members to get their ‘eye in’ on the species, and to aid them in monitoring their own local patch. This monitoring programme has been set up to enable consistent and accurate recording of specialist Breckland Flora. If you are interested in becoming part of this programme and for more information please email Sophie.

The migrant birds have trickled into the Brecks but a few nice days in April gave us several species being sighted for the first time this season on the same day. Firecrest and willow warbler picked the 10 April to make their presence known. We also had two visitors which managed to spot two ring ouzel passing through on the 10th. The first swallows were seen over Weeting on 4 April, closely followed by blackcap on the 5th. Woodlarks and wheatears have been seen fairly regularly on the heath and from the forest walk on the finer days of the month. The first tree pipits and turtle doves have been reported on the 24 and 30 April, a nice finish to a rather quiet month.

We had a little flurry of birds of prey at the beginning of the month with a male and female peregrine spotted on the forest walk on 1 April. A goshawk sighting was also reported on that day. Sparrowhawks, kestrels and buzzards are seen regularly hunting in the pines and on the heathland around the visitors centre. 

We have been unable to run the moth trap during April as night time temperatures were nowhere near the ideal 10 degrees needed for most night flying moths. We hope to return to regular weekly trapping into May so look out for that in next month's blog. 

Weeting wakes up for spring

By Sophie Harrison and Abi Nell

Welcome back to a new season at Weeting Heath! Our stone curlews made the perilous journey from North West Africa back to Weeting on 17 March. We currently have three active breeding pairs that are spending most of the time displaying, flapping their wings and marking their territories. Pair 2, Cynthia and Hue that were the stars of the Wings Over the Brecks last season, have safely returned to hopefully breed again this year. 

As part of the Breaking New Ground project, we now have a new camera with a high quality zoom lens, which will enable us to get up close and personal to our famous heath chickens! The camera will be powered by a solar panel that is mounted on wheels looking like something off robot wars! To minimise stress for our birds we had our solar panel warrior wheeled out onto the heath prior to the birds’ arrival. When the birds start to nest, we will be able to run a camera from the power source to be within 10m of the nest. So watch this space for more Stonie updates! 

To get Weeting up and running ready for the new season, our Breckland Reserves Manager Matt Blissett, our Breckland Reserves field officer Paul Waterhouse, and our visitor centre coordinator Abi Nell were assisted by our surperb team of volunteers to give the visitor centre a much needed lick of paint. Abi and I have have been busy updating signs and waymarkers through the forest. Visitors should now be able to navigate their way around the forest trail with ease.

The dense forest is great for green woodpeckers and Roe Deer. The more open areas that look out over the heath are good for spotting stonechat, wheatear, woodlark and if you are very lucky, goshawk. As the season progresses, more species will be visible in these areas such as hobby, tree pipit, grasshopper warbler and hopefully turtle doves.

 

Bird sighting highlights in addition to our stonies on the heath so far have been lapwing, wheatear, buzzard, kestrel, skylark, common curlew and mistle thrush. The pines have been buzzing with activity from yellowhammer and nuthatch to lesser redpoll and brambling. In the forest, crossbills, goshawk and peregrines have been seen flying over, whilst stone chat hide in the gorse and woodlarks pose on fence posts.

March has had a mixture of weather conditions, but we have seen several species of butterfly on the wing on the finer, drier days. This has included peacock; comma; speckled wood; small tortoiseshell; brimstone and red admirals!  As the season progresses (and if the weather picks up), we will be monitoring the butterfly species in weekly transects across the reserve.

Pine Beauty

For the first time this season the weather conditions have been good enough to get our moth trap up and running! Species caught include Pine Beauty; Common Quaker; Dotted Chestnut; Clouded Drab; Hebrew Character;  and Twin Spotted Quaker.

You will find all staff and volunteers at NWT Weeting Heath friendly and flexible. We are always looking to recruit new volunteers to join our friendly group. Our volunteers range in age, ability and interests. We have some that help us run the visitors centre, others that are happy to get involved with hard work on the reserve and some volunteers help us with their specialist knowledge of natural history to contribute to our regular wildlife monitoring. If you have a special interest, a love of working outdoors and as part of a team or even if you are just looking for some company, we would love to meet you. Pop in and see us at any time or email us at weeting@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk.

·    If you have been to visit and taken some pictures that you are particularly proud of and would like to share them with the team then please send then to weeting@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk.

·   The Brecks Local group is now up and running again for local wildlife enthusiasts. A full list of activities will be available soon but in the mean time you can contact John Davies at safarijohn47@gmail.com to find out more. 

On Monday 2 May we are holding the ‘Wild at Weeting’ Fun Day. The event is open to families, members and non-members alike. There will be kids activities, special membership offers, a guided walk, a second-hand book stall, a cake stall, a plant stall, a moth demonstration and interesting facts about Breckland wildlife. Read more here