Little gems: Roadside Nature Reserves (RNRs)

Roger Jones, Norfolk Wildlife Trust Volunteer Surveyor puts the spotlight on some special but often overlooked and special places for nature.

Meadow saxifrage at the roadside. David North

There is a little known, and underloved, set of nature reserves in Norfolk. There may be one on a roadside near you. Yes, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, along with Norfolk County Council, has recognised a whole series of Roadside Nature Reserves (RNRs). However, they are under publicised, though they support many interesting wild flowers. 

Whilst the rest of you whizz by at 70mph (OK 30mph – this is Norfolk) I have long harboured an affection for some of them. My interest was kindled around 25 years ago when the marker posts appeared outside a local supermarket. Over the years I have been visiting several which have particular specialities. This summer my wife Jenny and I set out on a semi-organised survey of RNRs. We’ve found pepper saxifrage, stone parsley, 500+ common spotted orchids (yes, on one verge!), knapweed broomrape, spiny restharrow (ouch!), danewort, sheepsbit and many more fascination and uncommon wild flowers.

On one of the survey days I became troubled by what I saw just outside Taverham on the A1067. A sign advertising the works for the Northern Distributor Road (NDR) had been neatly placed right over the RNR marker post. After contacting Norfolk County Council to find out the fate of this RNR I was informed that it was (as I suspected) due to be lost by the NDR works. However, the County Council already made great efforts to collect seed from this RNR last summer, and this will be used to establish a new grassland verge in the vicinity in 2017, which should hopefully be larger than what will be lost.
  

Pyramidal orchids by Roger Jones

In total we surveyed 40 of the 111 Roadside Nature Reserves in the county. We hope to carry on exploring and surveying our road verges next year! 

To find out if you have a roadside nature reserve near you, please contact Norfolk Wildlife Trust or simply look out for the distinctive roadside markers when you are driving in Norfolk.  

To view list of the RNRs in Norfolk please visit the NBIS website: www.nbis.org.uk/designated-sites 

Tony Juniper: a President for people and wildlife

Emily Kench

Cley Marshes Marketing and Community Intern

We are currently witnessing one of the craziest presidential elections in history. It seems to me that in amongst the profanities, the personalities, and the politics, the true cause of the campaign – the people – has been forgotten.

Tony Juniper: The Wildlife Trusts' President

Staying in, watching the TV and despairing at international news has become a daily ritual. So on Friday evening, I opted for a change of practice. Rather than tut and groan at events playing out on the other side of the world, I thought I’d see if more local events could offer me any hope. I donned my walking boots and wandered down to the Norwich Science Festival at the Forum to hear the President of The Wildlife Trusts plea.

Tony Juniper, bestselling author and committed conservationist, added Wildlife Trust President to his extensive list of achievements back in 2015. After inspiring millions with his book What has nature ever done for us? and the sequel, What Nature Does for Britain, over 100 like-minded people came together to hear the man of the moment speak.

It is fair to say that in amongst the recognition and the accolades, Tony has not forgotten his ethos which truly resonates with Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s vision. We must create a future where wildlife is protected and enhanced through sympathetic management and people are connected with and inspired by wildlife and wild spaces.

Tony did not preach, he did not patronise, he purely highlighted simple conservation principles. The talk focussed on the positives, the solutions, and the opportunities available to us.

In conservation, it’s common to hear that we’re too late and we’ve missed our chance. We have become accustomed to the concept that we can only conserve what we have at present, and even then we may have missed the boat. However, Tony challenged this thought process. He emphasised the importance of rewilding and restoration. He highlighted how ecosystem services can help us to value our natural resources in a way that is compatible with the markets.

Most importantly, in our wave of post-Brexit uncertainty, where neither the implications for wildlife or people are understood, Tony offered assurance that conservation practices can improve. We must not focus on what we have lost, but instead what we can gain. If as a nation of consumers, we speak of our desire to protect our wildlife, we can make change happen. Forward-thinking can put us ahead of the game. Proactive engagement with businesses and politicians right now can help us to influence policy-making in the future.

Tony Juniper inspiring an audience at the Norwich Science Festival

This kind of insight can only come from someone who not only knows British wildlife like the back of their hand, but who can also connect with people from all walks of life. The audience was in awe, and even a few people munching on garlic bread in Pizza Express above stopped to listen.

By the end of the talk I was filled with a sense of heart-warming hope. Forget Trump and Clinton, in Tony Juniper I had found my own president: a president of people and wildlife.

October species of the month: fungi

Ed Parnell, Norfolk Wildlife Trust 

One of the great pleasures of autumn is to walk through the woods, breathing in the distinctive, slightly sweet odour of rotten wood and fallen leaves. On dead trees, around the base of stumps, and in grassy clearings, fungi will also be much in evidence but knowing which species you’re looking at is not always easy. That’s no surprise when you consider that over 10,000 fungi species have been recorded in Britain – with around 3,500 of those found in Norfolk.

Perhaps the best way to get an introduction to this mycological world is to join a fungus foray. A number of such walks are held around the county each autumn, run by Norfolk Wildlife Trust local groups, the National Trust or the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. It’s essential to know what you’re doing where fungi are concerned, particularly if you are picking mushrooms to eat, as there are a number of poisonous species, some of which are potentially deadly. If in any doubt whatsoever stick to the mushrooms in your local supermarket!

Death Cap, photo by Tony Leech

The most common of the deadly species in the UK is the deathcap. Although this yellowish species looks rather innocuous and undistinguished its effects are anything but, with fatal kidney and liver failure resulting a couple of days after ingestion. Similar symptoms are produced by the equally emotively named destroying angel. Another to avoid is the panthercap, which at least is easier to recognise – it has a rather lethal look about it with cream spots splattered across its brown cap.

Perhaps the most distinctive poisonous species to watch out for is the fly agaric. With its bright scarlet cap, covered with white, wart-like specks, this is the archetypal fairytale toadstool. In addition to causing convulsions and a catatonic sleep it’s also strongly hallucinogenic – a property utilised by shamans of the Sami people of Lapland, as well as their reindeer, which seem to experience a similar mind-altered state when consuming these magical mushrooms. Indeed, many reindeer apparently become rather partial to the sensation, actively seeking out the toadstools when they get the chance. In Norfolk, you won’t see any reindeers behaving badly, but a good place to search for fly agarics is NWT Roydon Common, near King’s Lynn, as the site’s mixture of heathland and birch woods is ideal for this red and white gem. 

Fly agaric, photo by Peter Dent

Other interesting species found in Norfolk include: giant puffballs, which can grow up to 80cm across; King Alfred’s Cakes (ironically inedible) – small, hard rounded balls which grow on dead trees and can be seen at NWT Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe; Chicken of the woods which, as its name suggests, tastes (apparently!) like chicken; the stinkhorn, which is often detected by its unpleasant, putrid odour, and which also has a rudely distinctive appearance – NWT Foxley Wood, just off the A1067 Norwich–Fakenham road is a good place to look for this species, as well as being generally good for all autumn fungi.

For details of Norfolk Wildlife Trust events see www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/whats on

Wildlife Info Service: top species questions for June

Emily Nobbs, Wildlife Information Service

The species most asked about this month on the Wildlife Information Service is bee orchids followed by bees and bee nests!

Bee orchids

Bee orchid, photo by Lucy Denman

The weather this spring seems to have brought about a boom in bee orchid numbers.

Many of you have been spotting them on the edges of farmland, brownfield or industrial sites, a frequently asked question being are they protected? Unfortunately although protected when growing in the wild under the Section 13 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, which makes it illegal to up-root, when they are growing on private land the landowner can do as he or she wishes; and the only thing you can do as somebody passionate about these beautiful orchids is to educate the landowner on their importance, and how the site can be managed to benefit them.

If growing on council land you could contact them and ask them if they could not mow the area until the end of July so that they have a chance to seed, if some small stakes could be put up around it, this will also help to protect them, and make people aware they are there.

Top facts about bee orchids

1. Bee orchids typically grow on dry, grassy slopes where the soil is chalky or sandy and there aren’t many nutrients. You tend to see them in urban areas, predominantly on roadsides and old industrial sites. 
2. Bee orchids take 5-8 years to develop from seed to flower. This development depends on an association between the orchid and fungi in the soil.
3. Bee orchids produce a scent which is similar to the pheromones produce a scent which is similar to the pheromones produced by certain female bees to attract a mate. Male bees attracted by the scent then attempt to mate with the bee orchid flower, transfer pollen and fertise the bee orchids. However in England bee orchids appear to be self-pollinated.
4. Bee orchids are notoriously unprediatble, appearing for a few years at a site in good numbers and then completely vanishing.
5. The best time to look for bee orchids is june and early july. Nature reserves where you can see them include NWT Narborough Railway Line and NWT Holme Dunes reserve. On coastal dunes such as Holkham and Burnham Overy.
6.   Despite their beauty they are often thought of as difficult to spot

Bees and bee nests

Bumblebees are very important pollinators for our crops and flowers, bio-diverse margins of farmlands being an important food source for bees pollinating crop.

Common bumblebees in England:

• ·         Buff-tailed bumblebee  Bombus terrestris
• ·         White- tailed bumblebee  Bombus lucorum
• ·         Garden bumblebee  Bombus hortorum
• ·         Early bumblebee  Bombus pratorum
• ·         Common carder bee  Bombus pascuorum
• ·         Red-tailed bumblebee  Bombus lapidaries
• ·         Tree bumblebee  Bombus hypnorum
• ·         Heath bumblebee  Bombus jonellus

Bees are non-aggressive and will only sting if they are threatened or disturbed, if not they will go about their day doing a great job of pollinating and making honey.

Top facts about bees

Honey bee, photo by Peter Dent

1. Male bees do sting
2.  Tree bumblebee is the newest bee in the Uk, This species was first found in the UK in 2001
3. Sussex university is currently decoding the honey bee waggle dances to determine the movement of honey bees in apple orchards in order to understand apple pollination better. This project is part of Nick Balfour's PhD on "Helping Bees and Agricultural Pollination in Farm Land" which is part of the "Sussex Plan for Honey Bee Health & Well Being"
4. Only honey bees swarm
5.  To raise the temperature of the flight muscles high enough to enable flight the bumblebee shivers, rather the same way we do when we are cold. This can easily be seen in a grounded bee as her abdomen will pump to ventilate the flight muscles.

For more information about bees and bee nests please visit the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust website: http://bumblebeeconservation.org/  

Bee nests

It is important to know that bees rarely nest in the same place, so if you have them in your garden this year, it is unlikely you will have them the following year. We understand that sometimes the positioning of bee’s nests can be awkward and as a last resort you or a local bee expert may have to move the nest to another location. To find out more about how to move a bee nest please check out the Bumble Bee Conservation Trust’s website: http://bumblebeeconservation.org/about-bees/faqs/moving-bumblebee-nests/

The Brecks: curlews and pingos

Isabelle Mudge, Seasonal Education Officer

 

The Education team has recently been on a visit to the Brecks to learn about the sensitive and rare habitats in the area, and about those species which thrive on them.

Stone curlew, photo by Jessica Riederer

The heathland at NWT Weeting Heath is very different from that at NWT Roydon Common, where a sea of purple in late summer is clear evidence of the heather. Lacking heather, Weeting Heath is perhaps less impressive, but this is only at first glance - if you look more closely at the ground you see an incredible patchwork of different colours and textures thanks to the great variety of mosses and lichens which cover the surface of the soil. It is these, and the numerous other plants exclusive to heathland habitats, which amaze the botanists who come here. It is also this environment that attracts birders from near and far to see lapwing, nightjar and stone curlew. Having heard so much about the elusive and rare stone curlew, we were all thrilled when, after scanning the area for some time, we were lucky enough to see first two, then four stone curlews! 

Pingo at NWT Thompson Common

Following our visit to Weeting, we went on to see the pingos, which are ancient glacial formations, at nearby NWT Thompson Common. The pingo trail gives the impression of going back in time, by initially taking you through what looks a bit like a prehistoric jungle swamp where the several pools of water are often concealed by dense vegetation. Then out in the open, however, the clear water of the pingos is exposed and brimming with life, with an abundance of freshwater invertebrates, and several plants such as water violets and lilies, making the pools beautiful and unearthly.

We had a fantastic day, and came away feeling that these two contrasting sites provide the visitor with a unique experience not to be missed.

June's Wildlife Watch event for children takes place at NWT Weeting Heath. Come and discover our Magical Moths!