The Godwin chicks

Sophie Harrison, Summer Warden at Weeting Heath
 

The two stone curlews at Weeting Heath that have been the stars of the Wings over the Brecks project hatched two chicks on 16 May. Sock Cam revealed this footage as the female was seen removing egg shells from the nest. This assists hatching and draws predators away from the scrape. To be on the safe side she ate the second empty egg shell so she didn’t leave the first chick on its own. She then called to her mate to let him know the chicks had arrived.

Both chicks were successfully ringed on 10 June. The first chick weighed in at 195g with a bill length of 24.9mm, and the second at 224g with a bill length of 27.3mm. 

 

Three different colour rings and a metal BTO ring were gently wrapped and glued in place around their legs above and below their knees. A small piece of plastic bag was placed around the top of their leg to act as a ‘nappy’ so the glue didn’t touch their feathers.

Their heads are lightly covered to calm them and to minimise stress. While this was going on the parents didn’t take their eyes off us for a single second. Ringing enables conservationists to identify the individual birds and to monitor their progress throughout their life.  Now 26 days old, these chicks are growing fast but are still vulnerable to predation until they reach fledging age at six weeks old. These chicks have been christened ‘The Godwin Chicks’.

Frank Godwin began volunteering in 1991, making him our longest standing volunteer warden at Weeting Heath NNR. For many people the first question they ask upon arrival to Weeting Heath is ‘Is the Colonel here?’ Frank has been a very important part of Weeting Heath reserve, and knows a great deal about the history of the reserve and the stone curlews. Franks’ commitment to stone curlew conservation has been second to none and he has played a significant role in helping train the summer warden each season. He kept everyone entertained with his stories from his life in Africa, and tales of previous Weeting Summer wardens and always enjoyed taking people to the hides to show them the stone curlews. He officially retired on 11 May this year and will be thoroughly missed by staff and visitors.

Unfortunately the other chicks from our other breeding pairs didn’t quite make it to ringing.

Our first breeding pair hatched one chick on the 12 May, which was swiftly predated by a carrion crow at 11 days old. The third breeding pair managed to hatch two chicks on 10 May. Their fortunes’ weren’t much better.

A rogue male was seen trying his luck with the mother of the two chicks from our third breeding pair. In retaliation to his rejection, he unexpectedly picked up a chick and killed it! Needless to say a massive scrap ensued and four adults chased him away. This is very odd behaviour as it is frequently one adult that sees off an intruder, and cannibalisation doesn’t typically occur within the same species. However records do suggest that this peculiar behaviour happens in oystercatchers.

The second chick made it to 12 days old where it too was predated, by a stoat. The lack of hot weather has also made it difficult for the chicks to grow fast and get enough food. So fingers crossed our surviving chicks will make it to fledging!

The meadow in the city

Chris Durdin, NWT Thorpe Marshes

Bee orchid at Big Yellow Storage, photo by Chris Durdin

Helder de Sousa is, perhaps, an unlikely conservation hero. He works at the Big Yellow Self Storage company on Canary Way in Norwich, opposite Norwich City Football Club. By chance he has become the custodian of a remarkable urban meadow, complete with bee orchids.

I must declare an interest. I first noticed bee orchids here in 2009, just before a man with a strimmer reached them. That year they were left uncut, marked with a stick but the grass cut round them.

From that small step forward, I’ve been encouraging the Big Yellow team to leave more and more grass uncut. This year it’s all been left and it’s created a wonderful meadow in the heart of Norwich.

Ox-eye daisies, photo by Chris Durdin

I counted 15 bee orchids here (on 5 June) and perhaps missed some, but the supporting cast is also strong. Sheets of ox-eye daisies dominate, there is ragged robin in the corner facing Morrison’s supermarket and today a Common Blue butterfly caught my eye. There are meadow ants, bees and often birds forage in the long grass.



Do pop along, perhaps when you’re shopping in Norwich. And please call in and say “well done” to Helder and his colleagues – it deserves encouragement.

 

Chris Durdin leads monthly wildlife walks at NWT Thorpe Marshes. Details of monthly walks on www.honeyguide.co.uk/thorpemarshes

An afternoon with Ranworth visitor centre volunteers

Angela Collins, Volunteer coordinator

Today I visited our Ranworth reserve to meet some of our fabulous visitor centre volunteers. The volunteers were invited to take a boat trip by one of our experienced boat guides, so they could learn more about the broad, its wildlife and can tell visitors what they can expect when they book a boat trip. Plus, because of the way that the visitor centre works, the majority of volunteers have their set days of working and so don’t often get to see each other: this was an ideal opportunity to meet and get to know others in their team and share experiences.

Ranworth Volunteers: Stuart and Sue

The boat trip from the floating Broads Wildlife Centre was great. The highlight was definitely watching an otter swim by, a rare treat for us all. There were plenty of baby birds around, including great crested grebe, mallards, Egyptian geese & black headed gulls. Unfortunately we didn’t see the osprey which has been spotted again several times this year - some lucky people having a boat trip only last week had the osprey fly directly overhead. The views from the boat as it circled around the broad were so peaceful and beautiful, the quietness of the electric engine meant that we were able to get close to several birds without them being disturbed and flying away. Maurice our boat guide, talked of the history of the broad, how it was formed by peat digging, and how the different edges of the broad age and change its shape. The tree lined edges are very prone to erosion and there were several trees stranded within the broad where it would have once been water’s edge, whereas the reed bed edges slowly encroach on the broad.   

We talked about the bio-manipulation experiment; a floating cage with water plants and a curtain to the floor of the broad, keeps fish out and inside water fleas were able to thrive and eat the algal bloom keeping the water clear. The volunteers were clearly all enthusiastic and passionate and already knew a great deal about Ranworth, but the trip showed there is always something new to learn.

Ranworth Volunteers: Jean, Lorna and Linda

We then returned to the floating visitor centre, where the comments book showed that visitors arrive from all over the world; Australia, Canada, Sweden, Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, Italy, and Cyprus were all found in a quick flick through the book.  The volunteers all felt that meeting and talking to a vast variety of people was what made their role so interesting and enjoyable, and being at a stunning location helps. On the webcam in the centre we were able to watch 2 baby terns on the nesting platforms on the broad. These can also be seen on our website if you can’t get to Ranworth.  

It was a pleasure to meet some of our volunteers, and hear about their experiences, and why they volunteer. Our visitor centres could not open as often as they do, and provide such a warm and informative welcome to our thousands of visitors without the week-on-week support of our wonderful volunteers. A big thank you, on behalf of the Trust, to them all.  

Ranworth Volunteer: Joan

If you are interested in volunteering with Norfolk Wildlife Trust, please have a look on our website at opportunities currently available, or contact me angelac@norfolkwildlifetrust.or.ukangelac@norfolkwildlifetrust.or.uk 

New lambs to nibble for nature

David Tallentire, Conservation grazing manager at Norfolk Wildlife Trust

When the cold weather of winter finally breaks, nature doesn’t waste any time in responding to take advantage of the sunshine. The arrival of spring brings back an abundance of colour and life to our countryside with a myriad of birds, flowers, butterflies and all sort of our favourite wildlife. But this got me to thinking, what best signals the arrival of spring? Is it the early white blossom of the blackthorn hedges, or the frogspawn appearing in our garden ponds? For many years I have associated the arrival of spring with the distinctive whistling call of curlew returning to their summer breeding grounds, however, for me this year, it is the arrival of our first lambs of the season which has signalled that spring is here. Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s flock of sheep have now started lambing and before anyone says ‘ahh’, let me make clear that these pint sized nibblers have a job to do.

NWT manages a wide range of semi-natural habitats which represent some of Norfolk’s finest nature sites. Our ‘flying flock’ was set up 20 years ago to move around our nature reserves, preventing areas which are important for wildlife becoming overgrown. This name reflects the fact that the sheep are highly mobile and are ‘flown in’ (via road rather than air!) wherever they are most needed. NWT has two shepherds, who manage the flock, checking the animals on a daily basis to ensure their welfare. A team of six working sheepdogs are on hand, enabling the shepherds to easily gather and move the sheep around our nature reserves. In any year, you can see them right across the county, grazing on the Broadland marshes, or on the coast at Holme Dunes, or across several of our Breckland heath reserves, which are the main home of our flock. By munching their way across our nature reserves, the sheep maintain open habitats, allowing a whole range of plants, insects, birds, reptiles and mammals to flourish. Without this regular removal of vegetation many our nature reserves would be at risk of being swamped by just a small handful of the more dominant plant species.

The flock currently numbers just under 1,000 sheep and includes Shetland and Black Welsh Mountain breeds. Despite being quite small, these are very hardy traditional breeds that are able to thrive on the nature reserves. By using native breeds NWT is also helping to secure the future of these breeds, many of which are at risk of extinction due to the influx of higher producing, more commercial breeds within UK agriculture. However, as well as their strong heritage, these animals have a number of important genetic traits, and need our protection for future generations. Our breeding program for the flock has seen NWT become one the largest owners of pedigree Shetland sheep across the whole of the UK.

Head of Nature Reserves at Norfolk Wildlife Trust, John Milton adds, ‘Amongst wildlife organisations NWT has been one of the early pioneers in introducing grazing animals including sheep, cattle and ponies throughout many sites and habitats, as a sustainable way of preventing areas from becoming choked with growth that smothers fragile species. The Flying Flock is a valuable conservation tool.’

But it’s not just their nibbling that has value; they also produce some fantastic fleeces. The Shetlands, in particular, are highly regarded for the quality of the wool that they produce.

The ewes were introduced to a few of our newly bought tups (rams) at the end of last year. The tups arrived from Hereford in October, looking very handsome as they did. They were clearly very keen to get on with their new job, as the lambs are now arriving thick and fast. Coming in a range of colours and markings, including some stand out white hairstyles; the lambs are quickly up on their feet, often giving our two shepherds the run around within hours of being born. We have had over 100 born so far this year, but plenty more are expected throughout the next month. The breeds of sheep that we keep are well adapted to lamb outdoors. The area that they lamb includes lots of shelter, plenty of food, and with minimal disturbance the ewes are free to find a secluded spot to give birth. However, our shepherds are on site as much as possible to assist the odd few ewes that run into difficulty. The new mothers and their lambs are then penned into a separate paddock to encourage a close bond, it also allows our shepherds to keep a close eye on them and make sure the lambs are getting enough milk.

The lambs will spend the summer with their mothers, predominantly grazing on the Breckland heaths and in autumn the ewe lambs will enter into the main flock and ensure that this nibbling for nature continues for years to come.

You can come and see some of these young conservationists in action this summer by visiting NWT East Wretham Heath nature reserve. Or stop by at the nearby NWT Weeting Heath visitor centre, where the flock grazing works to maintain the unique flora and fauna of the heath, including nesting areas for breeding stone curlew which can now be spotted daily from the bird hides.

Dartmoor and Konik ponies together,
photo by Lynda Simpson

Away from the flying flock, I am also involved in managing our herd of ponies which can be seen at several NWT nature reserves, such as Roydon Common near Kings Lynn.

Again, these living lawnmowers play a very important role in managing NWT nature reserves by removing yearly vegetation growth and maintaining open habitats for wildlife. A good example of this is at NWT Buxton Heath, where the year round pony grazing has seen a marked increase in the number of marsh helleborine orchids over the past few years. By maintaining an open sward, the ponies have helped this beautiful plant to flourish along with a whole range of others. The mix of Dartmoor and Konik breeds owned by NWT, being hardy animals, are well suited to thrive on a range of heathland and Broadland nature reserves. At Hickling, the long standing pony grazing has helped to maintain the fen grasslands, home to numerous iconic and rare species, such as the swallowtail butterfly and the Norfolk hawker dragonfly.

Cattle are another important part of NWT’s grazing management and we work with over 20 local farmers to conserve our nature reserves. Many of Norfolk’s important wildlife sites were actually created and maintained by traditional agricultural practices dating back centuries. By working with local graziers, we can continue to maintain these habitats through seasonal cattle grazing which resembles the historic local farming systems.

With over 6,000 acres of grazed nature reserve across the length and breadth of the county, our team of grazing animals is an essential conservation tool for NWT. It is highly rewarding to see the lambs following in the footsteps of their parents, grazing across our suite of nature reserves and helping to protect Norfolk’s wildlife in the process, the ‘ahh’ factor this spring is just an added bonus.

Please support our Grazing appeal, to continue and develop NWT's conservation grazing