North Norfolk Local Group

From The Chair

North Norfolk enjoys a wealth of wildlife habitats: a subtly varied coastline; heathlands, woods and diverse wet places. The region is renowned for its resident and migrant birds but the plant life is distinctive too, deriving from the recent geological history of glaciation. There is much mutual support between the various bodies concerned for wildlife conservation and this often involves farming interests. Many people have chosen to live in North Norfolk to further their interests in wildlife. One result is a high level of local expertise which is freely shared around and the local NWT group seeks to foster this with a programme of talks, excursions and events. Visitors are always made welcome.

We are pleased to welcome Dr Tony Leech as the new Chair of the North Norfolk Local Group, who, along with a new committee, will be putting together a programme of meetings and events in the area. Dr Leech is known to many already as the leader of some excellent Fungus Forays around the county. Dr Leech replaces Bob Ward, who has been Chairman of the group since 2005.

If you would like to get involved with your local group, please get in touch with the contact person on page/below (events page / web list) or contact us on 01603 625540.

Our Local Area

Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves in the North Norfolk area include:

• Cley Marshes and Salthouse Marshes - five hides at Cley provide bird watching of resident wildfowl, migrating waders and unusual vagrants.
• Holme Dunes - watch for wildfowl, including the spectacular and very Norfolk sight of thousands of Pink Footed Geese and smaller flocks of Brent Geese. Lovely beach walks through dunes and coastal marsh
• Thursford Wood - take a walk through 10ha of some of the oldest oaks in the county!

In the summer the Group offers a varied programme of outdoor events, held at interesting local venues each led by a knowledgeable guide. The winter sees us move indoors with illustrated talks followed by refreshments at Cley Village Hall which are sponsored by local businesses and usually held the third Thursday of the month at 7.30pm.

Our Committee is a mixture of both the serious, people with knowledge gained from careers in the natural world and enthusiasts, who like nothing more than a brisk walk along the coast.

About the Group

In a blur it seems that our programme of outdoor events has whizzed past this year!

Our Group has been introduced to the delights of Salthouse Heath, listened to many external influences that dictate farming procedure at the Stody Estate, tried to find ancient fossils at Runton Cliffs and tramped up (and hopefully back) Blakeney Point looking at its unique flora and bird environment.

For those of you who have attended them all, there should be a badge that you could proudly wear, but sadly not!

For all of you who have assisted in these walks - be it leading them, collecting the participant’s fee, etc, thank you for your part in making what has been a most successful outdoor programme this year. I would like to express special thanks to fellow committee member Mr Richard Porter who, as our Events Organiser, is responsible for putting on such a varied and interesting selection of summer outings! With the onset of darker evenings, we migrate indoors once more to our winter programme of Illustrated Talks on the third Thursday of each month in Cley Village Hall starting time 7.30pm. Our first lecture will be held in October, with the British Birds (the magazine) director Mr Bob Scott, giving a talk on 100 years of British Birds, sponsored by Mark Elliot Furniture.

If you are not yet a NWT member, or if you are new to this area, you can find more information about joining the Trust either at the Visitors Centre at Cley, or at our winter lectures at Cley Village Hall - you will be made most welcome.

Thank you to all who continue to give support to our Group, not least the many local publications for carrying our news free of charge.

Currently there are vacancies on the Committee. If you would like the stimulus of helping to keep the programme going and in shaping its direction, please contact the Chairman, Bob Ward on 01263 710184.

Events

A group of 36 people was led by John Wagstaff on a guided walk at Kelling Heath on the afternoon of 3rd July to look at some of the plants, butterflies and birds to be found there.

An interesting variety of plant species was seen in and around the car park, plants such as Evening Primrose, Viper’s Bugloss, Haresfoot Clover, Common Centaury, Common Ragwort, Musk Thistle, Figwort, Mugwort and the infamous Pirri-pirri bur. On the proper heathland areas the Bell Heather was in full bloom, as was Lesser Stitchwort, Tormentil, Mossy Stonecrop, Common Catsear, Heath Groundsel, Heath Milkwort and Heath Bedstraw. The European Gorse had finished flowering and the Western Gorse was just about to begin. The Common Heather (or Ling) was also not yet in bloom.

Ringlet and Meadow Brown butterflies were seen in good numbers and a few Large Skippers and Small Skippers were seen frantically ‘skipping’ about in the tall grasses. At the start of the walk we were lucky to see 2 male Silver-studded Blue butterflies. This species was re-introduced to Kelling Heath in 2001 and is now well established.

The number and variety of birds seen was somewhat disappointing but was typical of a warm summer afternoon – siesta time! We did however see Stonechats, Common Whitethroats, Yellowhammers, Linnets, Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. All of these species breed on the heath. Two Grey Herons drifting high overhead provided a bit of variety as did a hovering kestrel.

Unfortunately, halfway through the walk, the heavens opened and we were rained on for almost half an hour and despite sheltering under the trees, most of us were saturated. At this stage half the group decided to head for home to get dry. After the rain stopped, the rest of us continued the walk and were rewarded with seeing more Silver-studded Blues by the railway track. John gave us an absolutely fascinating description of the life cycle of this butterfly and its dependency on a particular species of ant which is luckily found on the heath. A further heavy shower persuaded the rest of us to return to the car park.

Digital Projection in North Norfolk

Talks about wildlife become vivid when there are plenty of good pictures of living creatures. Photographic slides have given good service for many years but rapidly digital projection is becoming the norm on account of its power, flexibility and creative possibilities. The North Norfolk Group decided to buy into the new technology. To supplement several gifts they applied to ‘Awards For All’ which makes available small grants from the Lottery Fund to further community projects. The bid proved successful and the funding (£1,172) will become available in March 2009!

It is a condition of the award that the equipment should be regarded as a community resource so other groups will enjoy the benefit, for example our staunch ally Cley Bird Club.

Contact Us
Chairman: Bob Ward 01263 710184; Events Organiser Richard Porter 01263 740322