Surveying Woodlands

Foxley Wood photo by Richard Osbourne 1/3
Congham Wood, Gaywood Valley Living Landscape, Emily Nobbs 2/3
Bretts Wood photo by Richard Osbourne 3/3
Woodlands, in the past, were often vital to the local community. They provided food in the form of mushrooms, berries and nuts. They also were an important source of wood and timber, which were used for fuel, fencing, furniture, houses and general construction. Woodlands also provided products including oak bark for tanning, and charcoal for cooking. Today they should be equally valued for their beauty, wildlife and as places for recreation.

Surveys can identify which woodlands in your area are best for wildlife, and what flora and fauna they contain.


Have you seen…?

  • White Admiral
  • Buff ermine
  • Marsh tit
    
Woodland is home to more threatened species of wildlife than any other UK habitat, and areas of woodland can be the most biodiverse of all UK habitats. There have recently been worrying declines in some woodland species. Your survey could help to identify the presence or absence of at risk species and help develop plans to protect them.

Please find below Norfolk's Wet Woodland and Lowland Mixed Decidious Woodland Biodiversity Action Plans (BAP):

Wet Woodland
Lowland Mixed Deciduous Woodland


You don’t have to be an expert…

...to gather really interesting information. If you can identify rooks and their nests in the tops of trees you can do a rookery survey. If you can recognise bluebells you can record which of your local woods have bluebells and find the best bluebell wood in the parish.


Why not start a simple survey today and put your parish wildlife on the map?

Surveys can identify which woodlands in an area are the best for wildlife – often these will be the oldest woodlands, usually referred to as ancient woodlands. However, even newly planted woodlands can be brilliant for wildlife. The best way to know what wildlife is benefitting from a wooded area is to carry out a survey.
Top tips:
 
  • You must have permission from the landowner to survey a woodland if the survey involves walking off public footpaths or public roads
  • Be alert to safety – do not survey woodlands in strong winds and be aware that wet woodlands such as alder and willow carrs may be too wet to access safely
  • Knowing where you are in a wood can be difficult – familiarise yourself with pathways and the basic layout of the wood before carrying out any survey work
  • Survey at the right time of year – it is easier to find ancient trees in winter; ground flora in woods is best between April and June (you will need several visits during this period to get a record of all the flowering plant species); breeding birds are best surveyed between March and June and fungi from September to November
 

How do we find out what wildlife is found in our wood?

Such a diversity of wildlife is found in woodland that it will not be possible to survey and identify all groups to begin with. However, a good starting point may be to carry out a general woodland survey (Survey Form N).

The structure of the woodland and the types of trees present will be important influencing factors as to what other wildlife may be present. Once you have carried out a general woodland habitat survey, you may like to have a go at surveying one of the wildlife groups below:
  • Birds
  • Plants
  • Mammals
  • Invertebrates

If you do not want to survey a whole group of species, why not concentrate on one species of animal or plant to begin with?

For example badger, wren or white admiral.

To tell us about your woodland survey please click here.

Download woodland survey forms here.

Ancient Tree Survey Form (Survey Form M)

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet   
Microsoft Word document

General Woodland Habitat Survey Form (Survey Form N)

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
Microsoft Word document

Ancient Woodland Indicator Survey Form (Survey Form O)

Microsoft Excel spreadsheet
Microsoft Word document


Please remember to send your completed survey forms to Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS) – make your records count!

Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service
Environment Transport and Development
County Hall
Martineau Lane
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 2SG

Email:  [email protected]
Website: NBIS

Who you gonna call…?

Identification of groups such as fungi, lichens, mosses, ferns and woodland invertebrates may be difficult to include in surveys without expert advice. Telephone Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife Information Service – 01603 598333 – and we can point you in the direction of a group who could help.

 

It’s MAGIC…

MAGIC is a web-based interactive map service which brings together environmental information from across government bodies. On this website you can view some ancient woodland records. Go to MAGIC, then select 'Habitats and Species', then 'Habitats', then 'Woodland', then 'Ancient Woodland', then zoom in on the area you would like to look at.

 

Need to brush up on your tree id?

Would you like to learn how to identify trees? To find out about workshops and walks in Norfolk check out our event section.