General

If you have taken an inspiring wildlife photo in Norfolk we'd like to see it! You can submit it to the NWT photo gallery or email your photograph. Please remember any photos submitted to this gallery may be used by Norfolk Wildlife Trust to support the conservation of wildlife in Norfolk.

A heathland is an open area of natural vegetation usually dominated by distinctive plants such as heathers, gorse and bracken. These areas were traditionally used for grazing of animals such as horses, geese and sheep.

Heathlands usually occur on freely draining sands and gravels and are infertile often with acid loving plants as the nutrients are leached out of the soil by rainfall. Heathlands occur in lowland areas and are similar to upland moors but usually drier and less peaty. In Norfolk many heathlands have been lost, reclaimed as farmland or becoming wooded because of lack of grazing. Management to restore heaths may include tree felling followed by reintroduction of grazing. It is important to look after our heathland as many rare plants, insects and animals depend on this habitat.

The Norfolk police have specially trained wildlife crime/wildlife liaison officers who can offer specialist advice on wildlife and the law. Any cases of suspected wildlife crime such as egg collecting or illegal persecution of wildlife should be reported to your local wildlife liaison officer.  

If you have any information about wildlife crime or believe you have witnessed a crime taking place contact Norfolk Police on 101. If a crime is in progress, always dial 999.

If possible try to note down the following information:

• date, time and location

• descriptions of people you saw or vehicles they were driving

• if there is anyone else in the area that witnessed the incident / individuals.

You can find further information on how you can help us tackle wildlife crime, and which animals are more commonly affected, by following this link: https://www.norfolk.police.uk/wildlife-crime 

This term refers to species which are not native to an area or country and have been deliberately or accidentally introduced by people. Some alien wildlife species cause problems by competing with native species or carrying diseases which affect native species. Examples of invasive alien plants species include giant hogweed, Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed. Alien animals in Norfolk include grey squirrels and mink which are native to North America and Chinese Water Deer and muntjac deer from Asia. Not all alien introductions are invasive or cause problems and birds such as little owls, pheasants, and red-legged partridge are non-native introductions but so much part of the Norfolk (and English) countryside that few would call them aliens.

Picture by Elizabeth Dack

Norfolk Wildlife Trust can provide speakers on a number of wildlife topics and can also provide contact details of other wildlife organisations who sometimes offer talks to groups. The availability of speakers will depend on times and dates. For further details of talks available and charges please phone 01603 598333 or email us.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust is unable to deal with sick or injured animals. Please phone the RSPCA Wildlife Centre, East Winch, King's Lynn on 0300 123 0709. Visit the RSPCA website for more information.

Mechanical fails or rotary driven cutters are widely used by farmers and landowners and the majority of hedges will recover from this. When cut by this method the hedge will look severely beaten for a few weeks. When the new shoots do grow back they will form multiple shoots and then branch outwards rather than up.

Landowners using a reciprocating bar cutter to cut the hedges will often leave a neater cut on the hedge with less risk of infection to individual plants within the hedge.

By law landowners are required to trim hedges back if they are alongside public highways, footpaths or any public right of way if it is preventing ease of access or affecting safety of the highway user to drivers or pedestrians. The debris from cutting must also be cleared up afterwards.

Under Cross Compliance regulations, which most agricultural land is now under, the cutting of hedges is prohibited between 1st March and 31st July to prevent nesting birds and other wildlife being disturbed.

The cutting of standard trees within a hedgerow is up to the landowner. If they are in one of the agricultural schemes such as the Entry Level Stewardship (ELS) or Higher Level Stewardship (HLS) then there are rules and guidelines on hedgerow management. Ideal hedgerow management is not always easy to achieve. The ‘text book’ way to cut a hedge is to cut in an ‘A’ shape with a wide bottom and flat top to give good ground cover for nesting birds also to cut during the winter months to lessen disturbance to wildlife but this is not always possible for landowners.

The health of the mature trees is put at risk by infection when cut by flail mowers but the majority of them will survive. The longer outlook for them will be that they grow outwards and get incorporated into the hedge rather than grow up to be mature tress if the cutting continues. Without some form of management hedges will become gappy at the base and less attractive to certain wildlife species. Without the flail cutter it would be true that many more hedgerows would have been lost in the UK, as landowners would have grubbed far more out, prior to legislation which now restricts their complete removal.

Picture by Richard Brunton

Under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981, no one can remove any hedgerow at a time when any bird nesting is disturbed - 1 March to 31 August. At all other times, a hedge between domestic properties or in a private garden is not protected by any law preventing its removal. However, the Hedgerows Regulations 1997 states that no countryside hedge can be removed without permission if it is more than 20m in length.
For further information visit:  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/countryside-hedgerows-regulation-and-management

Picture by Tim Stringer

The UK Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) was written as a response to the Convention on Biological Diversity 1992 (also called the Rio convention). It was signed by 150 government leaders who agree to promote diversity in a sustainable way, to help not only the plants and animals but also to secure future food, medicine and other resources for humans.

The UK BAP describes all the biological resources in the UK and outlines any risks they face and how they can be protected. The action plans are split into species action plans for individual species which need protection and habitat action plans for important UK habitats. For local information look at the Norfolk BAP website.

The plans are implemented by a variety of people and conservation organisations which form the UK Biodiversity Partnership.

It is a strategic vision of our landscape that will help us to create a resilient and healthy environment. The Wildlife Trusts are identifying key areas to protect for wildlife – enlarging, improving and joining them up – across the UK; on nature reserves, in towns and cities, and in partnership with hundreds of other landowners. We need a healthy natural environment to enable wildlife and people to adapt to a changing climate. There are over 100 Living Landscape schemes around the UK, including six for Norfolk: The Brecks, Claylands, Bure and Thurne, Wissey valley, Gaywood valley and North Norfolk woods.

These schemes are creating inspirational, accessible landscapes – full of wildlife and rich in opportunities for learning, better health and wellbeing, alongside sustainable economic development.

The Ordnance Survey has produced a comprehensive step by step guide to reading a grid reference, to view it Click here.

There are a number of online resources available to help you pinpoint a location. You may like to try one of these:

•  UK Grid Reference Finder
• What3Words