Norfolk Wildlife Trust Annual report 2019–2020 Saving Norfolk’s Wildlife for the Future Norfolk Wildlife Trust seeks a My opening words are the most important message: sustainable Living Landscape thank you to our members, staff, volunteers, for wildlife and people donors, investors and grant providers. Where the future of wildlife is With your loyal and generous in the School Holidays. As part of our Greater support, and despite the Anglia partnership we promoted sustainable protected and enhanced through challenges of the current crisis, travel when discovering nature reserves. sympathetic management Norfolk Wildlife Trust will continue to advance wildlife We have also had many notable wildlife conservation in Norfolk and highlights during the year across all Norfolk Where people are connected with, to connect people to nature. habitats, from the return of the purple emperor inspired by, value and care for butterfly to our woodlands, to the creation of a Norfolk’s wildlife and wild species This report covers the year to the end of March substantial wet reedbed at Hickling Broad and 2020, a year that ended as the coronavirus Marshes in conjunction with the Environment crisis set in. Throughout the lockdown period Agency. Many highlights are the result of we know from the many photos and stories partnerships and projects which would not we received and the increased activity of our have been possible without generous support. CONTENTS online community that many people found nature to be a source of solace – often joy – in The Prime Minister had said that the Nature reserves for Page 04 difficult times. This bears out the research Government wants “to build our way back to people and wildlife indicating that a connection to nature is health”. The Covid-19 crisis has put – and will fundamental to personal physical and mental continue to put – the UK under huge stress Tipping the Balance Page 08 wellbeing. It has been so encouraging to see and it is right that much of the focus will be on A nature recovery Page 12 people beginning or continuing their wildlife economic recovery. But the recovery of nature network for Norfolk journeys in this way. Part of our role at NWT and wildlife and achieving a healthy natural is to facilitate such journeys and there have world accessible to all is just as important. Wildlife in Common Page 14 been many projects during the year that have Nature needs to be high on the agenda and we demonstrated this. Wildlife in Common saw a will continue to strive to secure that outcome. Inspiring people to take Page 16 record number of volunteers surveying wildlife I hope the contents of this annual report action for wildlife areas to broaden the county’s and their own reassure you that, with your support, Norfolk knowledge base. Our work with children and Wildlife Trust can meet the challenge. Financial summary Page 21 young people included the vitally important Norwich foodbank initiative, Food and Fun Alice Liddle, Chair of Trustees Supporters Page 22 Investors in wildlife Page 24 TRUSTEES Chair: Alice Liddle Vice-Chair: Jeff Price Treasurer: Lyndsay Whiteman Greg Beeton Steve Cale Andrew Clarke Ben Garrod Scott Pinching Sue Roe John Sharpe Heather Tyrrell Student Observer Members of Council: Sam Collin, Duncan Cullingford 02 NORFOLK16 NORFOLK WILDLIFE WILDLIFE TRUST TRUST ANNUAL REPORT 2019 - 2020 03 Pool frogs recorded at In the Brecks, in the Broads, in the fens, marshes, Breckland is the main stronghold in the UK for Thompson Common heaths, commons and river valleys of west, field wormwood, a perennial herb of dry, sandy south and mid Norfolk, we have acquired and chalky soils, with no records of this plant and enhanced priceless fragments of ancient from elsewhere in the UK since 2009. This year as Nature habitat. Across the county we continue to part of the Shifting Sands project, we introduced restore land where it has been damaged and to it to Warren Hills and Weeting Heath. Perennial create new habitat that will support Norfolk’s knawel, a plant that is globally restricted to the priceless wildlife for centuries to come. Brecks, and only found at three sites there, was introduced at Santon Street. Early indications With more than 2,400 hectares (6,000 acres) are that it has survived and set seed. reserves for of nature reserve across Norfolk, our grazing sheep, cattle and ponies are essential to remove yearly vegetation growth. Without being grazed many of our rare and fragile habitats, and A ground-breaking scheme to increase the wildlife they support, would be at risk of the population of pool frogs – the UK’s being swamped by more dominant plants. rarest amphibian – took place this summer in the Brecks. Amphibian and Reptile wildlife Conservation working in partnership with Our Dartmoor ponies helped to maintain Booton Common this year and our British NWT collected spawn from Thompson White cattle played an essential role at Common in June 2019 and reared the Rushmeadows, Scarning Fen and Thorpe tadpoles in laboratory conditions. This Marshes. At East Winch Common, cattle ‘head-starting’ approach allows a greater and people grazing has reduced the dominance of purple proportion to survive the riskiest part of moor grass, allowing a wider range of wet their life-cycle away from predators or heath species to colonise the area and the losses to other natural causes. They were number of marsh gentians to increase. released into restored ancient ponds at the nature reserve. Pool frogs have now been This year we improved our facilities at Lains recorded at several pingos outside of the Farm allowing for a more efficient and effective immediate release areas. lambing operation. At Weeting Heath, winter sheep grazing was required for the first time in several years, because of the lack of rabbit grazing. Elsewhere in the Brecks, other sites have fared better with recovery in rabbit numbers. Woodlark and nightjar successfully bred at Brandon Heath Narrow small-reed recorded at Cranberry Rough From our roots on the North Norfolk coast, for the first time over ninety years we have expanded the reach of our nature reserves across the great 3rd year of successful 7 Spanish catchfly biological regions of our peerless county. water soldier removal at recorded at Harling Thompson Water Heath following habitat improvement 04 NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST ANNUAL REPORT 2019 - 2020 05 Large flocks of ducks at Norfolk hawker dragonflies have On the coast, it was an excellent year for natterjack toads atHolme Dunes. Wet weather We received more than £9,000 from Trinity Broads, including increased in range across the broads, in June helped boost the water supply for the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and more than 100 pochard with large numbers recorded spawn deposited in early May and a minimum West Norfolk Habitat Monitoring and of 10-15,000 toadlets emerged from the two Mitigation (HMM) Fund to protect the main pools. Natterjacks also did well at nesting and breeding sites of three priority Male bittern booming Syderstone Common, with numbers increasing birds at Holme Dunes. It enabled us to as a result of careful management of the employ a summer warden to prevent from Holme Marsh. breeding ponds and work undertaken clearing disturbance to ringed plovers, little At least 3 active marsh scrub and reducing vegetation sward height. terns and oystercatchers and to improve harrier nests, all In early May there were 33 calling males. monitoring. Twenty-four little tern pairs fledged seven young, nine pairs of ringed fledging young At Cley and Salthouse Marshes we had a bumper plover fledged three young and nine pairs year for ground nesting waders, most notably of oystercatcher fledged five young. Snipe bred at Upton 48 pairs of lapwing (fledging 29 young) and 60 pairs of avocet (fledging 20 young). A pair of Broad and Marshes for the little ringed plover nested in the visitor centre first time since the 1950s car park and hatched four chicks. A bittern was heard booming for the first time since 2010. Two bittern were seen in flight over the reed bed, but no breeding activity was noted. 45 goldeneye on Barton We improved the open water and reed Broad and Marshes bed habitat on Bittern Pool and cleaned foot drains on the grazing marshes to improve the habitat for breeding waders. Two new species for the reserve were Monitoring the wildlife and habitats on At Southrepps Commons, which became an squacco heron and isabelline wheatear. our nature reserves would not be possible NWT reserve in the previous year, we restored without our fantastic team of volunteers. Pit Common by removing years of accumulated We are fortunate to be supported by their huge sediment and carried out scrub control. range of skills, from wildlife identification We also replaced the bridge across the beck. to photography and data processing. Working with the Environment Agency in the This year volunteers have helped us carry Broads National Park, 20 hectares (49 acres) of out Breeding Birds of Conservation Concern wet reedbed were created on Brendan’s Marsh (BoCC) surveys at sites including Grimes at Hickling Broad and Marshes, to provide Graves, East Wretham Heath and Alderfen ideal habitat for breeding bitterns, cranes, Broad and Marshes. Habitat surveys have been marsh harriers and bearded tits. This newly undertaken at Cawston Heath and Stanley created habitat is intended to compensate for Carr. Reptile surveys on heathland sites and habitat that will be lost as sea-level rises in the fixed-point photography on sites including future. The new expanse of shallow water was Cley and Salthouse Marshes, Syderstone immediately in use by large numbers of birds: Common and East Winch Common have sightings included more than 140 white-fronted helped us monitor long-term vegetation geese, a flock of 60 whooper and Bewick’s change.