Pretty Corner Explorer North Norfolk District Council Council Offices, Holt Road, Cromer, Norfolk NR27 9EN [email protected] www.northnorfolk.org The Woodland Trust Kempton Way, Grantham, Lincolnshire NG31 6LL 01476 581111 woodlandtrust.org.uk/prettycorner This project has been supported through funding from: The Woodland Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales no. 294344 and in Scotland no. SC038885. A non-profit making company limited by guarantee. Registered in England No. 1982873. The Woodland Trust logo is a registered trademark. Photos: iStock, WTPL/G Holm, WTPL/P Holm, WTPL/Fran Hitchinson, WTPL/M Barton, WTPL/C Mart, WTPL/Deryn Hawkins, WTPL/Shaun Nixon, WTPL/ Colin Varndell, WTPL/Ilene Sterns, WTPL/J Webb, WTPL/Steven Kind and RSPB Images/David Tipling. 4896 07/12 Welcome intrepid explorers If you enjoy the activities within this book A secret world lives in Pretty Corner why not have an adventure every single Woods! Use this book and your detective week with our kids’ club. skills to discover just some of the wildlife hiding among the trees. With all this and more you can get close to nature every single week: There are 30 things to spot, from mighty oaks to the smallest kingfishers. Some will be very easy to find; some you can only see Weekly challenges sent to you at certain times of year. Others only come out at night! Giant poster How many can you discover today? Explore the Year of stickers 350+ wood and tick off each find on your journey. Packs in the post things to do! Get stuck in at www.naturedetectives.org.uk/club 2 3 Easy to see English oak Grand fir Is that an acorn at your feet? Then The grand fir looks a bit like a look up and you’ll see the English Christmas tree. You’d need a big oak. Acorns are the fruit of this house to put it in though - it can ginormous tree that can grow 35 grow up to 60 metres high. It’s one metres high and live for 1000 years. of the tallest types of tree in Britain. That’s older than your grandad! Instead of leaves it has spikey The wood from an oak tree is so needles, which are shiny, dark green strong it was used to build houses above and pale white underneath. and ships. Date Date Ling heather Scots pine If you were a moth caterpillar you’d With a trunk that’s often bent be licking your lips if you saw this over, the Scots pine looks rather plant. It’s their favourite food. It’s squashed. It’s a big tree with flat bushy, about knee high and grows looking branches and is home to in groups covered in small purple many insects. They creep into the flowers in summer. See if you can cracks in its bark to hide from find one with white flowers. They’re birds that want them for their tea. supposed to be lucky. Buzzards like to sit in its branches looking for mice with their beady Date eyes. Date 4 5 Easy to see Speckled wood Foxglove butterfly This tall plant with big green leaves See those brown butterflies dancing has cylindrical flowers. They are in shafts of sunlight? They’re male poisonous and you can often find speckled wood butterflies and bees in them so don’t touch. How they’re not dancing they’re fighting did it get its name? Some say fairies over territory. When they’re feeling give the flowers to foxes to wear as peckish they snack on honeydew gloves when they steal the farmer’s made by aphids. Look out for their chickens. What do you think? green caterpillars munching on grass below. Date Date Wren Rowan Listen! Can you hear a big, trilling Look out for a small tree with sharp song? It’s the tiny wren. Look leaves and brilliant red berries in carefully to see this compact, brown June, which birds like to eat. Some bird with a stumpy tail. It zips Rowans grow under other trees through the undergrowth looking where the birds have had a poo. for crunchy insects and spiders. Nice. It’s also thought to be a At night wrens sometimes sleep magical tree, perfect for wizard’s together. 60 were once found in wands. Expelliarmus. one nest box. Cosy. Date Date 6 7 Easy to see Red admiral Downy birch You won’t have to look hard for the People used to think this wood red admiral. These nosy butterflies drove out evil spirits – do you think will come and find you. When flying Harry Potter’s broomstick might they’re easy to spot. But once they have been made from this wood? land and fold their wings together, In April and May look out for the like magic, they become invisible. ‘catkins’. These flowers hang from Their caterpillars camp out in tents the tree like little lambs’ tails. That’s made from folded-together stinging why the tree is called the ‘downy’ nettle leaves. birch. Date Date Red campion Have a look along the edge of the woods and in hedgerows. Can you spot some cheerful pink flowers? They probably belong to the red campion. They shut tight at night as if going to sleep. The seeds have been used to treat snake bites. Hopefully you won’t need them. Date 8 9 More difficult to see Tawny owl Nuthatch Listen carefully. Can you hear a These lovely birds should be in the ‘twit twoo’? The ‘twit’ bit is the circus – they are amazingly agile. female owl and the ‘twoo’ is the Watch how they run up and down male answering. They sleep during trees hunting for insects. You might the day, but look for pellets on the also see them hammering nuts into ground. These are the bones and the bark so they can open them skin of small animals that the owl with their strong bill. They nest in spits out. Yuck! The owl may be in tree-holes, which they plaster with the tree above. mud. Date Date Common buzzard Muntjac deer Buzzards are the most common That barking in the woods may bird of prey around. Listen out for a not be a dog, but a muntjac. Their mewing sound like a cat. Then look dog-like calls can go on and on. up. See that little dot circling high They were brought from China to in the sky? That’s the buzzard. They live in UK parks, but some escaped use their incredible eyesight to spot into the wild. The males have sharp small animals to eat. tusk-like teeth and look a bit fierce. Don’t worry, they’ll be more scared Date of you. Date 10 11 More difficult to see Woodcock Wood sorrel How would you like eyes on the On a sunny spring day these pretty top of your head? This bulky wading white flowers wink at you from the bird uses them to watch for danger woodland floor. But if the weather’s as it digs for worms. You’ll be dull, the flowers shut tight. Is that lucky to see one as it like to hide why they are sometimes called in patches of bramble. When in sleeping beauty? The leaves have a danger, the females can fly off with sharp taste and used to be put in their chicks riding on their back. food instead of lemon. Date Date Bluebell Common frog It is said that fairies will put you Shush! Be quite and look carefully under a spell if you wander into when you get near a pond. Can you a bluebell ring. Who knows? see a little pair of eyes and nostrils What’s for certain is that there peeking out above the water? That’ll is something magical about their be the common frog watching you. bright blue flowers and gentle scent. You might even catch them flicking Bluebells make a colourful carpet out a long sticky tongue to catch in the woods during late spring - a insects, slugs and snails. sure sign that summer is on the way. Date Date 12 13 More difficult to see Wych elm Comma butterfly Rub your fingers over a wych Fluttering around with its wings elm leaf and it will feel like fine open this is a beautiful orange and sandpaper. These graceful trees brown butterfly. With its wings can grow up to 30 metres. But be closed, it’s drab and tatty. But this careful when standing underneath is very handy as it looks like an looking up. They have a habit old leaf and won’t get eaten. The of dropping branches without caterpillars have an even better warning. Maybe that’s why they are disguise – they look like bird associated with death. droppings. Date Date Male fern Would you like to be invisible? The seeds (or ‘spores’) of the male fern were thought to do the trick. Even Shakespeare thought so. These impressive plants love to grow in woods and shady places. They look like big green shuttlecocks and can grow up to a metre high. Date 14 15 Hard to see White admiral Slow worms butterfly They’re not worms, and they’re In some countries this spectacular definitely not slow. Believe it or not butterfly is called a ‘glider’. Can these are lizards - without legs. On you guess why? You’ll see it beat its a warm day, you might be lucky to wings then glide along effortlessly see one dozing in a patch of sun.