tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72766820005011858942024-03-13T03:08:21.055-07:00Holkham National Nature ReserveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11431501258155797096noreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-79409557145558583492018-02-27T02:28:00.000-08:002018-02-27T02:31:29.209-08:00Winter days working on the dunes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jOmGsjY48wI/WpUpPc3CCdI/AAAAAAAAAJM/MUfAM4vSSIodunkWQ8rLzpAO2vtcjYaqACLcBGAs/s1600/nudist%2Bbeach%2Bnov.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jOmGsjY48wI/WpUpPc3CCdI/AAAAAAAAAJM/MUfAM4vSSIodunkWQ8rLzpAO2vtcjYaqACLcBGAs/s400/nudist%2Bbeach%2Bnov.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><i>Holkham's nationally important sand dunes sandwiched between pinewood and beach</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">One of my favourite
parts of the reserve has always been the sand dunes. Not only are the views
special; the panorama from what little height we have on the reserve of sea,
sand, pine woods and marshes can all be best appreciated here under the
vastness of Norfolk’s towering and ever changing skies. Sometimes it might seem
an empty harsh environment at the mercy of any weather that the North Sea might
bring us yet the dunes hold a fantastic array of specialised flora and fauna in
a habitat that nationally is constantly under pressure. For insects and birds
that migrate or are blown off course from the continent it is the dunes where
they usually first appear,</span> </span><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">the front line of land and there is
no telling what might be seen. It all adds to the mystique of the place.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">A male Stonechat, this striking looking relative of the Robin now nests on the dunes and if mild weather prevails will remain all winter.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In some parts of the UK sand dunes have been lost to unsympathetic holiday developments and golf courses which make places such as Holkham so valuable. In the summer the dunes really come into their own; we have one of the country’s best populations of Natterjack Toads favouring small sandy bottomed pools in the low lying ‘slacks’ to breed. With patience they can also be seen as they hunt for invertebrates across the open dunes. As many as five species of orchid can be found alongside a tremendous variety of insects and spiders. The list of the dunes' flora and fauna is long and constantly being added to. Birds love the dunes too; the limited scrub provides shelter for nest sites like Stonechats, Whitethroats, Linnets, Wrens and Dunnocks and is also a haven for newly arrived migrants in the spring and autumn. For that overall attraction to remain we do have to carry out regular and constant management work in the winter months which really brings us to the subject of this blog.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Removing bramble scrub from around a Natterjack pool. The toads like short turf around the pools in which to forage for food. In removing the bramble we also exposed an old WW2 gun emplacement.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Holkham’s dune system is part of the ever dynamic and constantly changing coastline of north Norfolk. In the very distant past they were formed from off shore accumulations of tidal debris and shingle, where marram and couch grass was able to take root and grow over a long period to form the dunes we have today. This process can take a very long time as successive periods of storms can erode and break down dunes before they truly establish although alternatively some spots form quite quickly. Take a look out in Holkham Bay today and you can still see this very process continuing. On the older dunes the current pine wood was planted back in the late 1800s. This was to prevent sand blowing across from the beach onto reclaimed arable fields and to stabilize the dunes as the first line of defence in flood and storm conditions. So whilst close on three miles of pinewoods made a new habitat, we now know that what remain as tree-free dunes are ecologically very important and this is where problems start to arise and our work starts and will continue so that the dunes' value remains intact.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Taking out pine trees to expose more of the original sand dunes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>An area of cleared sand dune</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">One of the major
problems we face is encroachment of the wood out onto the adjacent dunes. Pine
trees widely disperse seeds and from these young trees soon form and left
unchecked, the present day dunes would soon revert to woodland. Holm Oak is
also problematic. This evergreen also readily takes root in sand and would soon
really take over. These are even worse for us than pines as when they mature
they cast such a heavy shadow allowing very little else to grow.</span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span style="line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%;">Unlike
pines there are also very few native inhabitants that live within them; be they
birds or insects. Usually throughout the winter months we undertake management
work that involves the aid of a happy and growing bunch of volunteers. With their
help we try to clear areas of both pine and Holm Oak to either prevent their
spread or sometimes remove established trees to reinstate the open dune
habitat. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Volunteers and staff feeding the fire</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 115%;">Another plant we remove is the berry bearing shrub Sea Buckthorn. It
too has limited value to our native wildlife and soon takes over great swathes
of dune if left unchecked. Again thanks to a grand effort from both volunteers
and staff alike, we have managed to clear significant areas in the last few
years. Whilst we are almost ready to conclude this year’s work it will still be
very much ongoing in the future so if you fancy helping out in any of our
tasks, don’t hesitate to contact us at </span><a href="mailto:s.henderson@holkham.co.uk"><span style="line-height: 115%;">s.henderson@holkham.co.uk</span></a><span style="line-height: 115%;">
for more details. Not only will you be helping us with a very worthwhile
project but you might also see some of our special wildlife. In recent weeks we
have managed to see a very rare wintering Dartford Warbler (it had only been
seen four times previously on the reserve!), plenty of Stonechats, lots of
special fungi including the nationally rare Tiny Earthstar, a scarce species of
spider <i>Agroeca proxima, </i>sometimes
known as<i> </i>the Fairy Lamp Spider (named
after the lantern – like shape of its maternal egg sac which it attaches to a
grass stem and then covers in soil particles) and a tiny insect the Pine-cone
Bug new for the reserve!</span></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">The Pine-cone Bug, a new species for the reserve</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Agroeca proxima, the Fairy Lamp Spider</i></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Warden</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-51460036874242639762018-01-31T03:28:00.000-08:002018-01-31T03:28:46.817-08:00The arrival of a new English goose ?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8q5xTNvKVU/WnGiFgLyH-I/AAAAAAAAAH8/Sss4PV85jCE-utPkZAUiXVUurLzwcdAdgCLcBGAs/s1600/Pinkfeet%2Bholkham%2Bdec%2B2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q8q5xTNvKVU/WnGiFgLyH-I/AAAAAAAAAH8/Sss4PV85jCE-utPkZAUiXVUurLzwcdAdgCLcBGAs/s400/Pinkfeet%2Bholkham%2Bdec%2B2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Pink-footed Geese flock over the marshes at Lady Anne's Drive</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Ever
since the days of the Victorian ‘gentleman gunners’, the wildfowlers and
collectors of the distant past, Holkham has maintained its place as being one
of the most consistent spots in the UK for attracting large numbers of wild geese. It was only
during and after the Second World War with disturbance from heavy artillery
fire that the vast skeins of Pink-footed Geese, the species that Holkham became
synonymous with, temporarily deserted us. Holkham fits nicely into the
ornithological history books not only for having one of the largest
concentrations of ‘Pinkfeet’ in Norfolk when some 90,000 were estimated to be
present on a single day back in 2006 but also for providing the county with its
very first example. Pink-footed Geese, with their pink legs and feet are very
similar to Bean Geese (with their orange legs and feet) and in Victorian times
they were deemed one and the same. It took until 1833 before it was realised
that two species were actually involved and how fitting it was that the first
Norfolk Pinkfoot should be shot at Holkham. Incidentally that very first one
was preserved and is still on display within Holkham Hall. This year Pinkfeet
numbers have only managed to reach 33,000 on the reserve, still a significant
total but far less than the 2006 count! Reasons for such a drop include less
sugar beet being grown locally (the harvested yet unwanted tops and leaves left
in fields are the main winter food source) and milder weather and more food in
Scotland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A flock of Dark-bellied Brent Geese rise up from Burnham Overy marsh.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Apart
from the Pinkfeet there are other species of wild geese that arrive each winter
to seek food and sanctuary on the protected marshes of the north Norfolk coast,
Holkham in particular. Probably most well-known to casual observers, second
after the Pinkfeet would be the Brent Geese. Brents are smaller and darker and
part of a different family of geese. Our geese come into two distinct groups; </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Anser </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">or ‘grey geese’ like the Pinkfeet
and common feral Greylags or </span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Branta </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">otherwise
known as</span><i style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> </i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">‘black geese’ such as
Canada, Barnacle and Brent Geese. Like many species of geese there are distinct
sub geographical groups; different populations from distinct parts of the
World. They might all nest in a certain area and then winter in another
distinct area well away from others of their kind. Birds such as Barnacle Geese
cover several widely separated areas of the Arctic in which they nest yet
usually stay well apart in the winter but essentially they all look identical.
The difference in the various Brent geese is that they have evolved so that
they actually look different in different parts of their range. Here at Holkham
we have been lucky as we have been able to see and compare these different
forms. At the moment they are all deemed as identifiable sub-species yet with
evolution still ongoing and the taxonomic scientists working overtime they
might at some point all become species in their own right.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The common form of Brent Goose seen in Norfolk is the 'Dark-bellied'</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">The
common form we see here in north Norfolk is the Dark-bellied Brent Goose. It
arrives every September from breeding grounds on the tundra from northern and
central Siberia and peaks at about 5000 feeding on short coastal grassland, cereal,
saltmarshes and mudflats although numbers are far less than they were 20 years
ago. Less common is the Pale-bellied Brent Goose. It nests in the Greenland,
Canadian High Arctic, and Svalbard. Small numbers from the latter two
populations appear in Norfolk amidst the Dark-bellied birds, with the Greenland
birds most likely to be seen amongst the wintering Pinkfeet. A far rarer form,
the Black Brant can be seen in even smaller numbers here in Norfolk, usually a
couple per year. This form breeds from the central high Arctic Canada across to
the Pacific coast of both North America and Asia. This is where things really
start to become confusing (or interesting!) as where Dark-bellieds and Brants
meet there is occasionally inter-breeding. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The less numerous Pale-bellied Brent Goose</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZTwxmm3b2A/WnGjhMsN85I/AAAAAAAAAIU/moV6etj7FY80Ji8vEKp1WUdgnJrgyS1RQCLcBGAs/s1600/Black%2Bbrant%2Bhindringham%2Bemail.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1512" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UZTwxmm3b2A/WnGjhMsN85I/AAAAAAAAAIU/moV6etj7FY80Ji8vEKp1WUdgnJrgyS1RQCLcBGAs/s400/Black%2Bbrant%2Bhindringham%2Bemail.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The striking looking black and white goose in the centre is the rare Black Brant</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">All
geese traditionally remain a tight family unit during their first year, even
during their migration south, it means when we see goose flocks here in the
winter we can see both parentage and the amount of youngsters in each family. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">This
year has seen an almost complete failing of the breeding Brent Geese, hardly
any young in evidence and a phenomenon that frequently occurs. The success and
failings of Arctic breeding Brent Geese is linked to the availability and
abundance of rodents for predators such as Arctic Foxes. No Lemmings means baby
geese are sought after as prey. What we have seen here at Holkham currently amidst
the flocks of Brent Geese are all the different forms together in the same
flock including some of those hybrids. Such identification conundrums have
stirred up much interest from visiting birdwatchers at Lady Anne’s Drive, where
the flock habitually frequents.</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-plolo-S5d9k/WnGkDrZ8rlI/AAAAAAAAAIk/BIDsYa7mw9Qlb0tOXigsLvX4qL_8_CNEgCLcBGAs/s1600/black%2Bbrant%2Bhybrid%2Bwells%2Bcrop.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-plolo-S5d9k/WnGkDrZ8rlI/AAAAAAAAAIk/BIDsYa7mw9Qlb0tOXigsLvX4qL_8_CNEgCLcBGAs/s400/black%2Bbrant%2Bhybrid%2Bwells%2Bcrop.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The birdwatcher's conundrum - one of our regularly occurring hybrid birds</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Even
more unusual for us this year is a potential English first – a Grey-bellied Brant.
This fourth form in the Brent goose group of sub species has only recently been
truly recognised (although some scientists are still arguing this!). It breeds
in a relatively small area of western High Arctic Canada and winters solely in Puget
Sound, western USA. In looks it appears intermediate between Black Brant and
Pale-bellied and some observers initially thought they were hybrids although
ongoing work has suggested that is not the case. The odd bird has turned up in Ireland but never in England so when a bird turned up amongst
the Pinkfeet this October at Wells and then at Burnham Overy in November it
proved a very exciting find for avid local goose-watchers. With scientific work
continuing and evolution obviously very much ongoing it could be we have to
wait quite some time before the mysteries of the whole Brent Goose group truly
unravels. In the meantime have a look and you will see that everything is not
quite just black and white!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--w_qroqKACQ/WnGkrVj4ufI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Ud2aOxmeWAcvmyE0-LSD3vcGzT2-ZhYxgCLcBGAs/s1600/brent%2Bwells%2Boct%2B7%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="304" data-original-width="432" height="225" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/--w_qroqKACQ/WnGkrVj4ufI/AAAAAAAAAIw/Ud2aOxmeWAcvmyE0-LSD3vcGzT2-ZhYxgCLcBGAs/s320/brent%2Bwells%2Boct%2B7%2B4.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year's Grey-bellied Brant - a potential English first ?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Andy
Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Warden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-23740747090796425542018-01-12T00:49:00.000-08:002018-01-12T00:49:42.357-08:00The elusive cherry cracker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_T4F72ba2os/Wlhw1PupjGI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/UQy5rZt0eZQyOs07N_M5kniNndEaVEk6wCLcBGAs/s1600/Hawfinch%2B20x20%2B9821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_T4F72ba2os/Wlhw1PupjGI/AAAAAAAAAHQ/UQy5rZt0eZQyOs07N_M5kniNndEaVEk6wCLcBGAs/s400/Hawfinch%2B20x20%2B9821.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">With its subtle mix of colours and enormous bill, the Hawfinch is unmistaka</span></i><i><span style="font-size: x-small;">ble</span></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Despite being a cold
and unsettled period of the year with shorter daytime hours the winter can
provide the avid naturalist with much to enthuse. Ordinarily, vast flocks of
geese and wildfowl provide an over awing spectacle on the grazing marshes of
the reserve yet at present our numbers seem well down on past years, a
reflection of the mild autumn and early winter. There is however plenty of
other sights to keep the enthusiasm levels up. One very elusive species in
particular, the Hawfinch, is worthy of note at Holkham and I have been lucky
enough to encounter it whilst doing routine work out and about on the reserve. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
Hawfinch is the UK’s largest finch and it is instantly recognisable due to its
large conical beak. This is an amazing adaption that allows it to crush the
seeds of beech, hornbeam, yew and even cherry stones. Special muscles surround
its skull that enables it to use extreme pressure when crushing these very hard
seeds. It has been estimated that it is capable of exerting the equivalent of 68
kg of pressure per square inch with its bill! Even its scientific name <i>Coccothraustes coccothraustes</i>, means ‘one
who can break open kernels’. Not only is it a front heavy looking bird but it
is a subtle yet pleasing mixture of orange (on its head), varying browns and
greys and very odd looking shaped wing feathers. Small iridescent blue/black
triangles form on the feather tips which are splayed out during the male’s
intricate display ‘dance’. All in all it is a subtle yet quite exotic looking
bird. What makes the Hawfinch even more special is that is usually incredibly
elusive. Despite its size and looks it feeds unobtrusively either in the canopy
of trees or on the ground. It always remains ever alert and fit to disappear at
the slightest disturbance. Such behaviour makes any sighting all the more
fortunate.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBRZ4zgydbw/Wlhw4z0uf7I/AAAAAAAAAHk/4yz9ttakBxw45jRdFUh66sLwunkFR2IvwCEwYBhgL/s1600/Hawfinch%2B20x20%2B9843.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vBRZ4zgydbw/Wlhw4z0uf7I/AAAAAAAAAHk/4yz9ttakBxw45jRdFUh66sLwunkFR2IvwCEwYBhgL/s400/Hawfinch%2B20x20%2B9843.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The Hawfinch is unique amongst British birds for having strange shaped primary wing feathers</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holkham has quite a
long history with Hawfinches. When I was growing up on the Estate in the late
1970s and early 1980s the trees just inside the main gates were<span style="color: red;"> </span>the best place in Norfolk for seeing them. Here
they fed in the winter on fallen hornbeam seeds before moving around the Park
in the spring ready to nest. Open parkland or large country gardens with a mix
of deciduous trees (including plenty of beech and cherry) make the ideal
habitat and in the past the grounds of both the Hall itself and the Walled
Garden were nesting sites. Like so many of our song birds, a decline has been
noted all across the UK and it is now a very scarce bird. Up to 75% of the
breeding population has gone within a 40 year period. Declines have been blamed
in part to dropping insect numbers (caterpillars are the main food of the
young) and also the vulnerability of their frail open nest sites to predators
such as Grey Squirrels and bird such as Jays and Magpies. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pGtyPCacDmc/Wlhw4dHWXiI/AAAAAAAAAHk/gp5nX3JfBO8mb33AIKxHkFYJzthQqDN-wCEwYBhgL/s1600/Hawfinch%2B0006851.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="282" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pGtyPCacDmc/Wlhw4dHWXiI/AAAAAAAAAHk/gp5nX3JfBO8mb33AIKxHkFYJzthQqDN-wCEwYBhgL/s400/Hawfinch%2B0006851.jpg" width="400" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>A freshly fledged juvenile; not a sight often seen.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Holkham my past is
littered with great Hawfinch moments. My old departed Uncle who was gardener at
Quarles Farm after the Second World War told me with great sadness how he had
found a freshly dead one on the lawn close to the vegetable patch. He suspected
it had been after his prize peas (another known food source from when they were
more numerous) and been attacked by a Sparrowhawk as it was departing. I was
once very fortunate in witnessing a male display to a female prior to
copulation. This involved a spectacular courtship ritual/dance with head held skywards,
wings stretched out as he wandered around dipping and bowing in front of his
mate. It was one of those once in a life time moments that I had read about in
a book, yet never expected to see. I suppose however the ultimate find was
discovering a nest, complete with two fledglings in the cleft of a Holm Oak
tree close to the Walled Garden. The next day they had fledged and were sitting
on a branch awaiting their parents with food. Sadly since the new millennium
Hawfinches have all but disappeared from Holkham Park until recent times.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2zfvkQlJo1g/Wlhx9S3ej1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/G8VrKsonAPQvBvLAeCij9SvuPxwIuNf4gCLcBGAs/s1600/Hawfinch%2B0004146.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="1080" height="236" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2zfvkQlJo1g/Wlhx9S3ej1I/AAAAAAAAAHs/G8VrKsonAPQvBvLAeCij9SvuPxwIuNf4gCLcBGAs/s400/Hawfinch%2B0004146.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Juveniles have a more yellow look to their faces</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This autumn we were working in the Dell within Wells Pinewoods, raking up grass we had cut when a
familiar explosive almost metallic ticking call cut through the air. It was a
Hawfinch and it flew right over our heads, its white wing bars illuminating its
striking bounding flight. A moment to cherish but one that was not in isolation
as this autumn saw a tremendous influx into England of migrant Hawfinches from
the Continent. Flocks and odd ones and twos were reported far and wide as a
result some have said of poor food availability in Eastern Europe and storms
over Europe that pushed the wandering finches our way. It is hoped that such an
invasion will allow our native breeding population to re-establish itself and perhaps
we might even see this elusive bird start to nest again within the grounds of
the Estate. We certainly have currently got a regular pair back in their old
haunts just inside the main gates, feeding under the same hornbeams and in the
same yew tree that I saw my first ever ones in over 35 years ago.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Thanks to Roger Tidman for his spectacular images.</span></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-39388193750400529092017-12-12T00:30:00.000-08:002017-12-12T00:30:43.604-08:00Glimpses of 'Golden' Mice<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align: justify;">One
of our traditional tasks at this time of year is the management of several of
our grassland areas. This involves cutting, either with strimmers or in some of
the larger areas with tractor and then raking up all cut material by hand. Cutting
prevents areas turning to scrub and by removing the cuttings it prevents
unwanted nutrients building up and enriching the soil. The resulting shorter
swards of grass are then good for an assortment of wild flowers which otherwise
would find it impossible to compete or survive within too much shade or with other
more vigorously growing species.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHDY83Dq2lU/Wi-Qj1hKuEI/AAAAAAAAAHA/yGyzeFmmXioabRG0ZEssWJfrtoRrjwUFgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Harvest%2BMouse%2B0001024.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-VHDY83Dq2lU/Wi-Qj1hKuEI/AAAAAAAAAHA/yGyzeFmmXioabRG0ZEssWJfrtoRrjwUFgCEwYBhgL/s400/Harvest%2BMouse%2B0001024.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The prehensile tail of the Harvest Mouse acts like a fifth limb</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By
working in such environments by hand it gives an opportunity to see close up
some of the inhabitants that are normally hidden away from view. Admittedly in
the autumn when we are doing such work there is less to be seen as most
invertebrates are coming to the end of their short lives and most plants have long
since finished flowering but there are always plenty of clues as to what has been
and what is to come! One such example of a species we seldom see is the Harvest
Mouse. Whilst these rather cute tiny golden orange rodents with their long
prehensile tails are still reasonably common in the UK south of Yorkshire and
east of Wales, they can be difficult to find, let alone observe. Declines have
been suggested due to intensive mechanised arable farming yet the true
population size is really unknown. Harvest Mice prefer rank grassland and here
on the coast, dry reedbeds. They can also be found along old hedgerows, in
fallow fields and less intensively managed farmland. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4VJervfzuPE/Wi-Qj2mO5QI/AAAAAAAAAHE/dm3-ioNq1lEKwNcFCm_C1hJqYGUqDTz9wCEwYBhgL/s1600/Harvest%2BMouse%2B27547.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="1600" height="263" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4VJervfzuPE/Wi-Qj2mO5QI/AAAAAAAAAHE/dm3-ioNq1lEKwNcFCm_C1hJqYGUqDTz9wCEwYBhgL/s400/Harvest%2BMouse%2B27547.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Weighing as little as four grams, the Harvest Mouse is Europe's smallest rodent</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As they are Europe’s smallest
rodent they can be virtually impossible to find. Often the only clue as to
their whereabouts is the sight of a distinctive nest. This is a golf ball sized
bundle of tightly woven grass and every time we work in such places we always
find one or two Harvest Mice nests, suggesting they are actually quite
widespread across the reserve. One constant surprise is that every time we have
a tidal surge we find dead Harvest Mice. This really does suggest that there is
a far larger population out in the rank saltmarsh grasses than is generally
recognised and that they can adapt and live in conditions out of their more
normal accepted habitat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harvest
Mice nests have a dual purpose. Summer maternal nests are said to be solely for
that reason; producing offspring and are then abandoned. Winter roosts are said
to be in different purpose made nests, with the remnants of food, such as
discarded seed husks being a sign of recent occupancy. So to see an actual
Harvest Mouse requires an awful amount of luck. Some people live a life time
and never get a glimpse of a wild, live one. Everyone recognises one from a book
as they are so distinctive and being so brightly coloured surely they should be
easy to see? No, not the case as they live close to the ground keeping well out
of the way of all manner of predators. They do venture up reeds and grass stems
quite freely due to their long hairless and prehensile tail. It really does act
like a fifth limb. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A sight that very few people have seen in the wild; a nest of young Harvest Mice</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My own sightings seemed a long time coming but in recent
years working on the reserve I have been fortunate in seeing them from time to
time. Even then to see a wild one cling onto a grass stem is an incredibly
lucky experience. I have seen it only once and that came as a matter of sheer
good luck. I was walking through the dunes close to the foreshore and heard a
series of short rasping squeaks. I always try and check out such noises as you
can never be sure what you will see and on this occasion I hit gold. Literally!
Three dark golden mice scattered on the marram tops in front of me. They were
youngsters, probably only just weaned from their nest, their skinny tails
enabling them to cling precariously to the grass stems. I never saw the adults,
they were probably well hidden, but these fearless youngsters gave me my first
and only real close up experience of wild Harvest Mice doing what everyone
wants to see a Harvest Mouse do. Other than that my only other glimpses have
been whilst working. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Occasionally I have flushed a golden shape as it scampers
out from some reed litter whilst reed cutting never to be seen again. More
regular observations have come when topping the marshes by tractor. Kestrels are
never far from the scene and sometimes amidst the more typical Field Vole prey
items they dive down and snatch up the odd Harvest Mouse too. Sightings such as
this combined with nests we find are certainly enough for us to know we have a
widespread population on the reserve although at what sort of densities we do
not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy
Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many thanks to Roger Tidman for the pictures of the Harvest Mice</span></div>
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Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-57164158772054164322017-11-29T01:22:00.000-08:002017-11-29T01:22:42.814-08:00Autumnal Dragons and chequered Walls<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
October turned to November this year all thoughts should really have been aimed
at the dawn of winter. With the temperatures continuing to be mild (only one
frost logged by mid-November) and little rainfall it really did seem like the
autumn was carrying on with no end in sight. I’m sure that won’t be the case
for much longer, but in the meantime we can reflect on some of the rather more
unseasonal sights that have continued to be seen on the reserve. As I write this (on November 29th) there is quite miraculously still a Swallow hawking for the last remaining insects around the beach car park at Wells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A male Common Darter soaking up some late autumn sunshine</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First
and foremost of unseasonal sights has been the continual appearance of Common Darter dragonflies (at least up until mid-month). On
sunny calm days it has not been unusual to see the distinctive elongated shape
of these winged insects flying back and forth over sheltered spots within the more
open southern edge of the pinewoods. Their movements can be erratic, fast and
dashing one moment, slow and hovering the next before pausing to alight on
exposed logs or branches that are facing into the full sun. Little wonder they
are known as darters. They are certainly always darting from place to place
constantly looking for a spot to bask in as if soaking up every bit of the late
autumn sunshine. One last sun bathing session before their ultimate demise!
Whilst not sitting in the sun they are always busy looking for smaller insects
to feed upon. This is why most insects are no longer on view in the
winter, too cold and little in the way of food. Dragonflies of course live a
longer life as an aquatic ‘nymph’. Eggs are laid by the adults either on
waterside vegetation or in the water from which the larvae (the nymph) emerges
and after roughly a year, for the Common Darter, it will metamorphasize into the adult dragonfly
we have still been seeing of late. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Any flat surfaces such as the bark of tree trunks or logs that are exposed to the Sun make perfect basking spots for Common Darters</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I always think Common Darters blend in quite
nicely to the autumn scene, the vivid orangey red of the males being a similar
tone to the hips and haws that they frequently perch beside, whilst the drabber
females harmonise perfectly into the background of leafless bark and trunks.
This is in contrast to when they first emerge in August, then they are more of a dull
yellow. One of my nicest memories of this autumn was whilst strimming the glades
alongside the track near Meales House and counting 13 Common Darters all lined
up together on a single log and all facing in the same direction. It really
looked like they had been stuck there, until a marauding wasp came flying
along. It purposefully homed in on a single darter, trying desperately to grab
it on the back of the head. Several attempts were made, yet each time the
lightning fast reactions of the darter allowed it to escape. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Five of an eventual total of 13</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iPD1CJGGvus/Wh5zfXykZNI/AAAAAAAAAGs/3-ZntstGVs0bOK2IDrK_3TgjjMW2fGXRACEwYBhgL/s1600/common%2Bdarter%2Bfemale.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-iPD1CJGGvus/Wh5zfXykZNI/AAAAAAAAAGs/3-ZntstGVs0bOK2IDrK_3TgjjMW2fGXRACEwYBhgL/s400/common%2Bdarter%2Bfemale.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>This female was photographed in August, its yellow colouration fresh and pristine</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
the end of October we also enjoyed seeing a selection of late butterflies. Some
species will have third broods of adults if nice weather prevails into the
autumn and that is exactly what happened this year. Wall Browns, Brown Argus,
Common Blues and Small Coppers were all seen at the month’s end on the dunes in
very fresh condition, a sure sign that they had not long emerged. For the Wall
Brown this was most encouraging as it is a fast declining species in much of
its UK range. It prefers short cropped grass in places such as cliffs and sand
dunes where it lays its eggs on grasses. Here at Holkham it has always been a
regular sight, yet numbers did start to drop about ten years ago. We still see
enough to know that it is holding its own, yet numbers are never as great as
they once were. Most sightings come in late April/May and again in August but
late October records are every few and far between. Being a chequered orange
and black it is quite an easy species to see, particularly when it basks in the
sun on stony outcrops or walls, which is where it got its name from !</span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2pLnjGJro4/Wh5zitRDUmI/AAAAAAAAAGs/nwHSFgrabYQzvfq-BinBMbLpNMGL_MSagCEwYBhgL/s1600/Wall%2BBrown%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-J2pLnjGJro4/Wh5zitRDUmI/AAAAAAAAAGs/nwHSFgrabYQzvfq-BinBMbLpNMGL_MSagCEwYBhgL/s400/Wall%2BBrown%2B2.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>A freshly emerged Wall Brown</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy
Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-10789678047374879922017-11-15T01:21:00.000-08:002017-11-15T01:21:52.616-08:00Flight of the Fish Hawk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZVpgTiAgxA/WgwCLnPoQmI/AAAAAAAAAFw/Vn9dT4U8kucKOEw3JTS2x0qQgQkMi26ZgCLcBGAs/s1600/osprey%2Bblog%2B5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1134" data-original-width="1600" height="282" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8ZVpgTiAgxA/WgwCLnPoQmI/AAAAAAAAAFw/Vn9dT4U8kucKOEw3JTS2x0qQgQkMi26ZgCLcBGAs/s400/osprey%2Bblog%2B5.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Osprey, one of the UK's most spectacular birds</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Without
a doubt one of the most spectacular sights of nature within the British Isles
is that of an Osprey plunging down into a lake to catch a fish. With a wingspan
close on five and a half feet the bird is an impressive enough sight alone, yet
when it splashes into the water head and feet first after a spiralling plummet
from great height, the spray of water and audible crash leaves a lasting
over-awing impression of natural power and precision diving. Within the
regularly seen range of British birds of prey the Osprey is one of the biggest
with only the eagles larger and it has evolved with unique adaptions for its
fish catching habits. It has incredibly long curved talons of which the outer ones
are reversible, it has backwards facing scales on its feet that act like barbs
when clinging onto a fish while it nostrils are able to close when it dives
underwater. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The recent Osprey at Holkham Lake in the process of devouring a fish</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not
only is the Osprey a spectacular looking bird but it is also quite a rarity.
Once widespread over much of Britain it was persecuted to such an extent in
Victorian times that it was feared to be nationally extinct by 1916. A slow
process of re-colonization begun in the 1950s in Scotland and thanks to greater
protection initiatives the species had increased to close on 300 pairs by 2011.
Re-introduction in the Midlands around Rutland Water has also helped the
species move south into suitable habitat away from the lochs and rivers of
Scotland, its traditional homeland. Our UK Ospreys are migrant birds, heading
south into Africa to spend the winter after a breeding season in the north. And
this is where Norfolk and Holkham come into the story. Despite still being a
rare sight within Norfolk they are still regular enough to be recognised as a passing
migrant both in Spring and Autumn. Occasionally birds might make longer stays
at places such as the Norfolk Broads, the West Norfolk fishing lakes and even
Holkham Lake.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Holkham Lake occasionally attracts passing migrant Ospreys</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At
Holkham we eagerly anticipate the appearance of one or two each year but
usually they are just passing through. Blink and you miss them! You always know
when an Osprey is about due to the sense of sheer panic shown by other birds on
the ground. Here on the coast flocks of gulls and ducks along the marshes erupt
<i>en masse </i>when the long winged shape
of an Osprey drifts overhead. Migrating Ospreys actually look a bit like large
gulls, due to their white underparts and lazy bowed winged profile even though
they can sometimes pass at great height. Holkham’s marshes and lake has however
through the years managed to attract a few lingering birds all that have left a
lasting impression with those lucky enough to have seen them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>My first view of this year's Osprey, overhead from the tractor window!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
such bird arrived this September. I had heard several reports of one flying
over the marsh causing its usual sense of panic but always managed to be in the
wrong place to see it, yet that soon came to end one day when I was out topping
in the tractor. Geese, gulls and ducks flying in every direction, the local
Marsh Harriers and kites all flying up to investigate and there amongst this
melee of wings was an Osprey! It circled the marsh even dropping low over where
I was working before heading off towards Holkham Park and the lake. We later
heard from one of the keepers that it had been visiting periodically, fish the
undoubted attraction. As the weeks progressed so it turned out that the bird
settled down into a little routine – flight out and around the nature reserve
before returning to fish on the lake. Here it would sit up on the tallest trees
seemingly admiring its surrounding before periodically sailing around the
length of the lake, hovering with great ponderous wing beats and crashing into
the water. This particular bird was a juvenile perhaps from a Scottish or even
Scandinavian nest pausing on its southbound migration, its immaturity perhaps
explaining why its fishing forays were not always successful. About one in four
attempts usually resulted in a catch. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Claws outstretched, head tucked in line with talons, wings swept back, impact imminent!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Splashdown! Only the bird's wings tips can be seen amidst the spray of crashing water</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like many other keen naturalists I spent
my time off encamped along the lake’s shore waiting for that magical moment
when amidst a crescendo of wings and water I hoped to see the Osprey emerge
with a fish. Holkham Lake’s association with Ospreys goes back further than
this year’s social media celebrity. One of my own most cherished sightings is
of a similar young autumn visiting Osprey in the 1990s. It caught a fish so
large on the west shore that it had to swim/clamour its way through the
shallows. I was hidden behind a tree about ten feet away. I could see the glint
in its eye and the wind take away the fish scales as it was ripping apart its
prey. Even further back in time was the pair of Ospreys that made the lake
their home in May 1970. Sticks were being carried and a likely nesting attempt
seemed more than a fanciful thought. Yet their efforts were perhaps merely a
practise for a more concerted attempt further north as they departed never to
be seen again.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Osprey and Great Crested Grebe;two Holkham Lake fishermen, one successful as the other looks on!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-43421781906923591212017-10-23T07:28:00.000-07:002017-10-23T07:32:02.714-07:00Digging up emeralds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GaJEiCSB17E/We31kSikhGI/AAAAAAAAAEY/ojRHufjv3rAijKtthodgiG1_Uku6HxpbgCLcBGAs/s1600/ditching%2Bat%2BHolkham%2Baugust.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GaJEiCSB17E/We31kSikhGI/AAAAAAAAAEY/ojRHufjv3rAijKtthodgiG1_Uku6HxpbgCLcBGAs/s400/ditching%2Bat%2BHolkham%2Baugust.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Ditching work at Holkham's marshes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Anyone
glancing over the marshes at Holkham in September and October is bound to have
seen a large yellow tracked digger. Many people stop and ask what sort of work
is it doing? The simple answer is that it is dredging the ditch systems, yet
really the answer is a lot more involved than just simply doing a bit of dredging
work. Together with a series of sluices
the ditches help us manage the water levels. For the ditches to do their job a
certain amount of maintenance has to be done regularly and this means dredging
out silty mud that accumulates and impedes the water flow. As you can imagine the wildlife of the dykes
is varied and often prolific. For that reason we try to work on a seven year
rotation so that there is plenty of time for the flora and fauna to
re-establish.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Grey Herons of the marsh become most confiding during ditching work ever on the lookout for fish and eels.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Whilst
we do not actually drive the machines ourselves we are often at hand assisting
the driver in clearing up rubbish that has been ‘slubbed’ out or helping
replace culverts and gateways. It can be
messy work but the amount of wildlife seen can be quite astounding. The dykes
of Holkham are an incredibly important part of our ecosystem and a great
indicator of their health is the presence of Eels. They are always encouraging
to see and form an essential part of the menu of birds such as Bitterns and
Grey Herons. It is quite normal to see two or three Grey Herons or even the odd
Little Egret wandering about on the ‘slubbings’ metres away from the digger looking for rich
pickings. A good number of fish are also present, Roach in particular. We are
quite unaware at just how many we have, but suffice to say there must be plenty
judging from the concentrations we occasionally see and the constant fishing
activities witnessed by our newest residents, the Great White Egrets. They are constantly
pacing back and forth through the shallows of the dykes these days in search of
fish to eat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Willow Emerald Damselfly, a new species for the reserve</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As
I was helping out one day this year a flash of green caught my eye on some
waterside reed. It was a small elongated yet dainty damselfly. A closer
inspection revealed it to be a Willow Emerald and a new species for the
reserve. This southern European species first colonised the Suffolk coast in
2009 and has been slowly pushing north ever since. This year has seen more than
normal numbers appear along the coast of north <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Norfolk</st1:place></st1:city> and it had been a species we were
expecting to find at some stage. It prefers dykes that have overhanging willows
where it lays its eggs under the bark. With some of our dykes having willows in
sunny situations it really does look like we perhaps have the perfect habitat for a future flourishing population.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A fearsome looking Water Scorpion</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another
interesting insect seen was a Water Scorpion. This rather fierce looking insect
(unrelated to a true scorpion) has a long ‘sting’ like protuberance at its rear
end yet this is actually a respiratory tube that it holds above the water thus
allowing it to breath underwater. Instead of having claws on its front legs
like a Scorpion it actually has scythe-like front legs that are still used in a
similar fashion to catch its prey.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Water Shrew, a rarely seen inhabitant of the reserve's dykes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">For
me however the most exciting find of the year was a Water Shrew. Having been a
keen naturalist for 36 years it was a species that I should have seen before
but it had always eluded me. It is also said to be a relatively common well
distributed species across the British Isles yet one that is pretty much solely
aquatic and that was my excuse for not having seen one. There have been one or
two sightings through the years on the reserve, yet never by me so when I saw a
very dark almost black shrew, I knew my luck was about to change. It proved to
be a very worthwhile learning experience. Water Shrews have Mole-like black fur
above and most have contrasting white underparts; this one however was more
dusky coloured below making it not so easy to identify. Certain features could
be seen that eliminated the more widespread Common Shrew such as its larger
size, its pale tipped ears and its hairy feet, toes and tail which have evolved
to enable it to swim through the water with ease. It could well be a common
species on the reserve or it could be a rarity, something we currently cannot
answer.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The fresh foot prints of an Otter</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another
mammal that continues to elude me on the reserve is the Otter. A regular recently
told me when he was young in the early 1950s he used to ‘bunk off’ school especially to watch a
family of Otters sliding into one of the ditches on the marsh. Following the
species nationwide demise due to the use of organo-chloride pesticides running
off into river systems it took until after the new millennium for Otters to
return to Holkham. Since 2012 we know through finding foot prints that the
species is now present again, but being mostly nocturnal it remains very
difficult to see. I think I must now be the only member of staff who works on
the reserve who has yet to see an Otter here, but I’m sure that time will come
soon. Another reason they are so difficult to see is the sheer distance they
travel. Between Wells and Burnham Norton the reserve’s three main areas of
grazing marshes are an intricate wetland of cattle grazed fields that are all bordered
and inter connected by a series of fresh water dykes and ‘drains’. This again brings us back to the management of the reserve and the reasons for dyke dredging. The basic
system works like this; water accumulates, be it rain water or from in-field
springs and drains into the dykes which then ultimately flow out through the
fields to the sea. Some are old ‘foot’ drains used from the 1700s onwards when
the fields (formerly brackish and salt marshes) were drained so that the arable
crops could be grown. We are able to control this flow due to a series of dams
and sluices that allows us to either hold back and retain water (giving us
wetter fields) or release it (thus drying areas out).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy
Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-4462571365347902282017-10-09T01:37:00.000-07:002017-10-09T01:37:01.601-07:00The splendour of Little Egrets<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DiZ7NY39IiM/WdsvYQkZUDI/AAAAAAAAADw/WnXGZELY104TQpErw3t68cGQmv5sNRegwCLcBGAs/s1600/July%2B09%2B4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1053" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DiZ7NY39IiM/WdsvYQkZUDI/AAAAAAAAADw/WnXGZELY104TQpErw3t68cGQmv5sNRegwCLcBGAs/s400/July%2B09%2B4.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Little Egret feeding in Wells Harbour</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of our most recent pieces of
survey work on the reserve was to assist in a coast wide count of Little Egrets
at their overnight roosts sites. These small white herons with gleaming yellow
feet are now a common sight along the north Norfolk coast, particularly on the
salt marshes. Here they can be seen in shallow pools or creeks, ever on the
lookout for small fish or crustaceans to eat. This was certainly not always the
case, they were once exceptionally rare.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Standing at dawn on a cool late
September morning when the first white shapes (of a final total of 81) started
to break cover and head off from the safety off their night time woodland residence
and illuminated by the rising rays of sunlight, all my thoughts raced back to
my first ever encounter with a Little Egret. Wells school in the 1980s boasted
a thriving bird club and periodically trips would be undertaken to the various
reserves along the coast. Strangely my first ever trip out with the club was
along the coast to Cley and Salthouse to see Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits
in 1981 yet the most exciting species we encountered was a Little Egret. This
was big news at the time as a gathering of twitchers lined the coast road with
all their telescopes and binoculars pointing north into the fields at a vivid
eye catching white shape. Huddled into the reeds at a great distance it was
hardly the most inspiring of sightings, yet it certainly captured my young
imagination that all these people had actually arrived there from all corners
of the country to see what essentially looked like a white bundle of feathers. How times have
changed, nowadays most birders (and certainly not twitchers) don’t even give
these birds a second glance. So what happened in the intervening years?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Little Egrets flying to roost</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the 1980s growing numbers of
Little Egrets progressed north up the coast of France from a stronghold in more
southerly, warmer wetlands. A combination of milder winters, good breeding
seasons and an abundance of habitats combined with greater protection allowed
the species to breed in good numbers right up to the coast of Brittany. From
here greater and greater numbers began to cross the English Channel and finally
after several years of a growing wintering population the first breeding pair
colonised Brownsea Island off the Dorset coast in 1996. Ever increasing numbers
spread out across the British Isles and by 2009 over 800 pairs were found to be
nesting and a far cry from the not too distant past.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Little Egrets prefer the vast north Norfolk salt marsh system for feeding</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Holkham NNR actually became very
much an integral part in the Norfolk story. Despite not recording its first
until 1988, it actually became the first place to have a wintering pair (on the
NNR’s saltmarshes at Warham/Stiffkey) and then the first breeding birds in 2002
(in a wet woodland site within the grazing marshes). From the first five pairs
in 2002 their increase was swift; by 2004 up to 42 pairs nested, making it the
county’s premier site for the species. Thanks to global warming we gained a new
resident species that had barely been given a thought of being a potential
colonist until changing times in the 1980s. Its sudden appearance and
colonisation almost matches that of the Collared Dove a couple of decades
before.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Little Egrets can be seen these
days in any spots where there is marshy ground and suitable prey can be found
although the saltmarshes and harbours still attract the lion’s share. Here the
tidal rhythms ensure that there is a plentiful food supply of crabs, shrimps
and fish. Take time to sit and watch an egret feeding and you will be enthralled
at their various methods. Sometimes a bird might be standing rigidly still,
head cocked to one side waiting for a movement below whilst another favoured
technique is foot shuffling. Then the bird moves very slowly with seemingly
only its feet quivering under the water to stir up the mud and water and
provoke movement of any potential prey. Another method sometimes seen is the
half wing cocked position when its wings are held partially aloft and spread
out, thus creating shade below. This may be as much to enable the bird to see well
as for fish to enter under a calmer place thus leaving them vulnerable for a
fatal strike from the egret’s sharp bill. Egrets are usually solitary feeders but
occasionally larger congregations may be seen when a feeding frenzy erupts with
birds chasing in every direction amidst a shoal of fish.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Part of the courtship rituals during the breeding season</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always seemingly immaculate, Little Egrets take on an even more beautiful new identity in the spring and summer
when they are breeding. Elaborate plumes grow on their crown and fine lace-like
feathers grow on their backs. These form part of highly involved social
displays and to witness such a sight instantly leaves the impression that one
of the finest rituals of any European bird has been witnessed.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-43772011996194253362017-09-22T08:43:00.000-07:002017-09-22T08:43:19.654-07:00Wildlife from the window of a tractor<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-obAXv-xucj4/WcUn5rMKNBI/AAAAAAAAADM/1YS5MGgaTpQPYE1aBmC8d3GabLWxTra5gCLcBGAs/s1600/Overy%2Bmarsh%2Bin%2Bfog%2B1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-obAXv-xucj4/WcUn5rMKNBI/AAAAAAAAADM/1YS5MGgaTpQPYE1aBmC8d3GabLWxTra5gCLcBGAs/s400/Overy%2Bmarsh%2Bin%2Bfog%2B1.JPG" width="400" /></span></i></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Early morning at Burnham Overy marshes and distant sand dunes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Working
on the nature reserve has many rewarding days. That’s probably very much an
understatement – nearly every day has its rewards! There is nothing better than seeing
some wonder of nature whilst carrying out work on the reserve. For me, that’s
as much as the changing skies that come with the contrasting seasons. Varying
lights and weather means that even the same view can look totally different, in
fact seldom the same and very often quite dramatic. Sightings of wildlife also
seem more memorable for me when carrying out actual physical work. A glance up
at the right moment to witness a specific bird or a butterfly can be enough to
break up the day and enliven what sometimes might seem an unrewarding task.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A Great Snipe - photograph kindly supplied by Chris Knights</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
of those ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences happened</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"> in 2005 when I was ‘topping’
the marshes by tractor not far from Lady Anne’s Drive. I had just got to the
last strip of grass to cut and up popped an exceptionally rare bird from north eastern
Europe - a Great Snipe. Closer in size to a Woodcock than its smaller and more
common relative, the Snipe, this cryptically marked wader of almost mythical
desire amongst the twitching fraternity was there right in front of me, sitting
beside my front wheel! It made the memories of long days behind the wheel of a
tractor getting stuck in wet fields fade away in an instance. It is also true
to say I would never have seen it had I not been there working in a tractor. A
similar thing happened only recently, the last strip of dyke side vegetation
cut and there sat a rather regal and annoyed looking Short-eared Owl. Some
naturalists say it is bad to anthropomorphise but I defy anyone to look into
the eyes of a Short-eared Owl and not do so! This particular one really did
look like I had ruined its day by gate crashing into its own wild world.</span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><i>A newly arrived migrant Short-eared Owl as seen through the window of a tractor !</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Some
birds seem oblivious to the movements of tractors and the amount of exciting
species or unusual behaviour I have seen whilst working has been quite
remarkable. It is not just birds either, sometimes mammals otherwise not seen
can be observed. Species such as Short-tailed Field Voles are common and are
often seen scurrying away before a Kestrel swoops down to catch one. Birds like
Grey Herons and Kestrels seem to be in tune with our workings and soon appear
once mowing commences. The same behaviour was noted with Red Kites in the Park
recently too. One of the least seen mammals is the brightly coloured yet
diminutive Harvest Mouse. There are undoubtedly more about than we realise as normally
the only time I manage to see one is whilst topping. This year I was very lucky
to see one run off and swim across one of the dykes, its bright orange coat
looking like a lost sweet wrapper drifting across the water.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">So,
if our fields on the reserve are all grass meadows with no crops, why do we
spend so much time in tractors on the marsh? The grazing marsh meadows form
part of a very valuable and declining habitat in the UK. Lowland wet grassland
disappeared dramatically in the 20<sup>th</sup> century due to drainage schemes
and conversion to arable fields. In doing so, many of the species that formerly
thrived in them started to decline to almost disastrously low levels. At
Holkham we are fortunate in having up to 535 hectares of wetland, much of which
is wet meadowland. For it to remain attractive to our key breeding species such
as Lapwings, Redshanks and Avocets and also our wintering birds like
Pink-footed Geese and Wigeon a lot of fine tuning and effort goes into achieving
the right conditions. This involves controlling water levels, extensive grazing
by cattle, dyke dredging, providing scrapes, pools and islands and mechanical topping by tractor driven mowers. By
using mowers, areas that the cows ignore can be topped thus preventing them
turning to scrub and the correct sward height of grass can be obtained and
hopefully making them the ideal habitat for nesting Lapwings next spring.<o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Lapwings love to nest in short wet grassland</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If
we have missed spots from our topping system all is not lost as this week alone we
have close on 10,000 newly arrived Pink-footed Geese from Iceland on our meadows, which means
quite a lot more grazing ! Typically the first few birds arrive in the first few days of September, but this year they seemed slightly later arriving but when they did appear it was in greater numbers than normal. Over 100 dropped in on 13th September and quickly increased to 1100 on 15th and over 10,000 by 21st. If you are visiting Holkham in the next few weeks take a look for the geese. In recent years we have typically seen big build ups in October before the birds disperse across the county to feed on newly harvested fields of sugar beet tops. It is still one of nature's great spectacles; masses of geese clamouring for space on the marshes, their calls reaching fever pitch amidst vast skeins often illuminated by spectacular sunsets.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>Part of an early autumn mass of returning Pink-footed Geese</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Andrew Bloomfield</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Warden</span></div>
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Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-79087198484292461512017-09-11T00:39:00.000-07:002017-09-11T00:39:41.006-07:00Marvellous Mini Beasts<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Two of our regular invertebrate recorders using a leaf blower in reverse to sample for spiders and beetles at Holkham Bay</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">This
summer we were involved with two quite high profile local events at Holkham
that proved very rewarding for not only members of the public but also for the
members of staff involved. Firstly came the coast wide Bio-blitz. This involved
enthusiasts from every branch of natural history descending into all the
various habitats along the coast and trying to identify and record as much as
they could find. This was open to keen specialists, experts, and County
recorders alongside general members of the public. Here at Holkham alone we
managed to record nine new species of fungi for the reserve (including a new
species for Norfolk – a very insignificant looking ‘black smudge’ fungi), a
spider only known from one other site in Norfolk, a hoverfly only previously
recorded in the Norfolk Broads (the Sea Clubrush Hoverfly) and two new beetles
for the site. For a site that has been a nature reserve since 1967 this was
quite a selection. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Lady Anne's Drive on Bio-blitz day</i></span></div>
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<i style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Achaearanea riparia</span></i><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><i>,a new spider for the reserve and a
county rarity</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Rarities
aside the joy showed by children as they were shown moths brought out from some
overnight traps was priceless. For many, moths are the poor man’s butterflies
that only come out at night, are drab in colours and munch clothes in our
wardrobes. Nothing of course can be further from the truth. Here in the UK
there have been an incredible 2,500 species recorded. So whilst it is true many
are nocturnal (hence the need to attract them and catch them aided by uv
lighting) many are also day flying and many are impressive looking colourful
beasts. For most children when they see something like a hawkmoth for the first
time they are often overwhelmed that such a mystical looking creature can exist
outside of a fantasy novel. To see a child over awed from a moth or grasshopper
clinging to its finger can be quite magical.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">A Long-winged Conehead,
an exotic insect that always attracts attention<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">At
Holkham we took this a step further this year by running a mini-beast hunt in
Wells Pinewoods as part of the annual carnival celebrations. On two days we set
up shop along with the Estate’s Education Department in the hope that a few
children might pop along and find us a few insects and other creepy crawlies to
inspire them and for us to identify. When the start time arrived we found
ourselves under an avalanche of small children eager to hunt out, collect and
bring to us for identification what they had found. Initially it seemed like a
happy form of pandemonium. There were children dashing about everywhere,
turning over logs, peeling off tree bark, crawling underneath bramble bushes,
clutching pots and nets with wood lice, worms, centipedes, beetles, butterflies
and even toads. Their enthusiasm was infectious and the event proved even more
successful than we could imagine. The excitement shown was both non stop and
heart-warming. On an even bigger plus side, they produced the goods too. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";"><i>The Red Longhorn Beetle</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">The
Red Longhorn beetle is a relatively scarce insect that has its UK stronghold in
the south of England, particularly the forests of Breckland. It also has an
outpost along the north Norfolk coast with the conifer wood of Holkham and
Wells being a known site. What we did not realise was just how many we had. In
the two days at least 15 were found all within a restricted area of the wood.
An adult Ant-lion was also found, a specialised insect of the woods that still
very few Norfolk naturalists have ever set eyes upon. One of the strangest
finds, more due to its circumstances, was the reserve’s first ever Woodlouse
Spider. It fell out of a branch and straight onto the arm of one of our
visitors, amidst a chorus of shrieks! It is armed with ferocious looking jaws
that enable it to pierce the armour plating of a wood louse (its main prey),
hence its name. No bites occurred to our visitors though! Ultimately it was great
to see such interest in our natural world and left me hopeful that at least
some would become the next generation of field naturalists. It also left us
hoping that the next time a bio-blitz is organised we can get an army of small
children with keen senses to scour our vegetation and even more might be found!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>An adult Antlion - a very lucky find on our mini-beast hunt</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Woodlouse Spider, with its impressive jaws opened wide!</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Andy
Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Arial","sans-serif";">Warden<o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-7722974770222918792017-08-23T03:06:00.000-07:002017-08-23T03:06:52.534-07:00A Great White Summer<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3W7Pg0pp7-g/WZ1JKPUPnpI/AAAAAAAAABs/FLSuWno_byMUzWRu_jcGkBSzqKKqtVjuACLcBGAs/s1600/GW%2Bjuly%2B26%2Bwroths.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3W7Pg0pp7-g/WZ1JKPUPnpI/AAAAAAAAABs/FLSuWno_byMUzWRu_jcGkBSzqKKqtVjuACLcBGAs/s400/GW%2Bjuly%2B26%2Bwroths.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Holkham's grazing marshes with its newest residents</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Holkham
has seen many changes in its wildlife over the years. Species have been lost
and species have been gained and at the moment it seems we are very much in the
‘gains’ camp. Global warming has been attributed to many of the new insect
arrivals and indeed some of the birds too. Arguably the most spectacular of our
newcomers is the Great White Egret, a relative of our familiar Grey Heron.
Gleaming white, standing close to metre tall with a wing span up to 170 cm it
makes both a striking and imposing sight in its new found North Norfolk home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>In flight and close up the Great White Egret looks truly imposing</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This
pretty much cosmopolitan bird of the world’s warmer climes was once
exceptionally rare in the UK until relatively recent times with no sightings
before</span><span style="color: red; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">1960. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the Great White Egret it was more the case
of a bird that was heavily persecuted in mainland Europe to such an extent that
it almost disappeared completely before protection measures and habitat
enhancement enabled its population to grow again. Unlike many birds that were
hunted for food, the Great White Egret’s downfall was its beautifully elegant
white cloak of fine wire-like feathers; its ‘aigrettes’. These are grown in the
breeding season and form part of the bird’s elaborate courtship behaviour. It
spreads them upwards and outwards like some giant monochrome Peacock ! As well as
attracting a mate, the feathers attracted far more sinister admirers. Birds
were killed in their thousands worldwide to supply a growing trend for fashionable
hats made from the aigrettes. It took a lot of hard work by a fledgling Bird
Protection Society in Victorian times (the forerunner of the RSPB) to lobby
governments and finally get the practise to cease.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>As with the Spoonbills and Little Egrets the watery woodland at Holkham makes the ideal home for the Great White Egret</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Against such a background of persecution it could be seen to be a real
triumph for conservation that such a spectacular species survived and prospered
again. For much of the 20th century Great White Egrets clung on to isolated
wetlands in south Eastern Europe; Austria, Greece, Hungary and Yugoslavia were
its haunts. Since then it has slowly reclaimed much of Europe with France
having its first breeding birds in 1994 increasing to 165 pairs by 2010. From
here ever increasing numbers have winged across to England culminating in the
first ever nesting at Somerset in 2012.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Great White Egret coming in to land at Holkham Lake</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This
brings us finally to events at Holkham. Only a few had previously been seen
here before a long staying bird appeared at Burnham Overy marshes in October
2014. Here it was happy to spend over a month wandering about often eating moles
alongside our herd of Belted Galloway cows. It looked a very odd combination –
stately white giant bird of Eastern origin alongside short stocky black and
white cows from the lowlands of Scotland! It seemed rather comical that when
the cows moved to Holkham, so the egret followed. When the cows were finally
taken to Warham to overwinter, so the lonely egret stayed only a few more days
before departing to the west. The next autumn saw what was perhaps the same
bird return and by the spring and summer of 2016 it was joined by five others.
This would have seemed unbelievable only a few years previous. Following the
successful breeding at Somerset, we soon became hopeful that a similar
occurrence might be forthcoming at Holkham. Things moved quickly and incredibly
pair nested late on in the 2016 breeding season. Despite allowing no
disturbance and keeping their whereabouts a secret the pair failed only a few
days away from their eggs hatching. Although a huge disappointment we did not
have to wait too long as this year we were pleased to announce that a pair did
breed again and this time produce three healthy looking flying youngsters. We
have officially become home to the UK’s only nesting Great White Egrets away
from Somerset!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Here a juvenile Great White Egret is getting ready for its maiden flight !</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">As well as our breeding birds we had some very other notable occurrences. Firstly in April a vagrant Black Kite from southern Europe appeared, only to be escorted away from the wood by a Great White Egret. This might well have been the first time ever in the UK that these two rarities were seen flying side by side! It was also a bit of good fortune maybe, as Black Kites are known to actively search out the eggs of egrets and herons in European colonies, so our newest residents acting as 'guard dogs' perhaps did us a bit of a favour! Another interesting sighting was that of an egret bearing colour rings on its legs. After a bit of research we found out that it had been ringed on the Atlantic coast of France as a nestling in 2013 and not been seen thereafter. As far as we are aware it is the first colour ringed bird to have been seen here in Norfolk.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Black Kite and Great White Egret, a rare sight indeed !</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Currently
all the birds can be seen with relative ease. They favour the dykes and pools
of the grazing marshes and despite often disappearing down into the dykes to
feed on fish it is not long before one emerges to fly over the marshes. Their
huge size and ponderous flight makes them look rather like albino eagles from a
distance! Last year up to two birds regularly started to catch fish alongside
the road in Holkham Lake close to the hall. It allowed an incredible insight
into their lives and behaviour as they were oblivious to passers-by. In the
meantime either of our hides offers a good chance of a sighting and with autumn
now approaching it could be that you might see one in the skies with thousands
of Pink-footed Geese returning for the winter. Now that would be a surreal
sighting!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy
Bloomfield, Warden</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-54901501762855292272017-08-08T00:45:00.000-07:002017-08-08T00:45:17.006-07:00A Kaleidoscope of woodland colours <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Hemp Agrimony growing alongside the track near Meales House at Holkham</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
piece of valuable work that we undertake every winter and then on a couple of
occasions throughout the summer is to maintain the ride side vegetation
alongside the southern edge of the main pinewood track at Holkham. This
involves cutting back invasive bracken and reed to give more beneficial plants
breathing space. In doing so an
incredible habitat forms for an abundance of insects that are attracted by the bountiful
supply of nectar. One of the most numerous plants is Silverweed. As its name
suggests it has a silvery hue (on its jagged leaves) and is always one of the
first plants to emerge up in the spring. It is both abundant and subtle yet
could easily be overlooked even though its small yellow buttercup-like blooms
seems to be a constant feature of the rides all through the summer. Whereas
Silverweed is low growing ground cover, in contrast the dainty stems of Common
Centaury stand slightly taller. These pink members of the gentian family again
seem to be in flower all through the late spring and summer. Not only do they
grow on the ride sides but also in the older sand dunes of the reserve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uyxyhw8CSOE/WYloPP_4DhI/AAAAAAAAABY/zJpPt52OUuUP40xDz1zTPvfFqih23qXQACEwYBhgL/s1600/peacock%2Bon%2Bhemp.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-uyxyhw8CSOE/WYloPP_4DhI/AAAAAAAAABY/zJpPt52OUuUP40xDz1zTPvfFqih23qXQACEwYBhgL/s400/peacock%2Bon%2Bhemp.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The beautiful and often numerous Peacock butterfly</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wsgPdmKUVmM/WYloJhJsv3I/AAAAAAAAABg/YkRvvpUz7eEEbQG5lBjssh0buwQZbOV6wCEwYBhgL/s1600/great%2Bpied%2Bhoverfly.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-wsgPdmKUVmM/WYloJhJsv3I/AAAAAAAAABg/YkRvvpUz7eEEbQG5lBjssh0buwQZbOV6wCEwYBhgL/s400/great%2Bpied%2Bhoverfly.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Great Pied Hoverfly, a striking looking insect</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
real draw for insects however are two more very different plants. One of them,
Hemp Agrimony, is impossible to overlook as it grows to just over a metre tall
and has a mass of tightly knitted pink blooms. The plant has long been used in
herbal remedies for treating cold, flu and high fever. For us at Holkham it is
our major source of summer nectar and an absolute magnet for insects,
butterflies in particular. From mid-July to mid-August take a walk past Meales
House and see for yourself. On a hot day the air above the plants will be
teaming with activity. Up to 27 species of butterfly alone have been recorded
over the years feeding on the plant. From tiny moth-like Small Skippers up to
the large and well known Red Admiral, all shapes, sizes and colours in between make
up this diverse group of insects. Here on the reserve we take part in a transect
organised by Butterfly Conservation to monitor trends and abundance of all the
butterflies. It involves walking the same route weekly, something that has been
done continuously since 1976 and is one of the longest constant effort sites in
the country. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Holkham we have been
lucky, we have yet to actually lose any species, in fact we have actually
gained 11 species. Surprisingly some common species were not noted initially.
The first Comma (now a common species) was recorded on the transect in 1980, the
first Holly Blue in 1991 and White Admiral in 2003. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All are distinctive in their looks and with
patience and luck all can be seen at Holkham in July. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This year we have seen large numbers of Red
Admirals, three years ago it was all Peacocks and Painted Ladies. You might
even be lucky and see a scarcity such as a White-letter or Purple Hairstreak or
a Silver-washed Fritillary. The latter is very large black striped orange
species that has only moved to Norfolk in recent years from woodlands in the
south of England. The variety of butterfly colours can be overwhelming when
seen for the first time!</span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CZP_3HFPqmc/WYloR9qExhI/AAAAAAAAABg/Y5uiYC2pHVYehq_DAUwVD1mBba2KvGSfgCEwYBhgL/s1600/SW%2BFrit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1187" data-original-width="1600" height="296" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CZP_3HFPqmc/WYloR9qExhI/AAAAAAAAABg/Y5uiYC2pHVYehq_DAUwVD1mBba2KvGSfgCEwYBhgL/s400/SW%2BFrit.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>The Silver-washed Fritillary, once rare in Norfolk but now on the increase</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another
more subtle plant that grows along the same ride, yet blooms slightly later is
Fleabane. This warm yellow plant also grows in thick clumps but unlike Hemp
Agrimony is lower growing (standing about 60 cm tall) and hence seems to
attract a variety of the smaller butterflies such as Common Blues, Small
Coppers and Brown Argus. Fleabane too had old traditional values. As its name
suggests it was used as an incense to repel insects, while another use was as a
cure for dysentery. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlTtMqBhwVg/WYloGaLOooI/AAAAAAAAABg/llAziIHyMQIC51P7OOWgg5icGnniZ9xbgCEwYBhgL/s1600/golden%2Bplumed%2Bgrey%2Blonghorn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1193" data-original-width="1600" height="297" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZlTtMqBhwVg/WYloGaLOooI/AAAAAAAAABg/llAziIHyMQIC51P7OOWgg5icGnniZ9xbgCEwYBhgL/s400/golden%2Bplumed%2Bgrey%2Blonghorn.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Longhorn beetles can be distinguished by their over-long antennae, this species is called the Golden-plumed Grey Longhorn</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As
well as butterflies the flowering plants of the woods attract an array of bees,
hoverflies, dragonflies, damselflies and beetles, too numerous to mention here!
Keep a particular eye out for longhorn beetles, these can truly be spectacular.
With overlong antennae they can look both comical and fearsome at the same
time! So if you want to witness this mini spectacle of beasts and bugs come
along before the summer is out or put a date in your diary for next year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy
Bloomfield, Warden</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-49275273897694487722017-07-26T00:50:00.000-07:002017-07-26T00:50:15.029-07:00Foxes and Tigers of the Sand Dunes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjZlStIoLVU/WXhFacrHCLI/AAAAAAAAAAs/YPR1ZFV0y3wMOEqfNAYgD7FfDT_VCCEOgCLcBGAs/s1600/dune%2Bflora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1380" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XjZlStIoLVU/WXhFacrHCLI/AAAAAAAAAAs/YPR1ZFV0y3wMOEqfNAYgD7FfDT_VCCEOgCLcBGAs/s400/dune%2Bflora.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>Bird's foot Trefoil growing in a dune slack at Burnham Overy Dunes</i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On
the nice days we have been enjoying this summer if you’re at Holkham visiting
the beach why not take a bit of time to have a wander through the adjacent sand
dunes? As usual for the time of year the whole stretch of the coast between the
pines and beach from Holkham Gap through to Overy Harbour is awash with varying
hues of colour thanks to an abundance of wild flowers. The overwhelming colour
is yellow. Ragwort, so despised as an agricultural weed and renowned as being a
‘killer’ of cows and horses is just beginning to bloom. More subtle and lower
to the ground are the dandelion-like Cat’s-ear followed by succulent Biting Stonecrop,
and even shorter in height the pea-like Bird’s-foot
trefoil (often known as eggs and bacon) and </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lady’s Bedstraw. The latter was formerly widely used to stuff bedding prior to the arrival of the modern day mattress. Its aroma described by some as smelling like honey (or dried hay!) was said to aid in a good night's sleep whilst the Scandinavians used it as a sedative for women during childbirth.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In
contrast are the pinks and purples of rosebay willowherb. This large robust
plant stands relatively tall and often grows in dense clumps. In the past it has
grown most prolifically on ground that has been scorched bare by fire (hence
its often used name ‘fireweed’) but thankfully we have escaped fire ravages of
a major scale in recent years. In a good year it can create a distinctive pink
swathe through the older dunes. All these plants provide a home for a
bewildering array of insects ever in search of nectar. It really is <i>the</i> time to be out in the dunes in
search of our native wildlife. </span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JcF5_SjYMeg/WXhFeqXMOCI/AAAAAAAAAAw/_TLeKZIbHvA55lVfZcZiRP56WSwjOnUtACEwYBhgL/s1600/dark%2Bgreen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="920" data-original-width="1380" height="266" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JcF5_SjYMeg/WXhFeqXMOCI/AAAAAAAAAAw/_TLeKZIbHvA55lVfZcZiRP56WSwjOnUtACEwYBhgL/s400/dark%2Bgreen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Dark Green Fritillary, a large strikingly marked butterfly of the sand dunes</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look out specifically for the Dark Green
Fritillary butterfly. This orange and black ‘sprite of the dunes’ moves fast
from bloom to bloom, unless you are
fortunate enough to find one that has just emerged. Then its full range of
colours can really be appreciated. With its orange and black chequered
upperwings and its stealth like movements I often liken it to a tiger of the
insect world! So if it is orange and black why is it called the Dark Green<i> </i>Fritillary? If you are lucky in gaining
a close up view, look out for very fine dark hairs covering its thorax and also
its beautiful green underwings with white spots. These spots when seen on the
right day can shine with an iridescence that makes them resemble jewel-like
pearls. These are best seen when the butterfly is low to the ground. I have
occasionally seen the odd one actually laying its eggs in the sand on the small
stems of violets that its caterpillars like to feed from.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BEy-fc7TNsc/WXhFgZjLvwI/AAAAAAAAAA4/KLinvRJ3TeIVmCs8BIw2qh-G-lqaPlN5gCEwYBhgL/s1600/foxes%2Band%2Bcubs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="940" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BEy-fc7TNsc/WXhFgZjLvwI/AAAAAAAAAA4/KLinvRJ3TeIVmCs8BIw2qh-G-lqaPlN5gCEwYBhgL/s400/foxes%2Band%2Bcubs.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Foxes and Cubs, sometimes referred to as 'the Devil's Paintbrush'.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One
plant that offers a slightly different hue is the striking orange Foxes and
Cubs or Orange Hawkweed. It too is a great source of nectar. This plant however
is not a native, being introduced to the UK in the 17<sup>th</sup> century from
Europe. It gains its main English name from the orange colour resembling a
fox’s fur and the buds found in waiting underneath looking like its cubs. Yet another
old name for it is the rather more sinister Devil’s Paintbrush.</span><span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Warden</span></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-89195166117667900652017-07-11T01:23:00.000-07:002017-07-12T03:13:46.166-07:00A touch of the Mediterranean<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>The Avocet – a bird often cited as a symbol of conservation success</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This year has so far produced mixed fortunes for the reserve’s breeding birds. April proved cold whilst dry conditions prevailed through the spring, making the marshes less productive for our Lapwing population. The same however could not be said for the Avocet. This iconic bird has long been a sign of good conservation management. With many of the grazing marshes drying out quickly and areas of soft mud (so beloved of wetland birds) turning concrete hard we were extremely thankful for work that was carried out last autumn. The RSPB spoil spreader restored some of the in-field creek features that are a remnant of the days when the freshwater grazing marshes were salt marshes. By removing the vegetation, the resulting muddy edges prove attractive for terrestrial invertebrates essential for birds to feed on. One particular area at Holkham proved an absolute magnet for birds. Black-headed Gulls were first to colonize and ended up at just over 200 pairs whilst Avocets quickly followed. By mid-June we counted 17 nests in one small area that had benefited from the attention it received. Ultimately, 76 pairs of Avocet were found nesting on the grazing marshes and we had a count of 288 birds on one single day, a record for the reserve. At this busy time of year the marshes can be a cacophony of avian noises. Gulls shriek, Lapwings wail, Avocets ‘Kluut’ (their distinctive call and coincidentally their Dutch name too!) and Redshanks yelp. Sometimes the gulls take eggs or young Avocets but by and large they are sociable neighbours. There is also safety in numbers. Just watch when a marauding harrier or Herring Gull flies over head – the noise level increases as seemingly every bird gets up to drive the potential predator away. Lone nesting birds are much more at risk than those that favour larger congregations.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Holkham’s marshes where work had been carried out the previous autumn alive with Avocets, Shelducks and Black-headed Gulls.</i><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>A less productive area that dried out quickly in a rather parched April.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Avocet chick at about a week old.</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The Avocet’s fortunes have not always been so rosy of course. Once plentiful along the marshes of the east coast of England it was persecuted to such an extent that in Norfolk it became extinct in the 1800s. Not only were its eggs collected to make puddings and pancakes but the birds themselves were shot, sometimes as a means of expelling spare ammunition after a day of shooting other quarry. As the birds became scarcer they became more desirable for collectors of eggs and stuffed birds, popular activities of the Victorian ‘naturalist’. Things changed very slowly and from the 1940s onwards birds began to nest again, initially at the offshore shingle spits at Halvergate Island and at Minsmere in Suffolk. Numbers slowly increased and by 1977 it was nesting again in Norfolk. At Holkham, the Avocet started breeding in 1989 thanks undoubtedly to the wetter grazing marshes that are managed with birds in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another very similar species to the Avocet, yet even more exotic is the Black-winged Stilt. Very much a bird of warmer climes it made the headlines nationally this year with multiple and unprecedented breeding attempts, including three pairs in Norfolk alone. We welcomed our first ever Black-winged Stilts to Holkham in May. However, the three pairs only stayed for a few hours. With global warming and ever growing numbers appearing in the country this could well be the next species to start to nest regularly. With our marshes suitable for Avocets (the same habitat of stilts) we await the future with great interest. Along with Spoonbills and Little Egrets the scene is becoming increasingly more akin to that of the Mediterranean. What will be next?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><i>Holkham’s first ever Black-winged Stilts – sadly they only stayed a few hours.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "helvetica neue" , "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reserve Warden</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Holkham NNRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11600216557486111476noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-40384162619166940372017-06-29T08:09:00.001-07:002017-07-05T02:26:58.322-07:00BioBlitz at Holkham <div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<i><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Holkham’s internationally important wet grazing marshes</span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Biodiversity is a word we constantly hear in conservation circles these days. In a nutshell it describes the amount and variety of life found within a given area. Holkham is lucky. It has huge swathes of differing habitats within the boundaries of the NNR and therefore a huge amount of biodiversity. This is perhaps more obvious to the casual visitor than they might think. Even on a brief walk from the car park at Lady Anne’s Drive, along the boardwalk to the beach the visitor will pass through grazing marsh, pine woodland, sand dune, saltmarsh and foreshore. Just pause and look around and that biodiversity, that variety of life can soon be appreciated.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This
all became even more apparent to me very recently. I was walking alongside one
of the grazing marsh dykes carrying out our breeding bird monitoring. The dyke
did not look particularly special, reed fringed with the shallower banks
peppered with contrasting blooms of Water Parsnip and Water Forget-me-not
providing a welcome splash of colour. It looked like any other dyke that can be
found along the North Norfolk Coast. But was it? Whilst looking out for broods
of Shoveler, Mallard and Coot I started to notice all manner of insects and
invertebrates clinging onto or flitting in and around the reeds. Particularly
obvious were a number of brightly coloured beetles of the family <i>Donacia </i>or ‘reed beetles’.
They shine with iridescent golds and greens. Many were coupled up mating on the
stems whilst others were flitting about singly in search of a mate. Up to 15
species are found in the <st1:country-region w:st="on">UK</st1:country-region> and most
require microscopic scrutiny to enable definite identification but for the
un-initiated just watch them and revel in the glory of their jewel-like
metallic colours. They are always found near water as the larvae live an
aquatic life.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999; font-size: xx-small;">Donacia clavipes, a species of reed beetle new to the reserve.</span></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Not far away was another vibrant metallic blue/green insect – the Blue Shieldbug which lives on beetles. Another shining black beetle turned out to be a very rare species, <i>Plateumaris braccata. </i>It is a localised wetland inhabitant of southern <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> and was a new species for the reserve. Not bad considering the reserve already has over 832 species of beetle on its list! Spiders abounded too. Most obvious were the <i>Tetregnatha </i>or ‘stretch’ spiders. They are very long bodied spiders with exceptionally long jaws. They too exhibit a metallic sheen but this time more silver than gold. Their webs are frail and simple, sometimes horizontal to the water’s surface with the actual spider sitting in wait nearby in a characteristic pose, with legs and body stretched out up the stems of vegetation. It would be patiently waiting for any moth or fly that would hopefully cruise into its web. A tiny but delicately marked almost white moth was not far away, the Small China-mark, another wetland species; its larvae live underwater and feed on duckweed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Another seldom seen inhabitant of the reserve was an insect and quite a spectacular one - a sand loving beetle called <i>Cleonus piger. </i>At close on 20mm with its large ‘nose’ (or rostrum to give it its technical term) it has quite a comical look, with some likening it to a miniature ant-eater! It has been seen on the beach/dune edge where its distinctive tracks in the sand give its presence away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Almost an Anteater? - A very distinctive beetle <i>Cleonus piger</i> found on Holkham Beach for the first time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This was just a snapshot of the variety of life found within one small fragment of grazing marsh, but illustrates perfectly just what can be seen if the time is taken to look. The commonplace can be very exciting when viewed for the first time and there are often creatures that are not commonplace, just there awaiting discovery. So, if all this grabs your attention why not take part in the Norfolk Coast BioBlitz weekend on 22<sup>nd</sup> and 23<sup>rd</sup> <sup> </sup>July? This event is open to everyone from novices to experts and aims to find and identify as many species as possible from Holme to Salthouse over a 24 hour period. For more information check the events page at <a href="http://www.holkham.co.uk/">www.holkham.co.uk</a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-60261520726569382082017-03-31T08:58:00.000-07:002017-06-13T05:46:00.817-07:00March - Recent Sightings<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">March started with a real bang! While working on the front of the dunes a </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long-eared Owl</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> flew from the edge of the Pinewoods. The good luck continued with sightings of </span><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Pallid Harrier</b><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> over the reserve and the Holkham area.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The reserve in all its glory</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">With the heavy rain, the wildfowl gravitated up the scrapes with 10,756 <b>Wigeon</b> enjoying the shallows along with 349 <b>Teal</b>, 208 <b>Mallard</b>, 270 <b>Shoveler </b>and 297 <b>Gadwall</b>. The <b>Tufted Duck</b> and <b>Goldeneye</b> preferred the ditches. Only 600 <b>Pinkfeet</b> were counted the majority already migrating north to their nesting grounds in Iceland and Greenland.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Waders such as <b>Dunlin</b>, <b>Lapwing</b>, <b>Snipe</b>, <b>Curlew</b>, <b>Redshank</b>, <b>Golden Plover</b> and the first <b>Avocets</b> have been coming and going. While there have been no sightings of <b>Bitterns</b> I heard their first growls along with plenty of squealing <b>Water Rails</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Herons have been seen returning back to the <span style="background-color: white;">Heronry</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Birds of prey have been magnificent. 13 <b>Marsh Harriers</b> gathered on the reserve as well as <b>Buzzard</b>, <b>Peregrine</b>, <b>Kestrel </b>and <b>Red Kites</b>. The Norton <b>Barn Owl</b> is still a regular sight in the early mornings.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A Marsh Harrier checking out a possible nesting site.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background: white;">Smaller birds have included</span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><strong><span style="background: white;">Water Pipit, White Wagtail, Reed Bunting</span></strong><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white;"> </span></span><span style="background: white;">were seen as well as my first <b>Treecreeper</b> on the edge of the Pinewoods.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Our first invertebrates have been seen on the reserve with a surprise <b>Buff-tailed </b>and <b>Early Bumble Bee</b> flying past and a <b>Small Tortoiseshell</b> and <b>Comma</b> making an appearance.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">There have also been a few fresh Peacock Butterfly about.</span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">To top things off 3 <b>Cranes</b> were seen flying over the reserve on two consecutive weekends. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">PS While writing this a little <b>Field Vole</b> made an appearance, creeping through the open door and hiding behind my wellies! </span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-38874074740941603752017-03-20T03:14:00.003-07:002017-03-21T14:14:35.873-07:00Why Birds?<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Without the commotion of summer and with the promise of the survey season around the corner spring is one of my favourite seasons. Waders such as Lapwing and Redshank are migrating back to Holkham to nest; Spoonbills have been spotted; Pink-Feet have departed for Greenland and the warden team are preparing for the breeding bird survey season to start. But why do we and most other reserves concentrate so much time on monitoring birds?</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;"> Why not mammals or insects?</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rRNPkQCITs/WM-m--KVa1I/AAAAAAAAA-E/SIPgl4OcB14B_wrQLi1YpOTfcrJbJR1jgCK4B/s1600/Bird-Geese-Holkham.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8rRNPkQCITs/WM-m--KVa1I/AAAAAAAAA-E/SIPgl4OcB14B_wrQLi1YpOTfcrJbJR1jgCK4B/s320/Bird-Geese-Holkham.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small; text-align: justify;">Our early morning geese counts are nationally important.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">To tell the truth, we don’t. At Holkham, we monitor a range of species such as Natterjack Toad, Water Vole, moths and a range of plants. We even have one of the longest running butterfly transects in the country. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">However, birds are the relatively easy to monitor. Birds are conspicuous, meaning they are easy to identify and count. Mammals, on the other hand, are elusive and some groups of insects are difficult to identify without specialist knowledge and equipment. Birds are also a great indicator species that respond to the health of the entire habitat and respond to changes in predictable ways. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Holkham is an important site for breeding waders. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; line-height: 115%;">The link between bird species and their habitats make them key for identifying habitat quality. Waders at Holkham feed on important mud-dwelling invertebrates which depend on a delicate balance of mud, water and nutrients. Should the numbers of birds change it could indicate a shift in the habitat. The biodiversity of bird species can also indicate successful wider conservation efforts. A study of bird and butterfly species showed that the two were correlated which suggested that the number of bird species would also indicate the diversity of butterflies in small patches of habitat<sup>1</sup>. Another study showed the spices richness of birds correlated with six other taxonomic groups<sup>2</sup>.This shows that monitoring bird diversity can give a clear indication of overall biodiversity.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x4gGbHOhu9M/WM-p9wDvNMI/AAAAAAAAA-k/VAOPps-eZ0EkdiELZsOQjcJ6vFGadifVACK4B/s1600/Bird-blue%2Btit%2B2-Holkham.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-x4gGbHOhu9M/WM-p9wDvNMI/AAAAAAAAA-k/VAOPps-eZ0EkdiELZsOQjcJ6vFGadifVACK4B/s320/Bird-blue%2Btit%2B2-Holkham.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="background-color: white;">During the summer we map the calls of song birds in the pine woods.</span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Birds are incredibly useful as indicators for conservation as well as a familiar, fascinating and colourful creature.</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.0pt;">Blair, R.B., <i>Birds and butterflies along an urban gradient: surrogate taxa for assessing biodiversity?</i> Ecological applications, 1999. <b>9</b>(1): p. 164-170.</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 18.0pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; tab-stops: list 36.0pt; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Kati, V., et al., </span><i>Testing the value of six taxonomic groups as biodiversity indicators at a local scale.</i><span style="font-size: small;"> Conservation biology, 2004. </span><b>18</b>(3): p. 667-675.</span></li>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-19323459174192372442017-01-30T09:49:00.000-08:002017-06-14T05:25:02.493-07:00Litter<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">With the New Year came 2017’s first storm. East Anglia was hit worst of all. The high winds and high tides created a storm surge which battered the coastline. While Holkham got off lightly what the receding waters left on the coastline was a startling wake up call.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Tonnes of litter were washed in on the big tides. The Holkham wardens with our group of dedicated volunteers spent a week removing everything from 2 messages-in-a-bottle, a (full) portable toilet, 5 boats, two thirds of a beach hut and even a bra from almost 6km of Warham Marsh and Overy flood bank. While these odd discoveries have made us laugh it has also been a sobering reminder the amount of rubbish our seas contain. </span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UYkDiEd3Sbg/WLRpsaqF61I/AAAAAAAAA88/XHihsfFSCIUyyL40oDXpzu3TO8RexF2hACK4B/s1600/IMG_5904.jpg" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UYkDiEd3Sbg/WLRpsaqF61I/AAAAAAAAA88/XHihsfFSCIUyyL40oDXpzu3TO8RexF2hACK4B/s320/IMG_5904.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">It is easy to look out over the endless blue and see a landscape untouched and untouchable by human hands. But as the storm surge has shown it is for far from the truth. In fact, it would be fairer to say that we are drowning in plastics. Plastics are hard to avoid from the computer keyboards I’m typing on, the box my lunch is stored into the hundreds of plastic bottles sat in our bins waiting for disposal. We use these materials because of their colourful, durable and resistant qualities. So when we dispose of these items, they remain in our environment as colourful, durable and resistant materials.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Where does this litter end up?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The accumulation of man made plastics in our seas is at a point where they are creating a serious problem for wildlife and their habitats, as well as for the human population. Here are two broad categories of plastic litter: fishing-related gear such as line, netting and buoys; and consumer items including plastic bottles, food packs and balloons.</span><br />
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">To put the problem is perspective just 5% of plastics are recycled, 40% go to landfill and a third enter the seas. That is 8 million tonnes of plastic ending up in the oceans each year. That is one of those statistics that is so large is meaningless! So for a better understanding, according to the Ellen MacArther Foundation by 2050, the amount of plastics in our oceans will outweigh the fish left in our seas<sup>1</sup>. You can see the obvious results of this staggering fact left on Holkham beach. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Plastic debris has been found in all marine environments from the coastline to the open sea, from the surface to the deepest sea floor. Even when it is stored in ‘secure’ landfills, plastics leach toxic chemicals into groundwater which flow into rivers then lakes, and finally the ocean.</span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Impact</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Marine animals are vulnerable to harm from plastics either through ingestion, contamination and entanglement.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Fishing gear, balloons and angling line are common finds on any beach walk but pose a shocking danger for the largest marine mammals such as whales and the UK’s largest carnivore, seals. UNESCO estimate100,000 marine mammals die annually from ingestion and entanglement in marine litter even here on the Norfolk coasts<sup>2</sup>.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The grizzly remains of dead animals are a common sight on any coastal walk but paying close attention to the dead birds can reveal bottle caps, plastic pieces and plastic wrapping spilling from their stomachs. Attached by the bright colours and mistaking them for prey ‘true’ seabirds suffer the most from the ingestion of plastics. Research into the ingestion of plastics by Laysan Albatrosses showed they have suffered terrible population decline because of this<sup>3</sup>. Closer to home, Fulmars such as the ones nesting at Hunstanton, are also facing a similar decline<sup>4</sup>. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The understanding of contamination in the oceans is still limited and very complicated. However, it is understood that the degrading plastics release toxic chemicals that concentrate in species such as fish. These can interfere with the reproductive system of the animals reducing their population. Unavoidably further down the food chain, these chemicals end up in humans like you and me.</span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The seas help balance our climate and release the oxygen we breathe. It is clear that the sea is a key part of life on earth but at the moment we are all drowning in plastics whether we realise it or not. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So next time you are walking on the coast and enjoy the sea remember that what may appear to be </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">So next time you are walking on the coast and enjoying the sea remember that what may appear to be thriving wildlife living in an eternal landscape is actually fragile and fleeting and we all need to do our bit to preserve it or it could very easily be lost forever. </span></div>
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<b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">What can you do?</span></b></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">After reading such a preachy and depressing blog you are probably thinking ‘what can I do to help such as bleak and sad crises’. Well, there is a lot! When lots of people change their behaviour a small amount it can have a huge effect. A great example of this is the plastic bag charge which quickly and effectively reduced littering dramatically. </span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Yes, I understand that when you look around its hard to see anything that’s <i>not </i>wrapped in plastic! The first step to reducing plastic pollution is to simply cut down. These </span><span class="MsoCommentReference"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 8.0pt;">6 easy </span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">steps can help to reduce the amount of plastic you throw away every year:</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Use reusable bags – you can buy these anywhere. I ALWAYS have one on me.</span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Stop using bottled water – use a re-useable container</span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Refuse to buy single-serving packaging (salad boxes), excess packaging and disposable plastics. Straws are one of the most prevalent plastics found in the ocean. Take a packed lunch to work – it will also save you money</span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Reduce everyday plastics such as sandwich bags by replacing them with a lunch bag/box or wrap sandwiches with greaseproof paper</span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Recycle efficiently, check what items can be recycled and choose those in the future.</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The best way to make a difference to nature is to volunteer. Holkham runs volunteer days during the winter starting in September and ending in March Please see <a href="http://www.holkham.co.uk/events/whats-on">http://www.holkham.co.uk/events/whats-on</a></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">References</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Ellen Macarthur Foundation., The New Plastics Economy: Rethinking the future of plastics, [online] https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/EllenMa</span></li>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">cArthurFoundation_TheNewPlasticsEconomy_15-3-16.pdf</span></div>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">UNESCO., Facts and Figures on Marine Pollution, 2014, [online] www.unesco.org/new/en/naturalsciences/ioc-oceans/priority-areas/rio-20-ocean/ blueprint-for-the-future-we-want/marine-pollution/ facts-and-figure</span></li>
</ol>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">I D. Michael Fry, Stewart I. Fefer, Louis Sileo., (1987) Ingestion of plastic debris by Laysan Albatrosses and Wedge-tailed Shearwaters in the Hawaiian Islands <em>Marine Pollution Bulletin</em>, Volume 18, Issue 6, Pages 339-343</span></li>
</ol>
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<li class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Jan A. van Franeker, Christine Blaize, Johannis Danielsen, Keith Fairclough, Jane Gollan, Nils Guse, Poul-Lindhard Hansen, Martin Heubeck, Jens-Kjeld Jensen, Gilles Le Guillo (2011) Monitoring plastic ingestion by the northern fulmar Fulmarus glacialis in the North Sea, <em>Environmental Pollution</em>, Volume 159, Issue 10, Pages 2609-2615</span></li>
</ol>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-53154908004324833442017-01-23T08:12:00.000-08:002017-02-27T08:44:42.907-08:00Recent Sightings - January 2016<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Winter certainly gripped the reserve throughout January.
The month was plagued with dense fog, ice and cold temperatures. The storm
surge mid-month made things even more exciting.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p> </o:p><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyEWga9XaHk/WKsKENXGe8I/AAAAAAAAA6A/1XBmCKiekBkLmVTZrHVVQ9nFw6BgvqDGgCK4B/s1600/Holkham-Sunrise.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-jyEWga9XaHk/WKsKENXGe8I/AAAAAAAAA6A/1XBmCKiekBkLmVTZrHVVQ9nFw6BgvqDGgCK4B/s320/Holkham-Sunrise.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">January had some great sunrises.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The last goose count of the winter yielded 23,500 <b>Pink-feet</b> but they quickly departed
throughout the month to start their long migration back to their breeding
grounds. <b>Brent’s</b> have continued to remain on site in great numbers
especially on Overy Marsh. We even had a lonely <b>Pale-Bellied Brent</b> seen at Holkham. Strangely a <b>Goosander </b>was seen sheltering in Wells channel, an unusual sighting
in this part of the world. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ghqrr8_1vC4/WKsKQLTGIOI/AAAAAAAAA6I/3vYypmGWzeQMpVOgPTFS2jkqUPVnLgvFwCK4B/s1600/Bird-Geese-Holkham.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="172" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ghqrr8_1vC4/WKsKQLTGIOI/AAAAAAAAA6I/3vYypmGWzeQMpVOgPTFS2jkqUPVnLgvFwCK4B/s320/Bird-Geese-Holkham.jpg" width="320" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Goose counts at first light.</span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">January has also been a great month for a host of other
wildfowl including almost 14,000 <b>Wigeon</b>,
1,000 <b>Teal</b> and 133 <b>Shoveler</b>. Lady Anne’s Drive was an
excellent (and convenient) spot to watch them from.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FyU6Hox15d8/WKsNoazZ-tI/AAAAAAAAA6g/QWp7PnDBr-0YJxQUZdvxXlnE0EeNQr28ACK4B/s1600/teal.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FyU6Hox15d8/WKsNoazZ-tI/AAAAAAAAA6g/QWp7PnDBr-0YJxQUZdvxXlnE0EeNQr28ACK4B/s320/teal.jpg" width="213" /></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A lovely looking drake Teal </span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The strong winds made for an excellent sea watching
opportunity. The 32 <b>Shore Larks</b> and
35 <b>Snow Buntings</b> were popular with
birders but after the storm surge <b>Slavonian
Grebe</b>, <b>Short Eared</b> <b>Owl</b> and even a <b>Red Neck Grebe</b> were reported
in Holkham Gap (through neither of the wardens were able to see them). Flocks
of around 800 <b>Scoter</b> as well as <b>Velvet Scoter</b> were seen from the beach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AvN3ppb6aVg/WKsRqaraSEI/AAAAAAAAA7E/Fv0WPSRSWrAQHMZTx-KUSlXWjrJ8grrlACK4B/s1600/shore.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-AvN3ppb6aVg/WKsRqaraSEI/AAAAAAAAA7E/Fv0WPSRSWrAQHMZTx-KUSlXWjrJ8grrlACK4B/s320/shore.jpg" width="213" /></a></span></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">The Shore Larks were flighty fellows</span></span></o:p></div>
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<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RNx9L0GVTg/WKsRwZZ6W7I/AAAAAAAAA7M/NnAq-8JMTjQJx1UKyNX9SCOvtTJmWljLwCK4B/s1600/turn.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4RNx9L0GVTg/WKsRwZZ6W7I/AAAAAAAAA7M/NnAq-8JMTjQJx1UKyNX9SCOvtTJmWljLwCK4B/s320/turn.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></o:p></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A Turnstone feeding an Slip Limpet.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This winter has been a great time to see <b>Glaucous Gulls</b> and Holkham has been no
different as they scavenge off dead seals. An <b>Icelandic gull</b> was also reported at Wells.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G77SWLyhB9M/WKsOKbNVCOI/AAAAAAAAA6o/9wwnykPr6eQZ42U6BljLULhlAxFjRvQZQCK4B/s1600/gulll-G.jpg" imageanchor="1"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-G77SWLyhB9M/WKsOKbNVCOI/AAAAAAAAA6o/9wwnykPr6eQZ42U6BljLULhlAxFjRvQZQCK4B/s320/gulll-G.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">The only photo of a Glaucous Gulls I got!</span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Hunting <b>Peregrines</b>
made a spectacular nuisance of themselves during the WeBS counts but it was
during our post storm surge litter pick at Warham that we saw a juvenile hunting
<b>Redshanks</b> over the Marsh. <b>Marsh Harriers</b> and <b>Buzzards</b> were also regularly seen but <b>Red Kites</b> remained strangely absent. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgEoRaCIezQ/WKsVM92FY6I/AAAAAAAAA7k/LQpev2GIZtIeFB9WXb-G9kgYefoR94yQACK4B/s1600/redsshak.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dgEoRaCIezQ/WKsVM92FY6I/AAAAAAAAA7k/LQpev2GIZtIeFB9WXb-G9kgYefoR94yQACK4B/s320/redsshak.jpg" width="213" /></a> </span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">A Redshank at Warham</span></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<o:p><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">There were plenty of passerines around with a good number
of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Stonechats</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and at least three<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Rock Pipits</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>at Overy Bank. There was a notable influx
of <b>Song Thrushes</b>, <b>Blackbirds</b> and <b>Waxwings</b>. Also notable today was the reappearance of<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><strong>Skylarks</strong><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>which seem to have been totally absent
recently. <span class="apple-converted-space">While emptying
dog poo bins in the morning I often saw</span> <b>Kingfisher<span class="apple-converted-space">s</span></b><span class="apple-converted-space">, </span>a
<b>Barn Owl</b> and <b>Pink-feet</b> which is a bonus when doing
this unpleasant but necessary job! Finally, 20 <b>Yellow Hammers</b> feeding in the hedgerows rounded the month off
nicely. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Also a notable sighting was my first view of a Holkham <b>Otter</b>! I watched it swim through Wells
channel while I was eating fish and chips on the Quay!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-85078793211669839792016-12-20T04:33:00.001-08:002016-12-20T04:33:54.512-08:00Holkham NNR's Wonderful Volunteers<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Throughout this year I have worked with some wonderful
volunteers. They have been very busy working on the
reserve and between them they have contributed to over 1000 hours of their
time. The work carried out is crucial in helping
us implement our important conservation work. We could not achieve what we do
without their support. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AClHEkzVQdI/WFkh04VX2QI/AAAAAAAAA20/vXSqvg1ZlKcHsQ-KrjzQbYKsYb4kC3SxgCK4B/s1600/IMG_4616.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AClHEkzVQdI/WFkh04VX2QI/AAAAAAAAA20/vXSqvg1ZlKcHsQ-KrjzQbYKsYb4kC3SxgCK4B/s320/IMG_4616.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Working hard or hardly working!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The diversity of our volunteers bring all sorts of skills
and experiences as well as lots of entertaining stories. Throughout the year we
have called on our growing team of volunteers to help us with all aspects of
reserve work from cutting down encroaching willow in the reedbeds, carrying out wildlife surveys or collecting litter
from the beach. Rain, hail or shine the volunteers are
always willing to work hard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mIb5jmTyzvM/WFkhzPEw_LI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Gj2EpTuN-ggkFiDRYqvTdpEADdE81hk_ACK4B/s1600/IMG_2615.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mIb5jmTyzvM/WFkhzPEw_LI/AAAAAAAAA2s/Gj2EpTuN-ggkFiDRYqvTdpEADdE81hk_ACK4B/s320/IMG_2615.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">No task is to great or too small.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">In the two years I have worked with
these fantastic people I have never had a complaint no matter how miserable the
weather or how hard the task is. In return for a cuppa and a caramel
digestive we get commitment, hard work and lots of enthusiasm.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYcT1BqQhdc/WFkhwduQUFI/AAAAAAAAA2k/3HRWnBpWPKIiL1PtyqR_jD0hI49CHsAEgCK4B/s1600/IMG_4204.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HYcT1BqQhdc/WFkhwduQUFI/AAAAAAAAA2k/3HRWnBpWPKIiL1PtyqR_jD0hI49CHsAEgCK4B/s320/IMG_4204.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">We removed well over 100 bags of litter from the beach this year.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">From the reserve team, thank you so
very much for all the time and effort you put in, your hard work is massively
appreciated and makes a huge difference to the wildlife in the reserve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Wishing you all a merry Christmas! See you again next year!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">If you’re interested in volunteering at Holkham NNR, check
out our volunteering page<b> here. </b>If you fancy becoming a volunteer
on one of the most amazing spectacular reserves in the UK then send an email
to <a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/1/h/1a1nvvxhf4nzr/?&cs=wh&v=b&to=j.holt@holkham.com"><b>j.holt@holkham.com</b></a></span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-28361400089586821002016-11-21T08:16:00.005-08:002016-11-21T08:17:12.288-08:00A Duo from the Desert and Larks from the North.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">October was as usual a very exciting month on the reserve at Holkham. As
well as the much publicised beaching of a dead Fin Whale, almost continuous
easterly winds brought a multitude of rare and unusual migrant birds, many from
as far away as Siberia and central Asia. Foremost amongst them were a
couple of rare wheatears. Wheatears are insect eating birds that resemble small
thrushes recognisable by having a very distinctive white rump patch and a black
and white tail. Only one species is found commonly in Britain, the
Northern Wheatear. It breeds in upland moors and mountains and occasionally on
coastal dunes. Here at Holkham it passes through in spring and autumn between
wintering grounds in Africa and breeding grounds in northern Britain,
Scandinavia and even as far north as Greenland. Its love of arable fields on
migration gave it an apt and widely used old name in Norfolk; the ‘clod hopper’.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYeP0cKm350/WDLHs7TK8bI/AAAAAAAAA0w/lQcP3QoMcK0QxWl4JCJmCY_u8PlY3CLiACK4B/s1600/Desert%2Bwheatear%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EYeP0cKm350/WDLHs7TK8bI/AAAAAAAAA0w/lQcP3QoMcK0QxWl4JCJmCY_u8PlY3CLiACK4B/s320/Desert%2Bwheatear%2B4.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #999999;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Desert Wheatear</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">The two rarities, the Desert and the Isabelline Wheatear both arrived on
the same day to the same part of the reserve. Both were also of a similar sandy
brown colour. Desert Wheatears as their name suggests inhabit deserts with a
range that takes in North Africa, the Middle East and throughout the steppes
and deserts of central Asia. In Britain a handful arrive each
year in October/November usually at coastal sites along the east coast. This
year’s bird was a female (lacking the male’s black throat) and it eked out a
five day stay grubbing out insects from the sparse vegetation and beach edge
close to Gun Hill, a site that could be described as superficially being rather
desert-like in appearance! Slightly larger and with a different tail pattern
was the Isabelline Wheatear. Miraculously it remained until November 12<sup>th</sup>,
the mild conditions of late enabling it to still find plenty of insect food. It
breeds no nearer than Bulgaria and Greece in steppe-like fields, plains and
semi-desert areas right across Asia to Mongolia and China and usually winters
in the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa and NW India. Despite its rather insipid
appearance it is famed for having a fantastic voice, its song being a loud and
rich tapestry of sounds ranging from clicks and squeaks to melodious ‘wolf
whistles’ amidst much mimicry. In Britain it remains a bona fide rarity
with only one or two every couple of years. Despite being only the
fourth Norfolk occurrence it is actually the second individual to
have been seen here on the reserve.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9Tfl7J34lY/WDLHsiGDGlI/AAAAAAAAA0o/oEHQJk7kwtUViLYDRSuKYIJhH1ZGqx5kACK4B/s1600/isabelline%2Bw%2B4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="223" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c9Tfl7J34lY/WDLHsiGDGlI/AAAAAAAAA0o/oEHQJk7kwtUViLYDRSuKYIJhH1ZGqx5kACK4B/s320/isabelline%2Bw%2B4.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Isabelline Wheatear at Gun Hill.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4cZQiZB9VVo/WDLHruJ3qyI/AAAAAAAAA0g/Tyz5YLIYskQG1646rTbbOi3UXQu-UxvQACK4B/s1600/shore%2Blarks%2Bcropped.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="244" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4cZQiZB9VVo/WDLHruJ3qyI/AAAAAAAAA0g/Tyz5YLIYskQG1646rTbbOi3UXQu-UxvQACK4B/s320/shore%2Blarks%2Bcropped.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Shore Larks basking in the
morning sun.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">One other species that looks set to winter is the Shore Lark. This
delightful song bird with neat yellow and black face markings migrates to
eastern England to escape the hostilities of a winter on the high
tops of Scandinavian mountains where it nests. Varying numbers appear each year
but this winter looks like it will be a bumper season with close on 80 birds
being present already. These restless little birds favour the tide line or
areas of pioneering salt marsh where the seeds from plants such as Annual sea
blite, Samphire, Prickly Saltwort, Sea Aster and Sea Lavender are sought after
for food. The area between Holkham and Wells is typically favoured. The flock
can easily be found and at times can be most confiding. The best technique is
to find a quiet spot and wait and very often the birds may come quite close.
Please give them some space. Feeding time and a lack of disturbance is an
essential requirement for them in the short winter days so help them on their
way by keeping dogs under closer control in this area and photographers by not
venturing too close particularly if there are others trying to watch them from
further away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Andy Bloomfield<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Warden, </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-91812668410700715662016-11-07T08:01:00.001-08:002016-11-10T16:15:03.220-08:00A Whale of a Problem<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">The nation’s
eyes turned to Holkham this October thanks to the arrival of a dead Fin Whale. Washing up on Holkham beach on 20<sup>th</sup>
October it made quite the impression. The following day staff from the Cetacean Stranding
Investigation Programme (CSIP) arrived and performed a thorough investigation
of the whale.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQavGl0ZIcg/WCCh6554cLI/AAAAAAAAAzo/VrYdFlLq4Y4KQAvDKCrYwd1Tf4CCSIX_ACK4B/s1600/fin%2Bwhale%2Bsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IQavGl0ZIcg/WCCh6554cLI/AAAAAAAAAzo/VrYdFlLq4Y4KQAvDKCrYwd1Tf4CCSIX_ACK4B/s320/fin%2Bwhale%2Bsmall.jpg" width="212" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif";">Fin Whales
are an endangered species and not usually seen in the North Sea preferring the
deep water of the Atlantic. Occasionally however they do appear on the British
coast, in fact this is the fourth Fin Whale stranding CSIP had attended this
year. Fin Whales are the second largest mammal on earth and also the fastest
swimmers (up to 15mph!). They are a baleen whale meaning they are essentially
filter feeders straining food through the hairy plates on its upper jaw. Fin Whales
are noticeably unique thanks to the</span><span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"> lower
right jaw being bright white and the lower left jaw being black. This is
thought to be used to<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>frighten
its prey into dense groups making them easier to catch. The whale that washed up
at Holkham was only 13m long making it a juvenile. They can grow up to 26m as
an adult!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fDVEQGTt21E/WCCiLd7WlXI/AAAAAAAAAz4/a8rruHd3GvoSQT5kuZDaLeeWtXGAolc6QCK4B/s1600/Fin%2Bwhale%2Bblood%2B%252B%2Bgore%2Bsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fDVEQGTt21E/WCCiLd7WlXI/AAAAAAAAAz4/a8rruHd3GvoSQT5kuZDaLeeWtXGAolc6QCK4B/s320/Fin%2Bwhale%2Bblood%2B%252B%2Bgore%2Bsmall.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">CSIP staff taking samples from the internal organs.</span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;">After a day of slicing the
CSIPs staff carefully removed samples from the internal organs, bone, baleen
plates and eye ball as well as a noticeable ‘hump’ just above the tail stock.
The post mortem indicated that the hump had a spinal abnormally caused by a
boat strike. This injury limited its ability to swim impeding its ability to
dive and feed leading to ill heath resulting in a parasite infestation and
eventual starvation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MmggA4Ara-Q/WCCiMN4yx0I/AAAAAAAAA0A/7JtbeLTVjEAiYEwtGth-180QLDg0_Do5gCK4B/s1600/Fin%2Bwhale%2B-%2Beye%2Bsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MmggA4Ara-Q/WCCiMN4yx0I/AAAAAAAAA0A/7JtbeLTVjEAiYEwtGth-180QLDg0_Do5gCK4B/s320/Fin%2Bwhale%2B-%2Beye%2Bsmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="background: white; font-family: "arial" , "sans-serif"; line-height: 115%;"><o:p><span style="color: #666666; font-size: x-small;">The eye being removed.</span></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "arial" , sans-serif;">This tragic turn of events
was a sad end to such a rare and striking whale. Especially as the Fin Whale
population has declined dramatically due to whaling, pollution and habitat destruction.
This individual will be sorely missed as the population continues to fight for
survival.</span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ECNGA15On4/WCCh-pw-igI/AAAAAAAAAzw/K-_wWcQqn_wcPowlfnEIUzaem6DQrNBKgCK4B/s1600/blood%2Band%2Bgore%2Blight%2Bsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6ECNGA15On4/WCCh-pw-igI/AAAAAAAAAzw/K-_wWcQqn_wcPowlfnEIUzaem6DQrNBKgCK4B/s320/blood%2Band%2Bgore%2Blight%2Bsmall.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">The autopsy lasted till dusk.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-27200404729661667972016-09-21T04:44:00.001-07:002016-09-21T04:44:40.805-07:00Stranger Things<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I’ve been a warden at Holkham I have seen many
wonderful things whether it's baby lapwings, thousands of pink footed geese in
flight or beautiful meadows full of orchids. What I often don’t
mention though is all the weird things I come across.</span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wildlife is sometimes very strange. For instance,
ant lions have so many forward facing spikes they can only move
backwards, birds get lost and can appear 1000’s of miles off course
and watching a crow ride on the back of a sheep while plucking
out it’s wool never stops being entertaining. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Human behaviour on the reserve can be equally strange,
whether it's totem poles made of dead seagull skulls or
sightings of a Dutch pirate ship or even planes attempting to land on the beach
(not the cleverest idea). The bizarre things a warden has to deal with!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1vmFvnHd4Q/V-Jw-cnMSEI/AAAAAAAAAx0/p42yt9yz9GMSJo03FDBRcxsGUg_pKPSsQCLcB/s1600/Dutch%2Bpirate%2Bship.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-p1vmFvnHd4Q/V-Jw-cnMSEI/AAAAAAAAAx0/p42yt9yz9GMSJo03FDBRcxsGUg_pKPSsQCLcB/s320/Dutch%2Bpirate%2Bship.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Pirate Ship!</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our most recent mystery was a report of 6 large
dead birds<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: #222222; font-size: 9.5pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span>washed
onshore by the tide. We had reports they were Griffin Vultures or
Lammergeiers, photos showed a huge bird with a
bizarre feathered patterning. Eventually we managed to catch up with
these mysterious feathered monsters.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCLyKM_061E/V-Jw_vpl8BI/AAAAAAAAAx4/ya2aXnyOK2oUfKXKcZwaB-xDGo2fx4gOwCLcB/s1600/Dead%2BCockrel.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HCLyKM_061E/V-Jw_vpl8BI/AAAAAAAAAx4/ya2aXnyOK2oUfKXKcZwaB-xDGo2fx4gOwCLcB/s320/Dead%2BCockrel.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Mysterious feathered corpse.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some pondering and poking later we reached the
conclusion that they were in fact, cockerels. These large cock erels were far
larger than anything we had ever seen before. It was their feet
that gave the game away in the end, but what on earth were cockerels doing
in the sea?!</span><o:p></o:p></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-11725745451711097762016-08-01T02:56:00.000-07:002016-08-15T07:21:35.999-07:00Bitterns<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">This bizarre species of bird is famous for its elusive
behaviour, strange look and characteristic call.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bitterns are part of the Heron
family but are smaller in stature and thick set with buff-brown plumage and
dark streaks which allow them to blend in perfectly with the reeds through
which they hunt. They are notoriously secretive and difficult to see but the
breeding call can be heard from miles around. The Bitterns ‘boom’, as it is
called, is produced by the males and
sounds like someone is blowing very loudly over a glass bottle! Each sound is
unique and can be used to identify individual males.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Reedbed areas, which Bitterns
rely on for feeding and nesting, were drained for agriculture. This, combined
with persecution, led to their eventual extinction in 1885. Reedbed restoration
has allowed the birds to slowly recover in number throughout Britain. Here at
Holkham the re-wetting and re-profiling of land has created small areas of
dense reedbed and clearing dykes has improved feeding opportunities.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pKYva3jIfwU/V4zDyv1pLPI/AAAAAAAAAwM/BBhWS8BLiY0Jx36QeKhJf9wiJIWjIE5tgCLcB/s1600/bitten.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pKYva3jIfwU/V4zDyv1pLPI/AAAAAAAAAwM/BBhWS8BLiY0Jx36QeKhJf9wiJIWjIE5tgCLcB/s320/bitten.jpg" width="201" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">A bittern disguises itself in the reeds</span>. </span></div>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bitterns are highly adapted to
live in reeds. Their large feet are used to grasp reed stems allowing them to
peer over the reed tops. They construct a nest platform in the thickest part of
the reedbed close to the water level and the female will add material to the
nest as the water level increases. Bitterns have a varied diet composing mainly
of fish, amphibians and insects.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">We
are lucky enough to have a number of breeding pairs on the Holkham National Nature Reserve. The best place to see them is
from the Overy sea wall or Washington hide. Due to their rare nature it is
illegal to disturb Bitterns, even by accident. That is why we ask dog owners
to keep their dogs under close control, or preferably on a lead.</span></span></div>
</div>
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<s><o:p></o:p></s></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13646346663049080521noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7276682000501185894.post-63247548675901495992016-07-28T04:39:00.000-07:002016-09-02T05:39:41.101-07:00Butterflies of Holkham<div class="MsoNormal">
<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Holkham
is renowned for many things such as rare habitats and unique wildlife but did
you know that here at Holkham, the monitoring of butterflies along a transect
route has been carried out every year since 1976 and is one of the longest
running in the country. The 3,400m long transect was designed to include a
range of habitat types. Monitoring takes place every week between the beginning
of April and the end of September. </span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gTlxGXLf78M/V8bA2SaURnI/AAAAAAAAAxU/3lt0vBMyrhYoxYkr3sPH1r8X3LeM5FMlgCEw/s1600/IMG_0544.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gTlxGXLf78M/V8bA2SaURnI/AAAAAAAAAxU/3lt0vBMyrhYoxYkr3sPH1r8X3LeM5FMlgCEw/s320/IMG_0544.jpg" width="213" /></span></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Brown Argus</span></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The
data that is collected is passed to Butterfly Conservation’s Monitoring Scheme
and provides important knowledge for UK butterfly population trends.
Butterflies are highly sensitive to environmental conditions making them good
indicators of the state of the environment. Their rapid response to changes in the
environment enables us to assess the impact from farming practices, climate
change and habitat change.</span><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FLor_FncDyI/V8bA4R-QReI/AAAAAAAAAxY/Tc9AyJqLDqoySfze-fhUcKLI2vlVFYc6ACLcB/s1600/IMG_0563.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FLor_FncDyI/V8bA4R-QReI/AAAAAAAAAxY/Tc9AyJqLDqoySfze-fhUcKLI2vlVFYc6ACLcB/s320/IMG_0563.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Small Tortoise Shell Butterfly</span></div>
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</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: inherit;">While
it has been a slow start to the year there are still plenty of peacocks, Walls and common blue about. In total 26</span><span style="font-family: "times new roman" , "serif"; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> species have been recorded along the transect route, the highest number
in Norfolk! Last year good numbers of small copper and dark green fritillary
were seen.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8z3KWOYrNLA/V8bA4vgoYaI/AAAAAAAAAxc/F2QbGIzppmUypy9IerxoODatAJktSPOEACLcB/s1600/IMG_0577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8z3KWOYrNLA/V8bA4vgoYaI/AAAAAAAAAxc/F2QbGIzppmUypy9IerxoODatAJktSPOEACLcB/s320/IMG_0577.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="color: #666666; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Peacock Butterfly</span></div>
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</span><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Unfortunately
butterflies across the UK are in serious decline either in distribution or
population. Overall there has been a decline in three-quarters of butterfly
species over the last 40 years. It is therefore very important that Holkham NNR
maintains suitable high quality habitats.</span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
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