PLEASE NOTE THAT THE DATE AND TIME OF THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CHANGED
The Nature and Wildlife Group’s May shoot will be at Foxley Wood
At 123 hectares Foxley Wood is the largest ancient woodland and coppice in Norfolk and is recorded in the Doomsday Book, certain parts of the wood are known to be over 6,000 years old. For the past 1000 years it was a source of wood but the demand decreased during the 20th century and Foxley Wood became neglected until the 1990s when it owned and managed by the Forestry Commission. It was acquired by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust in 1998.
It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, a Nature Conservation Review Site (Grade 2) and a National Nature Reserve.
The Foxley Wood is rich in flora with over 250 species having been recorded. Foxley Wood is known for it’s Bluebells which form a magnificent display during the months of April and May.
Fauna include insects such as dark bush crickets, white admiral ringlet butterflies. Bird species that are seen include sparrowhawks, tawny owls, great spotted woodpeckers and European green woodpeckers.
This should be a great opportunity to get some iconic images of Bluebells at their best. All those members who reserved a place on the original date have been transferred to the new date. Please note the shoot is now full.
Special instructions
1) Ensure you wear sensible clothing for the weather and the appropriate footwear.
2) Please read the Health & Safety guidance for nature & wildlife shoots before joining the shoot
3) Meet in the car park by 10:00am for a collective briefing before the shoot..
Please note:
Don’t forget to check the arrangements before setting out if there has been extreme weather overnight.
About the NDPS Nature & Wildlife Group
The Nature and Wildlife Group is the newest of the Society’s Special Interest Group being formed in 2019 in response to the demands from members to include outdoor shoots in the annual programme for this genre of photography. If you want to learn more speak to Keith Garnham who is currently the leader of the group.
Monthly shoots are planned so that members can explore all that Norfolk has when it comes to wildlife habitat. It has a wide variety of land types it has chalk rivers, ancient woodland, fertile farmland, fen, broad, and breck. A coast line that is full of variety, internationally important wetlands, marshes, and sandy beaches. The shallow North Sea is a powerhouse of potential feeding for visiting mammals, fish, and birds all that are interconnected in the circle of life.
From time to time, the Group also plans to organise specialists shoots further afield such as the visit in October 2019 to witness the deer rut at Bradgate Park in Leicestershire.
Please remember, our group can only be as good as the input made by its members so if you are willing to organise or lead any kind of event that you think will be of interest to members, please step forward. Please don’t be shy – all offers of help will be greatly appreciated…!
About Norfolk’s Nature & Wildlife
The Norfolk Coast is one of the major flyways for migrating birds in the spring, summer, autumn and winter. Change is the constant that provides the visitor with an opportunity to see and photograph something different in every season.
There is no off-season on the Broads. Local visitors and those from further afield are drawn to the area all year round, and it’s easy to understand why. This is the perfect place for a mini safari, right on your doorstep.
Spring - Adders, Porpoise and swallows
The adder, Britain’s only venomous snake makes its home in the heathland and dunes near Horsey. And if you’re lucky, you’ll catch sight of one, as the males emerge from hibernation a month earlier than the females. This is also the best time of year to spot the rare and elusive harbour porpoise off the coast. Late May sees an abundance of invertebrate life, like damselflies, flying close the surface of the water. While the inward migration of huge groups of swallows are best seen from conservation centres like the one at Ranworth Broad.
Summer - Hawks, Harriers and butterflies
Nocturnal, shy and extinct across much of Europe, the best time to catch a glimpse of Britain’s largest native crayfish, The White Clawed, is from July to September in the river Wensum. Now only seen in the Broads, Britain’s largest butterfly, the Swallowtail, emerges in late May. One of the best ways to see it is very early on a bright, summer’s morning at Hickling Broad. The impressive Marsh Harrier is another of the Broad’s conservation success stories. Once extinct in Britain, it now nests throughout the area. Mid to late summer also brings a carpet of Purple Sea Lavender blooms across the marsh.
Autumn - Seabirds, sea pups and bluetails
Said to be the best time for for watching seabirds, rare warblers and red-flanked bluetails come inland for the winter, it’s also fungi season, so there’s an array of mushrooms and toadstools making their home on old wood and loamy soil. From the attractive but poisonous red colouring of the Fly Agaric to the edible Chicken-of-the-Woods. The highlight of the year around the coast at Horsey is the start of grey seal pupping season – from October to early February, mothers come ashore, have their babies and nurse them, right on the beach.
Winter - Waterfowl, geese and deer
Chilly North Sea winds don’t deter wildlife watchers during the coldest months of the year. The cacophony of waterfowl overwintering on the salt marshes draws hardy spotters with binoculars.
The Norfolk coast is the best place to see a rarer, dark-bellied variety of the vocal Brent Goose. It’s also a good time of year to spot deer, especially the smaller, non-native, Chinese Water Deer which favours a wet, marshy environment.