{"id":497,"date":"2021-06-15T14:27:47","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T14:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/norfolkcoastguardian.co.uk\/?p=497"},"modified":"2021-06-15T15:23:42","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:23:42","slug":"famous-five-lead-fight-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/norfolkcoastguardian.co.uk\/?p=497","title":{"rendered":"Famous five lead fight for life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Norfolk Coast species chosen to lead the way for nature recovery at this critical point <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a protected area, the Norfolk Coast is rich in valuable species and habitats. Across the country areas of outstanding natural beauty are working together to focus on nature protection in the face of species collapse.
The 2019 Colchester Declaration, signed by all such areas, commits that by each immediately adopting a species on the threatened list and by preparing and delivering an action plan, at least thirty species will be made safe by 2030.
The Norfolk Coast Partnership has chosen not one but five of its natural wonders to headline this work around species recovery following this national commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe point is that species are all linked by habitat \u2013 and so by looking after one, we help others,\u201d said Estelle Hook, manager of the Norfolk Coast Partnership: \u201cWe are excited about the work ahead on this cohesive approach to landscape scale conservation and what we can do to progress this with our colleagues in other protected areas and the conservation sector \u2013 as well as with the public. We are all part of nature and everyone can do something to help.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The top five list was not easy to make \u2013 and may change in the future, she said. \u201cTo choose the Norfolk Coast five we looked, with our partners, at a range of species types, conservation status, seasonality, and geography, to factor in as many of the area\u2019s landscapes as possible. We also looked at how much the focus on one species will benefit others, and how they linked to conserving and enhancing the area.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was a tough choice and there were many that we would have liked to include, for example plants, invertebrates and amphibians \u2013 but the idea is that they will reap the benefit through work with the Norfolk Coast top five. This is not an exclusive list \u2013 all species and habitats interconnect and our focus is on helping species recovery across the board, as well as getting key species off the threatened list.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conservation bodies including the RSPB, Norfolk Rivers Trust, National Trust and Norfolk Wildlife Trust have ensured that the coast has provided a haven for these species. But in the face of species collapse, we need to increase our efforts and understanding to work together at a landscape scale \u2013 and change our behaviour.
Over these pages we look in more detail at the chosen five species, with condition updates from the Norfolk Wildlife Trust on each species \u2013 and a poem for each, commissioned to express the wonder of the species and the seriousness of their plight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to Norfolk Coast Partnership representative for the arts Veronica Sekules, and artist and writer Karen Frances Eng, the GroundWork Gallery, King\u2019s Lynn, held a weekend online poetry retreat in March. Eight poets, from as close as Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and as far as Scotland and Sri Lanka, met and between them wrote over 21 poems after much research, testing and discussion. Here we publish a selection for the first time. The full series will be available soon online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Veronica Sekules said: \u201cAs we were preparing the GroundWork poetry weekend retreat programme, and learning about our five indicative species, it was shocking to read how many of them are suffering as a result of public attention. Of course, as tourists we are curious about the environments we visit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut to hear time and again that \u2018public disturbance\u2019 and \u2018dog nuisance\u2019 are threatening the viability of breeding species, shows how intrusive and destructive this can be. More serious still, there are problems caused by pollution, development and the myriad excesses of human intervention – from cars, roads, noise, street lights, to agro-chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe work that the Norfolk Coast Partnership is doing to bring to public attention the fragile state of the nature under their care is admirable, the more so, as they are adopting such positive attitudes. The Dark Skies Festival is an example of how they are taking a creative approach to addressing a pollution problem, celebrating positive benefits rather than shutting things down or being draconian. It is always a great bonus to have the role of art acknowledged as a force in changing attitudes and habits and inspiring good sustainable environmental practice. So, for GroundWork to be involved in helping, via poetry, to address some of the problems of species collapse was very welcome. Quickly the weekend sold out. Karen Eng has run workshops for us before and is building a loyal following. But also, I think people really valued being able to use their writing skill to do some good for nature.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Karen Eng said: \u201cIt seemed a radical experiment: when I proposed a weekend poetry workshop to convene poets specifically to celebrate these five key species, I was unsure of the outcome. After all, poems can\u2019t be forced to a deadline, and, especially during lockdown, many of us have been physically far removed from the animals and their habitat. Would poets really want or be able to carry out the research required and generate poems in such a short time?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI needn\u2019t have worried. To my astonishment, not only did the workshop sell out within days, but by the time I was headed for bed the night after the first day\u2019s session, poems were already hitting my inbox.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cComing in a delightful range of unique styles and voices, the poems written during the weekend offer illuminating, heartfelt ways to access the wonder, pathos and humour of the creatures the NCP has chosen to highlight. Such is nature\u2019s power to inspire \u2013 and the willingness of artists to step up on its behalf.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Little Tern
Little Pickie\u2019s heroic journey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT
Helping this bird of the coastal strip will also benefit ringed plover and other beach nesting birds, which lay their eggs directly on the ground with little protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITS
Norfolk name is \u2018Little Pickie\u2019, because the way they skillfully \u2018pick\u2019 fish from the sea. They weigh the same as a tennis ball. The male carries a fish to attract a mate; and they live \u2013 and breed \u2013 into their 20s; migrating to West Africa every year. The National Trust report that in 2014, a little tern was found to have died at Blakeney, having been ringed as a chick in Lincolnshire 21 years previously. The bird, a female, had an egg inside, so was still breeding at 21, having migrated between England and Africa 19 times during her life. This was the oldest little tern ring recovery, until the Farne Islands found one 21 years and 10 months old soon afterwards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISSUES
Disturbance by humans and predation, by kestrels for example. \u2018Where people go, nests fail\u2019 say experts. The British breeding population is now thought to be less than 2,000 pairs, having declined by 25% since the 1980s \u2013 despite efforts. Last year although some areas reported stable numbers, of 55 nesting pairs in Winterton there were no surviving chicks from an entire breeding season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Look out for fenced off areas of the beach and avoid them; keep dogs under close control. Walk on the strand line near the sea rather than up on the shingle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST CONDITION CHECK
\u2018Norfolk is a significant county for the little tern, they breed on several beaches along the coast and where possible are protected by a number of conservation bodies including the Norfolk Wildlife Trust: at the Holme Dunes reserve up to 25 pairs breed each spring. The Trust employs a seasonal little tern warden to assist the resident warden to monitor and protect the colony. Fencing is erected to ensure people do not disturb the birds. However, along with having to deal with naturally occurring predators, the birds are easily worried by dogs and their owners approaching too close, so we try to educate people to give the colony a wide berth. Rising sea levels and unseasonal storms can also wreck a breeding season, however numbers are holding and with proper consideration by the public should continue to do so. The adults can be seen feeding along the water\u2019s edge near colonies, so they can be seen without approaching the nest site. The fenced areas can also act as a \u2018safe area\u2019 for other breeding birds particularly ringed plover.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LITTLE TERN<\/strong>
by Melinda Appleby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

at grey tide edge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

little tern hovers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

holding its gaze seaward<\/p>\n\n\n\n

watching the cold water for<\/p>\n\n\n\n

slippery sand eels<\/p>\n\n\n\n

before its plunge<\/p>\n\n\n\n

yellow daggered and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

straight through the wave<\/p>\n\n\n\n

returning up and up and higher<\/p>\n\n\n\n

sand eel held tight as it soars above\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

then in a dance\u00a0down to sand it offers its<\/p>\n\n\n\n

token of courtship to the female below starting its<\/p>\n\n\n\n

summer breeding on the Norfolk beach where it was born three<\/p>\n\n\n\n

years ago and now in the small scrape of shell and sand on the pebbled<\/p>\n\n\n\n

strand the eggs are laid as mottled as the land beneath and here,\u00a0here<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sea swallow raises young with hope that fox and\u00a0kestrel let \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

them live and no dog or human appears on the tideline!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2. Pink Footed Goose
Skeins a thrilling sight<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT
These long-travelled flocks of birds show the links between coastal, inland and global habitats. It doesn\u2019t breed in the UK, but large numbers spend the winter here, arriving from their breeding grounds in Spitsbergen, Iceland and Greenland. Pink foots provide an unforgettable sight flying in \u2018skeins\u2019 to roost. Often to be seen in large groups on inland grazing marshes or winter wheat-fields; they have learnt to enjoy the discarded sugar-beet tops left lying on muddy fields after harvest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITS
This \u2018grey\u2019 goose is predominately brown, and relatively diminutive, its chocolate coloured head and small brown, orange banded bill are defining features. In Norfolk huge skeins of pink-footed geese in their classic V-formations, can be seen in their thousands; they listen for them uttering their high-pitched honk of \u2018wink-wink\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISSUES
Numbers in England are on the increase, particularly in Norfolk, probably due to better protection of winter roosts. But they are highly vulnerable to disturbance and development \u2013 and as farmers change their crop practices the geese are less able to forage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Keep your dog under control if you are near roosting grounds \u2013 these birds need to conserve energy for their long journeys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST CONDITION CHECK
\u2018Norfolk has become, once again, important winter quarters for this species. From a low in the 1950s of only a few thousand, counts of well over 150,000 birds have been noted in recent years and this represents a large proportion of the world population. It is important to engage with farmers concerning leaving these fields unploughed for as long as possible. Breeding in Iceland and Greenland, successive poor summers and heavy predation of goslings can affect the population, but it is disturbance, changes in agriculture and land development in Norfolk that is their greatest threat, so their protection needs constant vigilance and like many migratory birds, a global strategy.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SWEET MUSIC<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Melinda Appleby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dawn breaks pink across the mudflats<\/p>\n\n\n\n

thin lemon bands slicing sky from sea,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

night leaches from the land, tide sucking <\/p>\n\n\n\n

sinking down. Salt-smelling, mud-dabbling<\/p>\n\n\n\n

geese wake from their winter roost, necks up <\/p>\n\n\n\n

heading to the runway, jostling, expectant. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far out container ships slip by unheard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sun flushes across a lens of cloud, geese press <\/p>\n\n\n\n

forward, little test jumps, taxiing to take-off, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

up, up, into ragged skeins threading across<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the eastern sky. Hundreds, thousands, calling, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

weaving black-stitched music above the saltings<\/p>\n\n\n\n

heading south in search of sugar beet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, redshank pipes into now-empty marsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fly with them, as sinuous creeks ease into hedged<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fields, spilling their song down in a wild goose <\/p>\n\n\n\n

morning, only a lone wildfowler sees them go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And here, where the harvester yesterday left <\/p>\n\n\n\n

the sliced green heads of beet, they gather<\/p>\n\n\n\n

feeding, fattening, blessing our sweet tooth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lorries take the lumpy roots to Wissington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Geese spill down, whiffling to lose height, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

dropping, dropping, gliding in to land <\/p>\n\n\n\n

and facing the wind, pink feet drop, calling,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wink-wink, we\u2019re here. Soft mushroom-brown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

plumage, legs and bill dusk pink, they paint <\/p>\n\n\n\n

their way across the field as early light fades away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re back \u2013 the pinks\u201d voices cry, yapping delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Far out container ships slip by unheard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Below, redshank pipes into now-empty marsh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And lorries take the lumpy roots to Wissington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019re back \u2013 the pinks\u201d voices cry, yapping delight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch in awe when pinkfeet fly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

making our winter landscape sing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

PINK FOOT<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Rob Knee<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I waited for you, standing sentry on Cromer pier that points<\/p>\n\n\n\n

like a damp finger, windward and to where,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

over the slate-grey chest of ocean,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

you came at last:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flying low, in delta formation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

far beneath the radar of coastal warning posts <\/p>\n\n\n\n

disguised as golf balls, not watching for geese,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but looking North and East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My watering eyes later cast upwards<\/p>\n\n\n\n

as you flew south in pulsing skeins, wheezing and resolute,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

outbound, to stand and feed impassively <\/p>\n\n\n\n

on Broadland beet fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once, I followed you to Snettisham
to try to catch<\/p>\n\n\n\n

your homecoming, to hear the
familiar cacophony of greetings, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

but I just missed the fleeting magic<\/p>\n\n\n\n

of your twilight convocation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was left alone with the last flames
of a sunset<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that tinged the copses in the West
to a coal-black silhouette,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and with the steady hiss of an
Arctic sea<\/p>\n\n\n\n

playing idly with the shingle bank.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3. Harbour or Common Seal
Beach Pups<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT
The sea and the beach along the coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITS
Harbour, or common, seals are marine mammals, more vulnerable and smaller than grey seals, with rounded heads and large brown eyes. They breed during the summer months. Males live up to 20 years, females up to 30 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISSUES
Threats include disturbance by people and dogs; (mother may lose or abandon their pups if they are forced into the sea trying to avoid); marine waste and litter; pollution and storms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Stay well away from seals if you see them and keep dogs under close control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST CONDITION CHECK
\u2018In Norfolk the Harbour seal breeding population is concentrated on the sandbanks out in the Wash. Occasionally harbour seals will pup on coastal beaches and as this is during the summer, disturbance is a problem. It is believed the canine distemper that was in the grey seal population may have been transferred into the species from dogs. As with all marine mammals, pollution, boat strike and entanglement in fishing gear is a problem. Education is an important factor in protecting this species.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DAUGHTER GODDESS<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Clare Woroniecka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t mistake me for a dog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you were drawing my whiskers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You imagined the way his nose<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feels nuzzling your hand \u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The wiry soft touch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My whiskers are for rummaging<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Down where it\u2019s hard to see<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Searching, standing out stiff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A mystery<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An orgy of senses in the gloom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I turn <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She follows me down as she must,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still wet from birth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green gold liquid calls<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Salty tang draws<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She will follow to deeper wells of unknown<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her body already knows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Flick of her tail, turn of her flippers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And out under the sky to lie and lie<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My head held up alert<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She is lost in the glorious creamy lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are selkies, she and me<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goddesses of swimming \u2013 nimble flicks, sensuous glide<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning, turning, through, down, up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our ancestors clubbed to death<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Envied for our fur<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Disturbed by our seeing<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Under the silver blue, down in the dreamy swaying<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are Queens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She will inherit<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kelp castles<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Royal cape, streamlined insulation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chilling underworlds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A crown of knives in her mouth<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To tear flesh,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

crunch bones<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

4. Barbastelle Bat
Rarest of mammals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT
Known as the \u2018bat of the landscape\u2019 as they rely on good quality countryside with space to forage and live. A keystone species, they represent the wider health of the ecosystem. Stronghold in parts of the Norfolk coast, with links to historic and cultural buildings. Looking after their range of habitats, from woodland edges to farmland and freshwater bodies, links to dark skies and issues of light pollution, will also benefit other bat species and invertebrates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITS
They are fast, agile flyers and specialist foragers in a range of habitats, swooping to drink from ponds or lakes. In summer they often emerge early from their daytime roosts to forage in the dark zone amongst trees until open area light levels have fallen to those existing under tree canopies; then they may forage in quite open areas. Baby bats are born in July in the maternity roost; during this time males tend to live a solitary existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISSUES
The Barbastelle bat is one of the UK\u2019s rarest mammals, with estimates of between 5,000 and 10,000 individuals, and there are only five known maternity roosts. Norfolk is one of this species strongholds. The extensive loss of deciduous woodland in the UK may be a significant factor in the rarity of this species. Use of artificial fertilisers and pesticides reduces insect diversity and may lead to indirect poisoning of bats, and pesticide run-off in water can severely disrupt aquatic insect abundance. Bats foraging over wet meadows mostly prey on micromoths, therefore measures to improve the quality of water meadows for the benefit of micromoths will provide better foraging opportunities for barbastelles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Inform yourself about bats and their needs, and follow guidance about external lighting to protect bat prey such as moths.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST CONDITION CHECK
\u2018Paston Hall\u2019s 15th century Great Barn on the north-east Norfolk coast is the only known maternity roost in a building. The roost is protected and a working group has been set up to monitor the population. This population is close to the coast and often forages along the sandy cliff-tops nearby. The species favours pastoral landscapes with patches of deciduous woodland and bodies of water. The bat has declined in recent years due to a reduction in insect prey, loss and disturbance of roosts and fragmentation of ancient semi-natural woodland. In Norfolk a major road building scheme threatens an important population in the Wensum Valley.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NIGHT WALK<\/strong>
by Annie Sturgeon<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t be afraid to walk the fen at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At setting sun the early evening light<\/p>\n\n\n\n

produces mole-black shadows of delight \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Is that a swallow in the fading light?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

or something darker on its dusky flight?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch how it\u2019s flitting past with stealth-like ease<\/p>\n\n\n\n

dodging and twisting in the evening breeze<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fluttering in the shadows of the leaves;<\/p>\n\n\n\n

there\u2019s something darker dancing from the trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its pug-face pricked with beady eyes, jet black,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

fur of frosted coal-dust on its back, clicks like<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a pony trotting down a cobbled track<\/p>\n\n\n\n

into a cheeping \u2018zip\u2019 with its attack.*<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hunting for micro-moths and softer flies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

serrated wings against the blue-black sky,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

along the water\u2019s edge it hawks and dives<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and flutters like a tar-smudged dragonfly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its birdlike wings, unfeathered, are of skin<\/p>\n\n\n\n

night-black and almost tissue thin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With soundless, flapping, agile cape it skims<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to scoop emerging flies that rise within.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Day\u2019s yawn imagines magic in the night<\/p>\n\n\n\n

between the sun-hot hours and cool starlight<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a rare black flitting Barbastelle just might<\/p>\n\n\n\n

be something darker on its dusky flight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At sunset in the early evening light<\/p>\n\n\n\n

look out for mole-black shadows of delight \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was that a swallow in the fading light?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 *The sounds of a Barbastelle translated by a bat detector.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

ON THE WING<\/strong>
by Alison Dunhill<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beard of stars, star-beard, Barbastelle,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a little white beard distinguishes you<\/p>\n\n\n\n

from Pipistrelle and Daubenton or Serotine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sprouts under your face\u2019s dark brown fur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This face is a corbel to fend off evil spirits <\/p>\n\n\n\n

taken from the west portal of Chartres. An ageing ET with<\/p>\n\n\n\n

a tiny squashed nose, black, round shiny eyes and<\/p>\n\n\n\n

enormous white-edged ears, which are needed for echolocation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

your tracking of nocturnal insect life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This combination of fur and wing disturbs like good Surrealism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your tessellated wings in outstretch are so fine, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

they must have inspired Buckminster Fuller\u2019s geodesic dome, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

or at least the umbrella. And yes, you are a quadruped:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

your front and rear stump-limbs elongate elegantly<\/p>\n\n\n\n

into two rapturous wings,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

which are huge in proportion to your kind-of-cosy furred body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The three gently angled divisions of each wing <\/p>\n\n\n\n

are surfaced in honeycomb mottling. The only mammal to fly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is, after all, a miracle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. White-clawed crayfish
Chalk stream rarity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITAT
Lives in inland rivers, so will help habitat conservation in inland and agricultural areas; is under threat \u2013 Norfolk Coast chalk rivers are some of last remaining sites for this species. Conservation will benefit a wide range of habitats and species in rivers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HABITS
Adults may reach over 12 cm from the tip of the rostrum (snout) to the telson (tail plate), but more often are less than 10 cm. Females develop a broader abdomen, which accommodates the brood. The abdominal appendages of the female are more hairy than those of the male and are used to support the mass of eggs, which is glued to them after laying. A \u2018berried\u2019 female white-clawed crayfish overwinters with her eggs glued to the underside of her abdomen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ISSUES
Water pollution from roads, farming chemicals and sewage; intense competition from non-native species signal crayfish, and disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHAT YOU CAN DO
Support organisations like the Norfolk Rivers Trust in their work to conserve and restore freshwater habitats; take care not to contaminate rivers with litter or chemicals. To avoid spreading crayfish plague, eggs, seeds, killer shrimp and other uninvited guests check, clean and dry your kit if you are moving between watercourses to fish, canoe, paddle etc.
CHECK kit for creepy crawlies
CLEAN kit in Virkon\/hot water
DRY kit for at least 48 hours
www.nonnativespecies.org\/checkcleandry<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK WILDLIFE TRUST CONDITION CHECK
\u2018In Norfolk the white-clawed crayfish have been found in the Wissey, Glaven and Wensum rivers, the latter being a Special Area of Conservation for this native crayfish. The larger non-native signal crayfish can out compete and even attack our white-claw crayfish, but the biggest problem is that it carries a fungus (Aphanomyces astaci), commonly known as crayfish plague, which does not affect them but can be lethal for the native species. Following recent outbreaks local warnings have been given to all water users on the River Waveney in nearby Suffolk, regarding this crayfish plague. The Environment Agency is advising the public to clean any equipment with disinfectant, bleach or anti-fungicidal products. There are a number of breeding programmes around the country, and with better water quality and a greater understanding of the threats to white-clawed crayfish, it is hoped their decline can be reversed.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WHITE-CLAWED CRAYFISH<\/strong> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Phil Hawtin<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Easy to imagine a Disney-like dance of joy<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to the revived rhythm of the river<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with the waving of weed, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

slur of gravel moving gently<\/p>\n\n\n\n

in our increasingly sweet flowing waters<\/p>\n\n\n\n

with impediments like mills reduced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Crayfish dance involving bronze carapace, abdomen, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

centipedal movement of walking legs, swimmerets, <\/p>\n\n\n\n

much waving of white under-sided claws, antennae.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hiding under stones daytime<\/p>\n\n\n\n

to emerge at night to sashay, eat omnivorously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But this is not how species fade away \u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invader, signal crayfish, is bigger,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

muscles in on the dance floor<\/p>\n\n\n\n

taking habitat and food<\/p>\n\n\n\n

and carries within its shell a virus<\/p>\n\n\n\n

that, only to the native counterpart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

is deadly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

THE CRAYFISH MOTHER <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

by Alanna Shaikh<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crayfish mother, protecting her young to adulthood, takes a number of steps:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overwinters with eggs glued to her abdomen, hides from predators in cool safe mud<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the eggs are hatchlings, clinging to her, she digs out from the burrow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They follow her for two moultings <\/p>\n\n\n\n

then as adults they swim free in the river  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The human mother, protecting her young to adulthood, does something similar:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Restricts screen time, ensures good nutrition<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Requires exercise and education and hygiene<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they\u2019re ready, she forces them out of the burrow<\/p>\n\n\n\n

hoping they\u2019ll swim free in the river<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are differences, of course<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Invertebrate, vertebrate<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Literal and metaphorical rivers<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plague that crayfish risk was introduced by humans <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plagues that humans risk were not in fact introduced by crayfish but also by humans<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our spinal cord bears additional agency <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I might be jealous of the mother crayfish<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her maternal decisions are simple, based on body shape<\/p>\n\n\n\n

wide abdomen with hairy growths is just right to hold hatchlings and eggs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My own decisions are more complex\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n

attempting to protect not just my own offspring<\/p>\n\n\n\n

but the crayfish babies too, and the fish and the herons that eat them <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I can\u2019t exactly say it\u2019s unfair<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I do, after all, have a spine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NORFOLK LIMERICKS<\/strong>
by R.H.Sykes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A whirl of pink-footed geese<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Descended at Holkham to feast<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they all started honking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The noise was quite stonking<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they soon crammed their beaks full
of beets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A slick Barbastelle from Paston<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Was looking for something to snack on<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just a few rapid clicks<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he was licking his lips<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ah, the wonders of echolocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The white-clawed crayfish in the Glaven<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are creatures who are well worth saving<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They live out their dreams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In sparkling chalk streams<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So please do not disturb their haven.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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