Lower Ashwelthorpe Wood is the Ramsoms capital of Norfolk.

Spectacular when the sun shone.











Superb old Oak - Quercus robur, at the entrance.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust - Lower Wood, Ashwellthorpe











Wood Spurge - Euphorbia amygdaloides





Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula









Wood Speedwell - Veronica montana





A very strange Bluebell - Hyacinthoides non-scriptum



New growth on a Bramble.












Ramsoms - allium ursinum up close.



Wood Sedge - Carex sylvatica





Lower Wood is an ancient woodland and has a high number of Hornbeam.

Hornbeam have these wonderful twig clusters on the trunk.

Tag CloudLandscape, Bluebells, Bramble, WoodSpurge, WoodSpeedwell, EarlyPurpleOrchid, WoodSedge

Just on the edge of the heath is this glorious Oak - Quercus robur. Looking resplendent in it's spring green.

Tag CloudOak

Honesty - Lunaria annua







Ramsoms - Allium ursinum

Tag CloudLandscape, Ramsoms, Honesty

Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes

Singing gustily in the cold and wind of the morning.



Jackdaw - Corvus monedula



Field Woodrush - Luzula campestris







Bulbous Buttercup - Ranunculus bulbous











Common Cornsalad - Valerianella locusta









Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula

Tag CloudWren, Jackdaw, FieldWoodRush, BulbousButtercup, Cornsalad, EarlyPurpleOrchid

Red Campion - Silene dioica





Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula







Cow Parsley - Anthriscus sylvestris







Prickly Sowthistle - Sonchus asper

Tag CloudEarlyPurpleOrchid, CowParsley, PricklySowthistle, RedCampion

Crab Apple - Malus sylvestris











Ramsoms - allium ursine



Brown edges to the bracts







Scentless Mayweed - Tripleurospermum inodorum

This is one of Norfolk's roadside nature reserves on the road from Sustead to Gresham

Two Blackcaps singing at the their territories boundary. (Unfortunately not recorded) Blackbird, Chiffchaff, Wren, Blue Tit

and
this
Chaffinch

Tag CloudScentlessMayweed, Ramsoms, CrabApple, SoundRecording

Silver Birch - Betula pendular





Juniper Hair Cap (Polytrichum juniperimum) Male plants



Puffball spp?

Willow Warbler singing this morning.



Short burst of Stonechat song flighting.

Tag CloudLandscape, Puffball, Bryophytes, Fungi

A roadside nature reserve near Metton

Meadow Saxifrage - Saxifraga granulata











Bulbous buttercup - Ranunculus bulbosus









Germander Speedwell - Veronica chamaedrys



Common Speedwell - Veronica officinalis

Tag CloudMeadowSaxifrage, BulbousButtercup, GermanderSpeedwell

Linnet - Linnaria cannabina









Avocet - Recurvirostra avosetta








Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola

Tag CloudAvocet, Landscape, Stonechat, Linnets

Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula

Tag CloudEarlyPurpleOrchid

Cuckoo Pint - Arum maculatum

Tag CloudCuckooPint

The old and the new. Fresh reed growth back by the old.



Brooklime - Veronica beccabunga, plump and delicious awaiting blooms.







Alder - Alnus glutinosa








Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine pratensis







Fly?



Large Bitter Cress - Cardamine amara







Goat Willow - Salix caprea



Rush?







Marsh Valerian - Valeriana dioica

These are male plants with stamens and anthers

Marsh Valerian from WildFlowerFinder.org

Tag CloudWillow, MarshValerian, CuckooFlower, Alder, Brooklime, LargeBitterCress

Carpet of Bluebells - Hyacinthoides non-scripta





The twists and turns of Sweet Chestnut trunks. - Castanea sativa







Oak - Quercus roubar



Common Lime - Tilia x europea



Wood Sorrell leaves in the grass - Oxalis acetosela

Tag CloudOak, Lime, SweetChestnut, Bluebells, WoodSorrell, Landscape

Oak - Quercus robur

Superb old Oaks on the edge of the main pools.



Speckled Wood - Pararge algeria









Herb Robert - Geranium robertianum







Broom - Cytisus scoparius

The curves in Broom are quite spectacular.



Hidden in the Broom bush a Long tailed Tit's nest covered in Lichen.



Dandelion - Taraxacum official



Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine pratensis



Orange Tip - Anthocaris cardamons

Tag CloudLandscape, OrangeTip, Oak, LongTailedTit, Broom, HerbRobert, CuckooFlower

Yellow Archangel - Lamium galeobdolon









Herb Robert - Geranium robertanium

A white one.

Tag CloudLandscape, YellowArchangel, HerbRobert

Our Easter Bunny brought eggs and daffodils this morning. Caught on camera before disappearing for another year.














Jack-by-the-hedge - Allaria petiolata

Tag CloudRabbit, Jack-by-the-hedge

Bluebell - Hyacinthoides non-scripta



Greater Stitchwort - Stellaria holostea



Large Bee-fly - Bombylius major







Common Dog Violet - Viola raviniana









Pendulous Sedge - Carex pendula

and
the
little guys are a micro moth

The Marsh Marigold Moth - Micropterix calthella

What a perfect name. I thought I'd seen them somewhere before.

Thanks to Jim Wheeler of Norfolk Moths for the ID





Early Purple Orchid - Orchis macula





























Herb Paris - Paris Quadrifolia

Although in the picture above Paris Pentifolia and there was Sexifolia on Twitter recently.

Nothing to do with Paris but the Latin par meaning pair and the symmetry of the pairs of leaves and flower parts.

Tag CloudLandscape, HerbParis, DogViolet, PendulousSedge, GreaterStichwort, Bee-fly

Tag CloudLandscape

Cuckoo Flower - Cardamine pratensis



Large Bitter Cress - Cardamine amara



Crane Fly - Tipula oleracea















Marsh Marigold - Caltha palustris



Marsh Valerian - Valeriana dioica





Moss capsules ?



Rowan - Sorbus aucuparia





Black bog rush - Schoenus nigerians





Holly - Ilex aquifolium



New growth on the gorse.- Ulex europeus





Field Horsetail - Equisetum arvense









Guelder Rose - Viburnum opulus







Wood Sage - Teucrium scorodonia



Common Butterwort - Pinguicula vulgaris




Tawny Mining Bee - Andrena fulva
Delightful orange furred bee.

Tag CloudViburnum, Rowan, Bee, CraneFly, CuckooFlower, Gorse, LargeBitterCress, MarshMarigold, Moss, BlackBogRush, MarshValerian, WoodSage, FieldHorsetail

Blackbird - Turdus merula





Chaffinch - Fringilla coelebs





Wren - Troglodytes troglodytes

Tag CloudChaffinch, BlackBird, Wren

Timothy Grass - Phleum pratense

Tag CloudTimothyGrass

Beautiful Willow at the end of the village towards Gladford - Crack Willow - Salix fragilis



Hoverfly - Melangyna viridiceps



Alexanders - Smyrnium olusatrum









Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale

Tag CloudWillow, Dandelion

Sea Buckthorn- Hippophae rhamnoides, in flower on the clifftop.







Field Wood Rush - Luzula campestris, on the streets of Cromer

Tag CloudSeaBuckthorn, FieldWoodRush

Round Leaved Sundew - Drosera rotundifolia



A small green spider ?









?

View to the South.











Climbing Corydalis - Ceratocapnos claviculata

















Crab Apple - Malus sylvestris







Greater Chickweed - Stellaria neglecta





Chickweed - Stellaria media





Heath Bedstraw - Galium saxatile







And this rather splendid creature.

Bloody-nosed beetle - Timarcha tenebricosa

A non flying beetle

Chichaffs, Linnets, Blackcaps and a Willow Warbler singing.

Tag CloudCrabApple, GreaterChickweed, WaterChickweed

View from Gramborough Hill towards Cley. Viewed through about 650mm lens



Meadow Pipit - Anthus pratensis

Sand Martins back at their nesting site. About ten today.
Whimbrel flew over.
Missed the Great White Egret as it flew over.

Tag CloudLandscape, MeadowPipit

An explosive burst of Blackcap, then Chiffchaff, followed by the Blackcap again. A bee floating around as well.




Another burst of Blackcap













Fresh young Oak - Quercus robur, leaves and flowers beginning to open.



Older Oak - Quercus robur





Male and female Stonechat - Saxicola rubicola







Dartford Warbler - Sylvia undata

Tag CloudDartfordWarbler, Stonechat, Landscape, Oak, FieldRecording

Broad Buckler Fern - Dryopteris dilatata



Annual meadow grass - Poa annua













Wood Sorrell - Oxalis acetosella









Shepherd's Purse - Capsella bursa-pastoris







Common Field Speedwell - Veronica persicv









Cuckoo Flower - Cardemine pratensis




Tulip Tree - Liriodendron tulipifera





Greater Pond Sedge - Carex riparia







Chickweed - Stellaria media

and

Two
Swallows

Tag CloudOxalis, BroadBucklerFern, GreaterPondSedge, Pteridophytes, Chickweed, TulipTree, Landscape

Oaks just coming into leaf and flower



Hazel coppice stool











Bird Cherry - Prunus padus









Bluebell - Hyacinthoides non - scripta just beginning to unfurl.







The flowers are really flat and distinctly horizontal which caught my eye.



Lesser Celandine - Ficaria verna



?



?


?





Hornbeam - Carpinus betulus



















Early Purple Orchid - Orchis mascula



A pink shade of Wood Anemone - Anemone nemorosa











Couldn't get over the long legs and how the fly can angle them to get at the different plants of the flower.
The angled knee in the lower picture is extraordinary, particularly with the laid back stretch as well..
Two above that show how high it can project itself. A bit like a cat stretching or an old citroen safari with the air suspension.




Just managed a picture of the back legs extended. They are very quick to tuck them in when they land on something.

Large Bee-fly - Bombylius major supping on the Celandines.

Bee-fly life cycle form the Dipterists forum

Most amazing the way the females load the eggs with dirt to camouflage the eggs and make them heavier.
This allows the female to flick them into the burrows of Solitary Mining bees.
The hatched Bee-fly larva then eat the larva of the Mining bees

Water Avens - Geum rivale

Nodding avens, cure all, drooping avens, water flower, indian chocolate





Orange Ladybird - Halyzia sedecimguttata

Apparently closely associated with Ancient Woodland in the past. Likes to feed on the mildew associated with Sycamores. But it's range is increasing as it has adapted to feed on Ash.


Orange Tip
Brimstone
Comma
Holly Blue

Tag CloudBee-fly, Bluebells, EarlyPurpleOrchid, WoodAnemone, Hornbeam, BirdCherry, Landscape, Spider, WaterAvens, OrangeLadybird, LesserCelandine

On the roadside at the edge of this field Cow Parsley is beginning to flower.











Cow Parsley - Anthriscus sylvestris







Dandelion - Taraxacum officinale

Tag CloudLandscape, CowParsley

In Memory of
SYDNEY HERBERT LONG
of Norwich
Bord 1870 - Died 1939
Founder of
THE NORFOLK NATURALIST TRUST
1926











Superb stand of Scots Pine - Pinus sylvestris





Rook - Corvus frugilegus

Tag CloudRook, Landscape, ScotsPine

Wren singing down by the riverside.









Guelder Rose - Viburnum oculus





Mating weevils spp?





Willow







Blackird - Turdus merula collecting food.





Carrion Beetle - Oiceoptoma thoracic







Big twigs



Chiffchaff - Phyloscopus collybita collecting nest material.

Blackcap singing nearby.



Mistle Thrush and wren singing as well.























Coltsfoot - Tussilago carrara







Dogwood - Cornus sanguinea





Field Maple - Acer campestris



?



?



Alder Fly - Sails lutaria





Dung Fly - Scathofaga furcata



?







Tapered Drone Fly - Eristalis pertinax

Pale front legs and tapering body.



Grasshopper nymph.



Hop - Humulus Lupulus





Common Lizard - Zootopa vivipara





Horsetail - Equisetum spp







Scorched Carpet - Ligdia adustata

UK Moths

Moths by Family



Palmate Newt - Lisotriton helveticus

Newt identification form Frog life





Shoveller - Anas clypeata





?







?



Comma - Polygonia c-album

Tag CloudSpider, FieldMaple, Dogwood, Coltsfoot, Landscape, FieldRecording, Shoveller, Willow, Fly, Weevil, Viburnum, Chiffchaff

A lone Silver Birch - Betual pendula

Woodlark - Lullula arborea singing high overhead.

They couldn't have a better Latin name: the heathland resounds with Lullula when they are singing.















Gorse - Ulex europeus



A juicy green caterpillar sunning itself on the gorse. spp?








Fresh young Silver Birch leaves.



Lots of dew laden funnels about this morning.





Super little bristly brown spiders. Spp???




Lots of Linnets - Linaria cannabina singing.



Chiffchaffs singing in profusion.

Chiffchaff - Phylloscopus collybita

Tag CloudLandscape, Gorse, SilverBirch, Spider, FieldRecording