NORWICH: Plantation Gardens lichens & invertebrates

22nd February 2020

With an hour or so of free time in Norwich city centre I went for a walk down to the Plantation Gardens, a small and sheltered ornamental garden hidden away behind the Roman Catholic Cathedral.

There wasn't much about in the way of insect life, but I spent some time looking at the old walls, seeing a few lichens and springtails that I didn't recognise, plus an interesting fly that turned out to be Liancalus virens, a new species for me. Whilst looking in the flower beds I also noticed Bluebell Rust (Uromyces muscari) on some Bluebell leaves.

 Liancalus virens,

 Lepidocyrtus sp.

Bluebell Rust

NORWICH: Plantation Garden fungi workshop

23rd October 2016

On Sunday morning I headed to the Plantation Gardens, to help with the fourth and final wildlife workshop, being held to help volunteers and regular visitors to record the wildlife of the garden. The focus of this workshop was fungi, so we had a walk around to find as many species as possible before bringing them back to a display table to discuss them. Because much of the garden has chemicals used on it there were no grassland species, so most of the fungi we did find was in the woody areas around the edges.

Most of the species were relatively common ones, such as Dead Man's Fingers, Hairy Curtain Crust and Sulphur Tuft. The most interesting species was a Lepiota sp, possibly Chestnut Dapperling. After discussing features to look for, recommended books and how to record species, the workshop ended and I headed home for a bit of lunch.

Dapperling sp.

NORWICH: Plantation Garden moth workshop

13th August 2016

Having returned home from the Strumpshaw moth morning, I had nine moth free hours before heading to another event. Saturday evening saw the third of four wildlife workshops being run to help record and encourage recording at the Plantation Garden in Norwich. This session was in two parts, so that people could see the moth traps being used tonight and could have a look at the catch on Sunday morning. I was busy on Sunday, so popped along to lend a hand in the evening.

I arrived just before nine, and although it was beginning to get dark we knew it would be a little while before the moths started to arrive. I had taken my bat detector, so I showed a few people how to use it, although sadly the only bats detected were brief flypasts. By the time the moths had begun to arrive the group had decreased in size, although it look like many people came to have a look in the morning.

Species seen whilst I was present included Common Emerald, Brimstone moth, Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, Marbled Beauty, Copper Underwing agg and a V-pug. A micro moth, Cydia fagiglandana, identified from photos, was a new one for me. The final workshop in the series takes place in October.

Chequered Fruit Tree Tortrix

NORWICH: Plantation Garden wildlife workshop

8th May 2016

On Sunday morning I went to the Plantation Garden, a restored Victorian garden near the Roman Catholic cathedral in Norwich. As part of a plan to survey the wildlife present in the gardens and to encourage volunteers to take on the ongoing recording of it, a series of four wildlife workshops have been arranged. These workshops are being run by the Friends of Earlham Cemetery - the first two focusing on daytime insects, the third on moths and the fourth on fungi. Through my links with the Friends of Earlham Cemetery I had been asked if I would help with some of the workshops, so I met Stuart Paston (Norfolk's hoverfly recorder) and Jeremy & Vanna Bartlett for the first workshop.

After a brief introduction about why people record wildlife and the sorts of things to record, we headed into the garden. It was a bright sunny day and we saw a range of insect groups, although not too many of any one group. Orange Tips, Holly Blues and a Green-veined White all flew about within the garden. Using Stuart's expertise we looked closely at some hoverflies, seeing two new ones for me, Platycheirus albimanus and Epistrophe eligans. Several bees and ladybirds, Bee-fly, Common Earwig and a Beris sp soldierfly were all added to the list. Hopefully the participants found the workshop useful and there will be a good turnout for the next one in July.

Epistrophe eligans

NORWICH: Plantation Garden foxes

17th January 2015

On Sunday morning I went to the Plantation Garden off Earlham Road, an attractive Victorian garden with a gothic fountain that many people living in Norwich may never have even been to. The garden has been restored and cared for, but in recent times there hasn't been much wildlife recording, so I attended a meeting to discuss possible plans to rectify this situation. Whilst we stood and talked in the gardens, I noticed a Fox run out from a wall off to the right. It was followed by two more, and as we stood still two of them ran towards us, before darting off into the borders. Foxes are common around Norwich, but daylight encounters are always exciting. Once the meeting was over we had a walk around the garden, but the frost meant there was little in the way of wildlife about.