Hardly saw any fish in the 500 m of #Wissey Little River past Northwold Lodge; visibility v. poor, vegetation swathed in algae, gross silt on riverbed where the only sign of animal life was marauding Signal Crayfish. #RiverWissey #chalkstreams #Breckland #Northwold #Norfolk
3/5
Surprised to come across this rather gruesome figurine in Wissey Little River at Northwold.
Also fragments of china & a mysterious metal object.
Plus masses of acorns. I wonder whether any native river dweller feeds/fed on these?
#chalkstream #Northwold #Norfolk #Breckland
8/8
Think these could be some silvery Dace in the huge shoals of Chub in Wissey Little River? At the lower bridge also some Perch. Saw a little Gudgeon & Stickleback but not sure met any Bullheads or Minnows - tho' light poor. #Northwold #Wissey #Norfolk #Breckland #chalkstreams 3/8
A fishes' eye & regular view of a tenerel (newly emerged) female Common Blue Damselfly (Enallagma cyathigerum), NB spine below abdominal segment 8.
Also my 1st Limnephilus? caddis fly larvae & abundant Gammarus on the bed of Watermill Broad.
#Northwold #Breckland #Norfolk
10/12
With kind permission, swam the 1 km circumference of a gravel pit lake at Watermill Broad Nature Reserve. Water beautifully clear but saw only a small shoal of fry & 2 pike incl. this monster >1 m long who coolly came out to meet us. #MySwim #pike #Wissey #Northwold #Norfolk
1/12
I shared the Wissey Little River, as it flows through beds of bur-reed, with broods of Mallards & Greylags who were a bit surprised to see me.
Was also spied by a female Grey Wagtail.
#BirdsSeenIn2022 #Wissey #Northwold #Norfolk #Breckland #chalkstreams #chalkstream
7/7
Have never seen so many tiny baby Bullheads - some only 1 cm long - as in Wissey Little River today - all out in the open. Ultra cute & even more confiding than Brown Trout parr.
#Bullheads #Bullhead #Chalkstreams #Northwold #Breckland #Norfolk #millersthumb #freshwaterfish 5/7
In 500 m of prime Norfolk chalk stream, met dozens and dozens of adorable Brown Trout parr, some a good 10 cm. Only saw a few adults. One female can lay as many as 10,000 eggs, here in the clean flint gravels of the Wissey Little River.
#Wissey #Northwold #BrownTrout #parr
2/7
Coming back down Little River to the Wissey, into the evening light, the River Water Crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans) provided more magic, some of its stems - over which the stream slid me briskly - a striking purple hue.
#wildflowerhour #chalkstreams #northwold #norfolk
11/13
Masses of caddis fly larvae in Little River. Could top ones be Anabolia nervosa who make their cases with sticks to be less swallowable by trout? Never seen one use an Equisetum before! Below Goera? & Agapetus fuscipes?
#Chalkstreams #caddisflylarvae #Riverflies #Northwold
9/13
Little River, in last km before confluence with Wissey packed with Gammarus pulex.
Wonder what the apparently isopod like beastie is in lower right of top right pic? NB Odontocerum albicorne? caddis fly larva lower L.
#Chalkstreams #Northwold #Norfolk #crustacean #amphipod 6/13
Despite Little River seemingly a perfect chalk stream, saw hardly any fish in last km. Only 1 small shoal young Minnows near confluence with Wissey & 4 small Brown Trout parr (& a whopping 2 footer). Sticklebacks only in Wissey.
#Chalkstreams #Northwold #Browntrout #Norfolk 5/13
Explored up the delightful chalk stream, Little River, from its confluence with the Wissey. Utterly entranced by the thick banks of River Water Crowfoot (Ranunculus fluitans)? with which it was spangled.
#Chalkstreams #Wissey #SundayMorning #wildflowerhour #Northwold 4/13
Blackthorn still going strong in places.
Ivy and Ivy leaved Toadflax entwining.
Luscious Hedge Garlic just coming into bloom.
A little tributary of the Wissey still flowing strong over the ford at #Northwold, but the land around is hard & dry, dry, dry.
#Norfolk 6/7
Cuckoo Pint good to go. With one in magnificent fresh full bloom. Though some of them look to have been nibbled. You can really see why they are called Arum maculatum
@WoodlandTrust Dawkins Covert #Northwold #Norfolk 5/7
In the @WoodlandTrust Dawkins Covert some of the Ivy has been left to do it's thing. No shortage of Roes and Muntjac in there but my first wild Bluebells of the year are just come into bloom.
#Northwold #Norfolk 4/7
Some fine old Beeches, Scots Pines, Birch, Oak & coppiced Hazel.
Nuthatch and Treecreeper heaven.
#Northwold #Norfolk 2/7
Even the Oaks are greening up now in #TheBrecks. In the woods, Redcurrants already setting fruit. Plenty of Raspberry canes. Sadly, no shortage of Brambles (& vigorous young Nettles). I wonder how many of these Beech seedlings will survive the Muntjacs. #MyWalk #Northwold 1/7
I defy anyone to question the beauty of the #Fens on a still, chill winter evening, with the sunset dramatically lifting the western edge of the big grey cloud blanket, eloquently helping us remember that sunshine is never that far away. #Ourworldisworthsaving #Norfolk #Northwold
The Wissey at Northwold; a proper crowfoot-studded, Odonata-spangled Norfolk river.
#MyWalk #Northwold #Wissey #Norfolk
