It's not often I get to visit a new site in Norfolk but I got to visit the usually off-limits Hockering Wood on Sunday. This is the 3rd largest ancient woodland in the county and has been opened to visitors between April and August this year.
I'd arranged to pick up Jeremy and Vanna in Norwich first and as is often the case they have a few goodies for me to look at. In their garden were the flower bug Closterotomus trivialis, Goldenrod Crab Spider and Little Longhorn Moth while Jeremy had a specimen of Psathyrella panaeoloides, a new fungi for me. I'd also been keen to see Beaked Hawksbeard which is popping up all over verges in this area of Norwich and just around the corner there was the first clump - with a surprise bonus nectaring Buff-tailed Mining Bee, Andrena humilis.
And so, to Hockering Wood. We spent about 4 and a half hours there walking a loop taking in the whole wood. Birdwise we had Red Kite and a single calling Crossbill but it was insects that we really came to look for. In the first 100 yards we scored with something I have wanted to find for ages - the gorgeous micro moth known as 'Geoff' - Alabonia geoffrella. In fact we found 2. Highlights of our visit came thick and fast with the best being Small-barred Longhorn Moth, Wasp Beetle, Tortoise Shieldbug, Spruce Shortwing Beetle, Two-banded Longhorn Beetle, Belted Click Beetle, Bracken Sawfly, the difficult to see Four-spotted Carrion Beetle, Common Awl Robberfly, Blotch-winged Hoverfly, Common Cardinal Beetle, Malachite Beetle, Humped Orbweb Spider and Downlooker Snipefly. A gruesome discovery of a decaying Roe Deer followed, and it was covered in Red-headed Carrion Beetles. I photographed them while trying not to breathe in! Dragonflies were in evidence too with Broad-bodied Chaser, Four-spotted Chaser, Norfolk Hawker, Azure Damselfly and Large Red Damselfly. New fungi for me were Wood Anemone Rust. Choke and Rhododendron Bud Blast
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