Neil Chadwick from the Hawk and Owl Trust at Sculthorpe led the walk, accompanied by Lin Garland, chairman of the trustees, Ed Stocker from Norfolk County Council and Dave Weaver from Natural England.
 
The birds were identified both by their songs and sightings, and among the many species present were sedge warblers, reed buntings, chiffchaffs and a whitethroat.
 
On returning from the walk at around 8 am, all were greeted by the aroma of freshly cooked bacon and many bacon rolls were devoured. Hot drinks were also appreciated before the opening of the moth traps, which were set up the night before.
 
Greg Bond, an expert on the subject, led us through the precious finds and educated us about the different types of traps that had been used, their technical details and purchase costs.
 
Owing to the unsuitable weather conditions and early time of year, there were only a handful of moths to observe. But the emerald carpet (green background with marbled pattern), Quaker (covered in a golden sheen) and Hebrew character were memorable examples of a huge group of insects rarely seen by most people.
 
Lin Garland had set up bat recording equipment on the nights of 1-3 May. This records each bat’s high frequency calls, which are then analysed and identified. The results were fascinating and many were surprised by the list of bats found, including common pipistrelle, soprano pipistrelle, noctule, Natterer’s and brown long-eared bats.
 
The equipment is available to borrow from the Hawk and Owl Trust for anyone interested in surveying a particular area; the results are then included in the Norfolk Bat Survey. There were also leaflets from the Bat Conservation Trust available.
 
The open morning certainly illustrated the diversity of species to be found on the site and reinforced the special status of Whitwell Common to all who attended.
 
Daphne Ludgate, Trustee, Whitwell Common