Mousehold is one of the surviving East Norfolk heaths. They are the result of intensive human activity – grazing, cultivating, turf cutting, burning – on nutrient poor, sandy soils over many centuries.
Over two hundred years ago, Mousehold was part of a ‘Greater Mousehold’ landscape which stretched as far away as Blofield and Salhouse.
This picture shows Mousehold Heath as it was seen and painted by John Sell Cotman in 1810.
[Image © The Trustees of the British Museum]
Although much of Mousehold is now wooded, several heathland areas survive. They need ongoing management, such as removing gorse and scarifying the soil to break up bracken roots, to prevent them lapsing into woodland and scrub.
In the past this disturbance would have been maintained by economic activities.
Heather can regenerate in the disturbed topsoil and other heathland species can also thrive.
Gorse has odorous flowers rich in nectar loved by insects. However it will take over areas of open heath unless it is periodically cut back.
It has several competitive advantages: it can thrive in nutrient poor soils using root nodules which can fix their own nitrogen; it can project its seeds several metres through the air; its roots are good at surviving fires.
Green Tiger Beetle – a spectacular, fast-moving predator on open ground.
[Image courtesy Martin Collier]
A White-tailed Bumble Bee gathering nectar from Bell Heather. It has bitten holes in the corolla in order to get at the food.
[Image courtesy Nick Owens]
A Small Copper butterfly gathering nectar from a Marsh Thistle. Their caterpillars feed on Sheep's Sorrel, a typical heathland plant.
[Image courtesy Peter Lindsley]
Distinctive, hairy, black St Mark’s flies are on the wing around May Day. They hatch from the ground then spend much of their short lives mating.
The spore-bearing capsules of Bristly Haircap Moss form a russet carpet on open ground, seen here with a young Heather plant. It is a pioneer of bare, dry, acid soils.
Bracken is a common plant of heath and woodland on acid soils. Its ‘fiddlehead’ shoots unfurl spectacularly in Spring. If unchecked, it creates a thatch of dead leaves and stalks which may suppress other plant growth.
Heath Bedstraw has rambling stalks and tiny white flowers which make a sweet-smelling display in summer.
[Image Courtesy Anne Burgess, CC BY-SA 2.0 license via geograph.org.uk]
Trailing St John’s Wort has been found on Mousehold – a scarce plant of dry, acid soils.
[Image courtesy Ian Senior]
Heathland plants are often small, ground-hugging types. Here are ‘starbursts’ of Juniper Haircap moss.
[Image courtesy the late Robin Stevenson]
The mauve flowers of Heather make a fragrant show in late Summer. It is a bush with a distinct life cycle of about thirty years, from youth to old age: all of them are represented on the Heath.
The plain brown wings of the Green Hairstreak butterfly are a surprising contrast to its metallic green under-wings. Its caterpillars feed on gorse, broom and bramble.
[Image courtesy Paul Duff]
The Sand Tailed Digger Wasp needs loose, dry soils for its nest burrow – seen here provisioning one with weevil prey.
[Image courtesy Nick Owens]
Heaths have a particular value for warmth-loving insect life such as grasshoppers, solitary bees and wasps. This Mottled Grasshopper is sunning itself on a sprig of Heather.
[Image courtesy Nick Owens]
The Gorse Orb Web spider is a heathland species. Here, it has built a retreat in Broom bush and is busy eating a fly.
All images courtesy the author, unless otherwise indicated.
