Destinations

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Thorpe St Andrew Marshes

Local access: the roadworks at the bottom end of Thunder Lane have finished (but the top end by the traffic lights is shut). Parking there and on Yarmouth Road is fine. Access around the marshes on foot is dry (well, unless it rains!) 27 June

Thorpe St Andrew Marshes – NWT Thorpe marshes for short – is one of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s newest nature reserves, established in 2011. It's in the Norfolk Broads yet on the edge of Norwich in Thorpe St Andrew. It also happens to be my local patch – just down the road from home and the Honeyguide office, writes Chris Durdin.

Click on the red writing to see the 15-page, illustrated Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2016.

NWT Thorpe Marshes is also within the area covered by James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2016.

June: bird song continues, though less so than in May. A good month for dragonflies and damselflies. Not much to see on the Broad: swans, great crested grebes, sometimes a common tern fishing. Yellow flag irises are dominant over parts of the grazed marsh (but fading now).

hairy dragonfly exuvia
Wildlife in June: ragged robin, yellow flag iris and exuvia (shed larval skin) of hairy dragonfly. Timing and the small eyes are the ID clues.

Recent sightings

2017

27 June, another guided walk, in the rain: grasshopper warbler still singing. Ragwort has cinnabar moth caterpillars.

22 June, NWT guided walk: good view of grasshopper warbler singing (left, photo by Derek Longe). Norfolk hawkers.

21 June: at least six Four-spotted Chasers. Large skipper.

15 June: male marsh harrier.

14 June: count of 35 Norfolk Hawkers (SW).

4 June: female Broad-bodied Chaser a highlight in six species of dragonflies: others were Hairy, Norfolk Hawker, Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser and Black-tailed Skimmer. 5 damselfly species including many Red-eyed Damselflies on ditches, not just the river lily pads. 3 lapwings, 2 oystercatchers, 1 common tern. Skullcap in flower.

1 June: Norfolk Hawkers out in force; marsh harrier (DL).

31 May: early marsh orchid; clouds of damselflies; lots of bird song.

26 May, guided walk: little ringed plover, lots of singing warblers, little egret. 6 damselfly species (as 25 May). Hairy dragonfly and four-spotted chaser (below). Common blue butterflies.

Four-spotted chaser

25 May: lapwing, 2 oystercatchers. Hairy Hawkers and 6 damselfly species: Common Blue, Azure, Blue-tailed, Large Red, Red-eyed and Banded Agrion. Yellow flag irises looking superb.

13 May: hobby (DL). Also recent reports of sanderling and whinchat.

10 May: sunshine at last. First Common Blue Damselfly, common sandpiper, buzzard. orange-tip eggs on lady's smock
Orange-tip butterfly eggs on lady's smock.

9 May, evening: grasshopper and willow warblers. Great crested grebe chick or chicks hatched and on parent's back.

28 April, guided walk: water vole, 2 swifts, house martins and swallows.

Seven warblers: grasshopper warbler heard distantly; sedge, Cetti's & reed warblers, whitethroat seen well, chiffchaff & blackcap. Orange-tip egg on a lady's smock.

Water vole (Derek Longe).

16 April: little egret, 3 buzzards, sparrowhawk, grasshopper warbler.

11 April: common scoter and jack snipe photographed (RC).

8 April: sedge warblers (2) singing, redshank, male marsh harrier (flushed snipe), buzzard over, little egret. Great crested grebe still on nest; brood of (semi-domestic?) mallards. Several small tortoiseshells. Blackcap, chiffchaffs, linnets, reed buntings, Cetti's warbler. Shovelers gone, tufted duck numbers declining, pair of teal still, gadwall present.

3 April: marsh marigolds in flower. 92 tufted ducks, but gadwall down to one, pair of shovelers still present, 3 little grebes. 6 lapwings, 2 oystercatchers.

peacock
Sunshine brings out bees and butterflies. Common carder bee on dandelion; peacock butterfly.

29 March, guided walk: chiffchaffs, Cetti's warblers, great crested grebe on nest, little egret, 2 male shovelers, first lady's smock in flower, buzzards.

26 March: chiffchaffs singing, green woodpecker, grey wagtail.

8 March: lesser celandines flowering.

7 March: stonechat and little egret still there; oystercatchers displaying, male shoveler. Coltfoot coming into flower - see old Coltsfoot at Thorpe Marshes blog here.

21 February: 3 little grebes, little egret, oystercatcher (2 yesterday).

17 February, guided walk: little egret, 2 stonechats, 1 male shoveler, water rail heard, 2 reed buntings singing, 150 lapwings over.

10 February: black-necked grebe, present since about 1 February.

Black-necked grebe with tufted ducks, 10 Feb (Derek Longe).

24 January: 95% ice cover on the Broad, with ducks (including male pochard) concentrated in the 5%.

19 January: 90% ice cover on the Broad. A few ducks on the far side (from the viewing area) only.

Canada geese, seen on the guided walk on 16 January (Derek Longe).

16 January, guided walk:
3 shovelers, 2 little grebes, Chinese water deer, lots of gadwalls, teals and tufted ducks on the Broad. Water rail and Cetti's warblers noisy today.

Left: Chinese water deer on the broad's edge, from the viewing area (Derek Longe).

Reserve under water, 14 January. Left, from the footbridge. Right: from just over the footbridge, looking along the path towards the mooring basin.

5 January: 2 stonechats. Routine numbers of gadwall/teal/tufted ducks on the Broad. Water rail seen rather than heard, for a change.

Sightings from 2012 - 2016 here.

Wildlife reports & guide

Guide: click here to see NWT Thorpe Marshes map and guide.

2016 Click on the red writing to see the illustrated Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2016. James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2016.

2015 Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2015.
James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2015.

2014 Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2014.
James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2014.

2013 Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2013.
James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2013.

2012 Thorpe Marshes wildlife report for 2012.
James Emerson's Whitlingham Bird Report 2012.

Reports are in PDF format.

Wildlife habitats

The three key habitats at Thorpe St Andrew Marshes are the ditches, gravel pit and grazing marshes - see below.

Other habitats, which are all part of the rich mix, include:

rough marsh of willowherb and nettles, attracting many sedge warblers
sallow (pussy willow) scrub, good for Cetti's warbler
the adjacent tidal River Yare
adjacent wet woodland
areas of reed, including a reed rond on the river, attracting reed warblers.

Ditches

Many ditches – also called dykes in Norfolk – have abundant water soldier and frogbit, both aquatic plants. These are indicators of good water quality.

In the Broads, the occurrence of the Norfolk hawker dragonfly, which is the symbol of the Broads Authority, is strongly linked to water soldier. The best place to see these is over the ditches close to the cattle corral.

Water rails and water voles use the ditches, though both are difficult to see.

watermint frogbit
Ditches rich in water soldier (left), water mint (centre) and frogbit (right).

Gravel pit

Gravel extraction – as at Whitlingham Country Park across the river – has led to the creation of a lake, which has filled naturally with river water. Some may call this a ‘broad’: the true broads are man-made, too, though from flooded peat diggings, and typically are much shallower.

Gulls over the gravel pit, December 2011

The gravel pit here attracts wintering ducks, especially tufted ducks (picture below), pochards and gadwalls, moving between here and the Country Park. Unusual ducks call in at times, including smew, goldeneye, red-crested pochard and ferruginous duck over the 2011/12 winter.

Gravel beaches attract ‘loafing’ ducks and wading birds, which include little ringed plovers in spring/summer. Stock doves often feed on plant seeds on the gravel.

Grazing marshes

Livestock are essential to manage the open grazing marshes habitat.

Without them, thick grasses and sedges would soon dominate, and would in time be taken over by scrub.

More heavily grazed and trampled areas have a distinct structure of lumps and hollows that attract feeding snipe, and have flowers such as marsh marigold and lady’s smock.

the flood

The flood: the grazing marshes include a 'flood', periodically under water, then drying out, here with a greylag goose and mallards in March 2012. The bright green shoots are emerging yellow flag iris plants.

More Honeyguide nature notes

This is an unofficial web page supporting the reserve, to show pictures, promote events and report recent wildlife sightings.

For the official NWT web page, click here or on the logo. Also, the NWT blog has reports from Thorpe Marshes (scroll down for a list and links).

For official information or policy, please contact the NWT directly.

There is no parking in the private road of Whitlingham Lane. If coming to Thorpe Marshes by car, please park on Yarmouth Road (see note above about Thunder Lane being shut from mid-February).

Wednesday 19 July 7pm

Walk meeting point: by the bridge in Whitlingham Lane.

Look out for

Norfolk Hawker

Oedemera nobilis, thick-legged flower beetle. This one is on an ox-eye daisy by the benches.

Meadowsweet Rust Triphragmium ulmariae

Orange rust growing on meadowsweet Triphragmium ulmariae.

Events

Monthly walks led by Chris Durdin

2017
Wednesday 19 July 7pm
Friday 4 August 10am
Friday 15 September 10am
Monday 16 October 10am
Tuesday 14 November 10am
Wednesday 13 December 10am

All walks are free of charge and last about 2 hours at a slow pace. They start from the pedestrian railway bridge at the end of Whitlingham Lane.

Simply turn up and enjoy. Remember to bring binoculars and a camera if you have them.

Boots are recommended as paths can be wet in places, though path improvements last winter mean wellies are not needed.

Talks: we can offer a talk about NWT Thorpe St Andrew Marshes. Please contact Chris.

Watching a goldeneye: some of the group on December 2015's guided walk (Derek Longe).

Dyke dipping at Thorpe Marshes

On the last Sunday of the month between May and August, 10:30am* – 12noon.
28 May • 25 June • 30 July • 27 August

* note change of start time

"Join us and learn about the wonderful wildlife that can be found in the dykes. The experts will be on hand to help you tell your boatman from your beetle larvae."

Venue: NWT Thorpe Marshes, pedestrian railway bridge at the end of Whitlingham Lane
Cost: Free
Booking: No booking

News and features

Gallery of photos of dragonflies and damselflies of NWT Thorpe Marshes on Facebook here. Last updated June 2017.

new bench

New bench (December 2016) at the viewing area over St Andrews Broad, in memory of the two young people who lost their lives in the broad in summer 2015.

Changes at Thorpe Marshes, May 2016: new fences and gates are installed, plus a pond-dipping platform for education work. The shingle spit is now fenced off, on the advice of the Health & Safety Executive and police following drownings in summer 2015.

Drake domestic mallard x pintail at River Green, Thorpe St Andrew: photos here.

Nightingale: hear and see the bird near the reserve on YouTube here (Ricky Cleverly, 23 May).

Mediterranean gull, 1st winter

Mediterranean gull photos from suburban Thorpe St Andrew, Norwich, January 2015, here on Facebook. Seen with group, 19 Jan. Last seen 10 February, not there in second half of February.

Norfolk Hawker movie, an egg-laying female at NWT Thorpe Marshes, on YouTube here.