One week on.....

September 2022

Our first week back open at the reserve has been a quiet return for visitors. Many regular visitors have taken the opportunity of enjoying a slow walk around the nature trail, where speckled wood, comma, red admiral and large white butterflies have all been spotted. The fantastic Tiddy Mun sculpture has been delighting people as it peers out from the reeds along the nature trail, along with Old Stinker. Both sculptures have had to be kept wet through these dry weeks over the summer, so that the clay and willow doesn’t dry out too much. The reinstated feeders outside reception hide have been visited by the usual woodland bird species; blue, coal and great tit, goldfinch, chaffinch, greenfinch and the occasional visit from a great spotted woodpecker. A pair of great spotted woodpeckers bred successfully in one of the dead trunks close to the nature trail path, with two young fledging. On a few of our guided walks and with a couple of school groups, the young could be heard from the path below.

Tiddy Mun sculpture along the nature trail

Numbers of wildfowl on D reservoir are starting to build up, a sure sign of the change from summer to autumn temperatures. The first goldeneye (3) were seen this last week on D reservoir and a flock of pint footed geese flew over. Several little gulls have been sighted along the wall of D reservoir, along with grey wagtail and common sandpiper, showing that’s its always worth a look along the edges as well as the main body of water.

Greenfinch (credit Maurice Dowson)

Although north lagoon, a favourite haunt of kingfisher and visitor alike is now totally dry, and the earth cracked after weeks of hot weather, there have been plenty of photos on social media of our much loved kingfishers in other places; mainly south lagoon and south marsh. The lagoon area is also a good place for Cetti’s warblers, still singing and still elusive, hiding down in the thick vegetation.

The south marshes have been a hotspot of bird activity in our first week back, the exposed mud attracting passage waders such as greenshank, green sandpiper, common sandpiper, snipe, little stint (maximum of 8 at once), dunlin, ringed plover, ruff and curlew. Other water birds seen have been a cattle egret, a great white egret, water rail, garganey and pintail. And it’s amazing how much we take the resident marsh harriers for granted as they are seen daily. Any sightings are welcome as they can give us a great overall picture of how the reserve is being used by various species. If you don’t use the digital platforms of Birdtrack or eBird to record your sightings, then you can always add them to the sightings book in the hut at the bottom of the reception ramp or let a member of staff know.

Common sandpiper (credit Maurice Dowson)

Habitat maintenance and management has continued throughout our site closure and continues throughout the year. Last week we had a team of volunteers from the Environment Agency helping out with clearing some of the reeds on north marsh to make more open water. A task that has to be repeated every few years. Once the new paths have been reinstated and the north marsh hide is back in use, then we hope that you will notice the difference. One result of removing the vegetation was to find evidence that harvest mice use the area. Their nests are a beautiful, tiny construction.

Volunteer team, north marsh

Habitat management, north marsh

Harvest mouse nest

Another team of volunteers keeps note of how the many nest boxes have been used each season. This week they checked on the barn owl box that is in the northern end of the reserve. Although there has been no evidence of successful breeding in the box this year, a collection of owl pellets means at least one individual is feeding in the area. And the box is being put to good use, giving a nesting site for a colony of hornets! Richard is seen here extracting a hornets nest from Hempholme hide a few years ago. On a similar theme please take care on the ramp down to the pond from the reception pond as unfortunately one of our volunteers got quite badly stung when she disturbed a wasp nest recently.

Hornets' nest

We hope that, as visitors, you have enjoyed the reserve once more and continue to return as we head into autumn and winter when we hope to lift some of the restrictions from the north end of the reserve.

Access updates

After much discussion  and making sure that the site is safe, we have decided to open the reserve on Monday 12th September so that our valued visitors can take the opportunity of visiting our fantastic reserve. 

Reception hide

We have to inform people however that the whole reserve will not be totally accessible. Work on various parts of the site is still underway or will be continued in the near future so please do expect to see contractors. The decision was either partial opening or not opening for yet more months. Due to the nature of further works we are able, by restricting access in certain areas, to safely allow visitors back so they can enjoy the wildlife that is special to Tophill.

The north end of the reserve, i.e. D woods, north marsh and Hempholme WILL NOT BE OPEN. Visitors will be able to view the wildfowl on D reservoir from reception hide and the birders hide. 

No access to the north end of the reserve

Reception hide overlooking D reservoir

Access to the reception pond, reception woods, north lagoon and south lagoon hides is permitted. Please be aware that work will soon commence on north lagoon which is now completely dry. This is part of the capital scheme of the water treatment works which requires north lagoon to be dredged and therefore useable in the future by the treatment process. It will also allow us to upgrade some of the habitat around the lagoon which will be of benefit to our wildlife.

North lagoon is now dry, ready for dredging

O reservoir can be viewed from the viewing screen overlooking the reservoir wall, this is the only place to view birds on O reservoir. Access to the west of O reservoir is not possible at the moment so south scrub and Watton hide are not open to visitors. The hide (L shaped hide) that used to overlook O reservoir has been removed and will be replaced by an accessible hide in coming months which will be situated on the extensive mound that has now been constructed and will give great views over the reservoir and the wider area.  Until the hide is in place access to the mound will not be permitted.

Limited access to O reservoir

New mound awaiting hide, overlooking O reservoir

Visitors can access the hides overlooking the south marshes at the east and west end and the hide that views south marsh west. Members only are allowed to access the Izzard hide on the members card access code as before.

All members who have a membership card that is valid for the 2020/21 or 2021/22 season which are cards that have the little egret (2020/21) or the otter (2021/22) photos ARE VALID TILL MARCH 2023 and will be accepted by the ticket machine. 

All other visitors will be able to purchase day tickets from the ticket machine by either cash or by using card payment. Our admission prices remain the same - £3.50 for adults, £2.50 for concessions, £1.50 for children, children under 5 years are free.

Whilst the reserve has been closed staff and volunteers have noted bird sightings around the reserve and although the coverage of observers has not been as extensive as when the reserve is open to visitors there have been some noteworthy sightings since we closed at the beginning of February. The overstaying male smew stayed on Watton nature reserve till the middle of March. Around this time a bittern was first noted on the reserve and began to start to "boom" at several sites at the south end of the reserve. At several times over the coming months two birds were seen, the booming continued and sightings were regular so we can assume that these birds made a successful attempt at breeding, a true success for our habitat management of this area of the marsh over the winter.  A single spoonbill was on north lagoon on 1st April and on 1st May a spotted sandpiper was recorded feeding on D reservoir wall, a highlight in the spring wader passage. 

Spotted sandpiper (credit Lee Johnson)

On 24th May a great reed warbler was singing along Barmston drain, near Watton nature reserve and continued in its plight to sing for a mate for several weeks, obviously to no avail but with several other records at other sites in the UK, a sign of changing climate and changing species. Later in the summer a red footed falcon was recorded over D reservoir by Chris Straw, one of our volunteers who also managed to see a juvenile black tern on the reservoir. A range of waders feeding on south marsh included wood sandpiper on several occasions, along with plenty of common and green sandpipers, greenshanks and both great white and cattle egrets. Unfortunately the pair of little ringed plovers were not successful in their attempt at breeding this year.

Great reed warbler (credit Lee Johnson)

Cattle egret (credit Lee Johnson)

A juvenile black necked grebe appeared on D reservoir in late August for several days and just when birds were stopping off at other local sites a spotted crake arrived at Tophill on south marsh east on 25th August. As we go to post hobbies have been seen recently over Watton nature reserve, green and common sandpipers on south marsh and 2 garganey also on Watton nature reserve.