A bonus of having NWT’s Thorpe Marshes nature reserve close by is not just the access to countryside and nature, but also the chance to learn about wildlife. I have been leading monthly guided walks at Thorpe Marshes for more than ten years and they are always popular.
You might be wondering what it’s like to be with a small group. Of course they vary through the year as nature changes. This article gives a flavour of the guided walk in mid-April.
April and May are the peak months for bird song, and we took time to listen to and name the many warbler species at Thorpe Marshes. We heard or saw seven species of warbler, plus a fleeting sound of an eighth.
The first of these was Cetti’s warbler, unusual in that it’s a resident species. It’s loud, shouty song comes from cover: like a wren, it’s a brown bird that advertises its presence by sound. A glimpse is all you’ll get, if you’re lucky.
The second was a willow warbler, with a flowing downward cadence of liquid notes from tall willows near the mooring basin. Willow warblers were absent last year and their geographical range is shifting northwards with climate change, so to have one here another year feels like a bonus.
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| Sedge warbler (Derek Longe). |
We were close to the cattle corral when three of us heard the faint ‘reeling’ of a grasshopper warbler. As that wasn’t heard by most of the group, I’m not including it in the count of the day’s seven warbler species. Grasshopper warblers are best heard early morning or evening, though a couple of days later I heard one during the middle of the day from where I was standing on the railway bridge.
In the small woodland in the far corner of Thorpe Marshes we heard chiffchaff and blackcap – warblers four and five. Warbler number six was reed warbler, singing from reed on the edge of St Andrews Broad. The song is similar to sedge warbler, but slower and less animated.
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| Whitethroat (Nigel Harris). |
The seventh and final warblers were whitethroats that like the mix of brambles and nettles near the river bank. It’s another scratchy song, like the sedge warbler often delivered from a perch and with short song flights.
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| Marsh marigold. |
Of course there were other birds besides warblers: great crested grebe on St Andrews Broad, buzzard, sparrowhawk and kestrel flying past, and various other small birds. We found an alder fly and there were numerous black St Mark's flies in the air. One of the group found the egg of an orange tip butterfly on garlic mustard, and lady's smock and marsh marigold flowers were at their best.
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| Lady's smock. |
There’s now a ninth warbler species at Thorpe Marshes, as a garden warbler arrived after the guided walk. It’s rich, warbling song, more sustained than a blackcap’s, which comes from tall scrub.
It’s best to mention that the guided walks, booked via the NWT's website, soon become fully booked, so looking ahead a few months may help anyone planning to join us.
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A splendid team of volunteers, led by Warden Matt Wickens, has been improving the path from Thorpe Marshes to Bungalow Lane. This used to get horribly muddy in winter, but now – as the picture shows – a stone path should allow year-round access to this area.
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| New path from NWT Thorpe Marshes to Bungalow Lane. |
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Chris Durdin lives in Thorpe St Andrew. He runs Honeyguide Wildlife Holidays www.honeyguide.co.uk and is the guide for the monthly guided walks at NWT Thorpe Marshes. This blog was first written as an article for Just Thorpe St Andrew.
