Summer at Ranworth

Barry Madden, NWT Volunteer

It always takes me by surprise how quickly the year turns. We enter January full of optimism, plummet down to earth through long, cold February nights, have a brief flirtation with the sun during early spring when everything emerges fresh and eager, only to plod through this cool, cloudy often wet and windy summer. Before you know it the solstice has come and gone and people are talking of their hope for an Indian summer. Another year has well and truly matured. 

The visual evidence of how the season has sped by can now be seen very clearly at NWTRanworth Broad. Here a walk along the boardwalk will take you through lushly vegetated wetland where head high reed sways in the breeze, their ranks speckled with pastel pink valerian, purple spikes of marsh thistles, white umbels of milk parsley and yellow spires of loosestrife. In the wet swamp carr, woodbine, perfumed sweet, entwines with woody bittersweet and the Royal fern thrusts its spore laden fingers skyward. Rich summer profusion.

But it is perhaps the activity of the birds that indicates how we have moved from the frantic urgency of spring; the chasing, screeching, posturing and skirmishing, to the more focused task of fledging this year’s offspring. And the most obvious species to be encountered as you look out over the broad from our floating visitor centre are the grebes, terns and the swallows.

One pair of grebes are busy looking after a pair of humbug-striped chicks quite close to the observation windows where they can be observed catching fish to satisfy the incessant hunger of their prodigy. Great-crested grebes are good parents that in the early stages of the chicks’ development will keep them very close, warding off any potential predator. Unlike the mallards that let their ducklings scatter and swim wildly hither and thither: easy prey for herons, gulls and marauding marsh harriers. The parent grebes are now finding quite large fish to offer to the eager young ones who will raise their heads skywards to gulp the fish down head first. A couple of weeks ago one over optimistic parent gave a very large fish to one of the small chicks that gamely tried but ultimately failed to force it down its gullet. Being able to watch these dagger billed aquatics in such intimate detail is a true privilege.

The swallows enliven the immediate vicinity of the Visitor Centre during the summer months with their breath-taking aerial ballet. They nest under the eaves where they are totally protected from the rigours of the northerly wind and sheeting rain. Three pairs have taken up residence this year and can be watched hawking insects over the broad which they cram into the mouths of their well grown brood. They will breed again once the current nestfuls have fledged and may well try for a third time during August. 

And then there are the terns; feisty, screeching, aerodynamic perfection.  After a late start these graceful wanderers are now nesting on the specially constructed rafts, the adults making regular trips to Malthouse Broad to catch small fish for their newly hatched young. It is worth spending a while watching these sharp eyed birds swooping through the air, plunging into the water to remove a fish with clinical precision. For me they embody the spirit of this place.

Norfolk Wildlife Trust run lots of beginner and family events at Ranworth during the summer from pond dipping to moth trapping Have a look to find one that suits you.

Read more of Barry’s wildlife observations at www.easternbushchat.blogspot.co.uk

The Ovington Ramblers: Ranworth Broad

Maureen Simmons

We parked our car in the NWT car park and then had a short walk along the boardwalk to the floating visitor centre to start our boat trip.  This short walk took us through carr woodland which was so interesting that we literally almost missed the boat!  Luckily Carolyn, our NWT guide, was waiting for us and we were quickly fitted with life jackets and off we went.  The weather was perfect – warm with no wind – and we thoroughly enjoyed our trip.

The terns usual nesting sites had been taken over by noisy black headed gulls this year – beautiful birds but not as graceful as the elegant terns diving and dipping into the water around us.  We also saw mallards, shellducks, tufted ducks, coots, geese, herons, swallows and lots of great crested grebes. Ranworth Broad holds the highest concentration of great crested grebes on The Broads. These beautiful water fowl were almost extinct a hundred years ago when they were killed for their feathers to decorate the hats of Victorian ladies.  Because of this the Fur and Feather League was founded to change peoples' attitude towards the persecution of birds and animals for human adornments.  The Fur and Feather League later became the RSPB which we know today.

We saw an excellent example of “succession” which our guide explained to us as we passed by.  This is an area of reed beds that have been left to grow naturally, without management. Here water-loving saplings of alder, willow and silver birch had grown amongst the reeds.  Over a period of 20 or 30 years they had grown bigger and heavier and eventually had started to sink deeper in the water, thus becoming water-logged and dying.  The remaining stark leafless branches of these trees provide the perfect roosting perches for a huge number of cormorants.  It is quite usual to see 400 cormorants coming to roost in the evening, making it the largest roost site in the UK.

Another interesting sight was the “pond within a pond” which has been constructed by NWT to develop ways to encourage the growth of aquatic plants. There is very little plant life in the Broads waterways, due to the run-off of fertilizers into the rivers and lakes which started shortly after WWII. The fertilizer encouraged the growth of algae which became so dense it cut off the sunlight to the beds of rivers and lakes which stopped the growth of aquatic plants.  All these years later it still has an effect.

After the boat trip we took our time walking back through the carr woodland looking for the orchids and guelder rose in flower which our guide had pointed out. We finally had to stop and stare at the wonderful old oak trees;  so huge it would take six people to link hands around the base of the trunks.

Upton Broad and Marshes

We  only had a short walk here along the river Bure. A heron watched us as we walked past and cattle grazed in the fields. A very peaceful place to visit. 

The Ovington Ramblers are a small group of friends who have decided in their 20^th year of walking together that we will try to visit all the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves in their 90th Anniversary year.  

Ranworth in May

Barry Madden, NWT Volunteer

There are few better places to spend a sunny May morning than at NWT Ranworth Broad. A week ago the skies were grey, the water turbulent and the air chill with the tendrils of winter still holding sway. Today it was fresh and bright, the water reflectively calm and the endless possibilities of summer hanging in the air.
 

At this season the difference a mere seven days makes can be quite profound. Whereas on the penultimate day of April only a few common terns were hawking over the broad now they are everywhere; chasing each other in courtship, vying with the black headed gulls for nest sites, squabbling over favoured perches and generally gracing the scene with their buoyant passage through air. A week ago the television screens in the visitor centre were trained on empty, forlorn and deserted swallow’s nests; today these so welcome harbingers of summer were fastidiously attending to their fragile cups of dried mud, tossing aside the accumulated detritus of winter ready to rebuild, reline and reproduce. On my last volunteering visit it was hard to believe any bird of the open fen could possibly incubate a clutch to hatching, but today the dedication and resilience of these hardy creatures was evident with broods of mallard, coot and moorhen being attended to by proud and protective parents. A lively scene then and surely one to celebrate.

But there was more to Ranworth today than just the regular resident and seasonal cast. Today was a special day, a day when some rather beautiful and irregular visitors stopped to say hello. The weather is to thank; low pressure bubbling up from the Continent sending spiralling anticlockwise airflows into the English Channel. Birds trying to migrate into the North Sea with the intention of reaching the Low Countries are met with strong breezes which sweep them along our south coast and displace them on our western shores. Black terns, gorgeous, dainty and lost. With the breeding imperative upon them they waste little time reorienting and head swiftly eastwards directly across country. It is at these times, occurring every few years, that we get a chance to see these lovely creatures refuelling over our waterways. The window is slight, perhaps only a day or two, and today was such a day.

Sensing some chance of an encounter, my first action on arriving at the visitor centre was to scan the open water hoping to see smaller, darker birds amongst the milling common terns. And sure enough there they were, three at least, hawking insects from the water surface at the back of the broad. Hoping to get better views, I hitched a lift on ‘Damselfly’ the boat we use for ferrying people to and from the staithe and for running our very popular Water Trail trips. Once aboard this spacious boat, the true tranquillity of the environment can be appreciated. On a day such as this one it was a pleasure to float close to dancing grebes, drift past unconcerned waterfowl and just take in the soporific atmosphere of this wonderful broadland retreat. 

We saw herons diving into the broad for fish, witnessed a kingfisher skimming the dead calm surface a couple of metres from where we sat, watched marsh harriers and buzzards lazily drifting on the warm air and spooked a party of loafing cormorants from their roost site. But we could not get close to the black terns; at least not close enough for me. They were there, tantalisingly present, but too full of life and too far away for satisfying views. Wherever the boat drifted, they would appear on the opposite side of the broad. There we could see them dancing together over the skyline before plunging towards the watery expanse to pick some tiny morsel from the surface. Time and again all morning they would perform in this way, but never close to.  Does it matter that I couldn’t get a close up photograph? Not one jot. What really matters is that they were there, these monochrome sprites that for a few hours on a sunny May morning brightened the lives of all who saw them.

Read Barry's blog at http://easternbushchat.blogspot.co.uk   

Ranworth at Easter

Barry Madden, NWT Volunteer

Easter has struck early and with it a new season has started at NWT Ranworth Broad. The welcome onslaught of visitors has been at times akin to a tornado touching earth; the visitor centre awhirl with holidaying families, keen birders and local people who, having spent a long winter imprisoned by winter's chill, have at last been released to savour the singular sense of light and space this slice of Broadland can offer.
 
Spring is bursting all around. The wet woodland surrounding the boardwalk from Ranworth village is resounding to the thrill of vibrant birdsong; wrens, robins, woodpeckers and chiffchaffs boldly staking out territories whilst hidden Cetti's warblers explode their loud clatter of notes from deep cover. Songthrushes pouring forth their sweet, varied repertoire from the mature trees on the higher borders of the reserve whilst marsh harriers and buzzards float lazily over the more stunted trees and reed beds of this special water world. An otter entertained some lucky visitors early on, briefly poking its broad, flat head above the surface of the broad before submerging with a flick of its thickly furred tail; thereafter a trail of bubbles and the harsh squawking of enraged black-headed gulls provided the only clue to its whereabouts. The sighting over in an instant but for a few the memory will linger.
 
At the eastern end of the trail, the wardens of the Bure Valley Living Landscape have completed their annual reed cutting. The reeds on either side of the boardwalk are cut and burned in alternate years to allow light and space for the multitude of special plants that flower here during the summer. This intensive management work is vital to ensure the reed bed remains in good health and is a small scale example of the work that is undertaken all over the Broads and along the North Norfolk Coast. By June the new reed growth will be chest high, buzzing with the vibrancy of insects and migrant warblers.
 

During these Easter holidays, the weather has, predictably, been unpredictable. A brilliant opening day gave way to showers and strong winds over the Easter weekend before a return to spring sunshine. But even during inclement spells beauty could be found with dramatic sunlit vistas of vivid spring foliage highlighted against an evil looking dark cloudscape. Rainbows as a backdrop to sun kissed bows of motor cruisers; surely the season in a nutshell. The latter, milder conditions with south-easterly winds brought delight in the form of three swallows that briefly flirted around the Visitor Centre on the last day of a changeable March. They were nowhere to be seen the following day, an April Fool's joke to all that thought they were 'our' swallows come back to reclaim their summer home. Patience! They will soon be here.

Of all the birds that epitomise Ranworth though, it is surely the great crested grebes that steal the show. At this time of year they are in peak condition, displaying to one another in full view of admiring onlookers. On a lunch break sitting quietly by the less watched portion of the broad, I was lucky enough to witness a courtship display by a pair that seem intent on setting up home in a sheltered bay. With no aquatic weeds available to them with which to perform their dramatic dances in this sadly polluted environment, the birds made do with a clump of debris plucked from a low growing bough. How wonderful to witness this intimate moment at such close quarters and be able to admire the birds in all their seasonal finery.

Although the grebes will soon build their flimsy floating platform and lay a clutch of real eggs, it was smaller more fat enriched fare that our younger human visitors craved. Chocolate Easter eggs: a prize for completing the regular Easter Eggsplorer quiz entailing an educational journey around the reserve answering questions on the varied wildlife that can be encountered during the year. This is always a popular activity and helps entertain the children whilst allowing mum and dad to take a breather. I didn't do the quiz, and to my shame didn't know the answer to some of the questions, but those eggs were delicious.

 

It is good to be here again and to feel part of something important. Spreading the message of conservation to the general public whose support for the work of NWT is crucial. The smiles on the faces of the visitors told of an enjoyable experience and that gives satisfaction enough for the first few days of what will, I’m sure, be a season full of wonderful wildlife and people. 

Read Barry's blog at http://easternbushchat.blogspot.co.uk  

Ranworth in winter

Barry Madden, NWT Volunteer

Ranworth, a small and pleasant village in the heart of Broadland is a lovely place to stroll around on a bright winter’s day. I visited earlier this week savouring the blissful peace of the season. Gone now are the pleasure craft jostling for a berth at the busy staithe, the cruisers, canoes, day boats, and dinghies. Gone too are the steady stream of holidaymakers keen to take a short adventure through a freshwater swamp and visit the NWT Broads Wildlife Centre sited at the terminal point of a 500 metre Boardwalk. Gone are the screeching terns, the arrowing hobbies, the chuntering reed warblers and twittering swallows. But all is not still: a new cast of characters has moved in to take advantage of the tranquility. Birds of all kinds are using the unmolested waterways and wet woodland as a winter sanctuary; somewhere to rest and feed to survive another day. Come with me for a walk through this wildlife haven and together let’s see what we can find.

Our first stop is to search through the massed assemblage of twigs and branches forming the canopy of the swampy carr, lichen encrusted and bare of leaf. This matrix plays host to many small birds: blue, great and marsh tits busily fuss through the tangle searching tirelessly for small spiders and insects hidden from winters chill; robins, wrens and chaffinches occupy the lower tier where they root around in the undergrowth for small invertebrates, snails, and fallen seed; a few goldfinches twitter amongst themselves as they raid the topmost branches of an alder, their vibrant red faces adding a touch of the exotic. As we reach the transition from woodland to more open reed fen, blackbirds flush from a guelder rose clucking sulkily at our unwelcome intrusion. Fieldfares chuckling overhead in search of bright hawthorn berries to plunder remind us that winter has truly arrived despite the brilliance of the blue sky and the vibrant scarlet of the guelder fruits.

The open broad holds large rafts of wildfowl; showy shoveller, timid teal and grey-glossed gadwall, whilst all the time the piercing whistles of wigeon echo across the misty water. A buzzard spirals in from the south it's brown and white chequered underside catching the light from the mid afternoon sun. It drifts across the broad causing mass panic amongst the ducks and coots that take to the air on a multitude of flickering wings. But this raptor had no designs on them, it is intent only on quartering the farmland on the far side for carrion or perhaps an unlucky rabbit: easier pickings by far. A marsh harrier that appears a few minutes later is a different story and loiters with intent above the milling throng of startled water birds. It too is unlucky on this sortie and eventually moves into the distant reed beds in the hope of surprising more isolated prey.

As we stand close to the visitor centre a lone bullfinch flies above us uttering its distinctive mournful ‘phew’ and a small flock of siskins dance above the alders wittering excitedly to each other. The reason for the appearance of these hitherto well-hidden finches soon becomes clear in the form of a sparrowhawk that glides low across the channel moving silently and swiftly from one patch of scrub to another as it hunts with deadly purpose. It seemed such a short while ago that we could watch hobbies hawking dragonflies here, but their winter absence helps us to appreciate their summer presence; their return next April will be all the more welcomed for it.

The explosive song of a Cetti's warbler shakes us from our reverie and turning we catch the massed heads of dancing reeds set ablaze by the lowering sun. A dazzling spectacle and one that seems to typify this Broadland landscape; a Living Landscape of diverse habitats, fen, woodland, open water and farmland weaved together to form a rich tapestry where wildlife can find sanctuary.

Before returning home we can take a diverting stroll through the churchyard where blackbirds and songthrushes are busy gorging themselves on the berries of ancient yews. These birds, quite possibly migrants from Scandinavia or further east, swallow the berries whole allowing the nutritious succulent red flesh to be absorbed whilst the poisonous seeds pass through without being digested. They seem intent on stripping the bounteous fruits with maximum haste. Competition is fierce and they are all engaged in a race against time and each other.

But Ranworth hasn’t quite finished with us yet, for as we gaze up into a roadside ash a lovely kestrel peers down at us unafraid and unfussed. He is soaking up the last mellow rays of the afternoon sun; his rich buffs and brick reds glowing, his black eye sparkling. This bird like all others lives from day to day, unknowing of what the following dawn will bring. Today with bright blue skies and an unseasonal mildness comes relative easy living; tomorrow with bitter winds, rain and cold could come starvation.

Ranworth has done us proud and our visit at this quieter time of the year has shown real beauty and an escape, albeit temporary, from the rigours of our modern world. The wildlife is grateful for the wildness and so, I hope, are we.

All images by Barry Madden

Signs of spring at Ranworth Broad

Jamieson Temple, Visitor Centre Coordinator at Ranworth Broad
Situated in the middle stretches of the River Bure, NWT Ranworth Broad forms part of the larger Bure Marshes National Nature Reserve. Visitors generally start at Ranworth village, with the village green looking out on Malthouse Broad; in the village there is Norfolk Wildlife Trust car park, and just off the green at the Staithe is the NWT Information Centre and ferry departure point. The next part of the journey is to visit the reserve on Ranworth Broad which is of national and international importance for wildlife, and has a very unique floating visitor centre with a beautiful thatched roof. 

Broads Wildlife Centre, photo by David Marney

Our Broads Wildlife Centre can either be accessed via a boardwalk trail leading through woodland and reedbed. The boardwalk starts along Broad Road, which is a five minute walk from the village. There is also a ferry that will take visitors to the centre, this sails four times per day from the Staithe. The centre is open from 10am-5pm; please note there are no dogs allowed and no toilets at the centre.

NWT

swallow, photo by David Marney

Ranworth Broad is home to a great variety of wildlife, over the past month the winter migrants have left, and the summer migrants have arrived. At the Centre, fascinating live camera feeds can be viewed which offer an unrivalled insight of the artificial rafts of nesting common terns, and also some of the multiple swallow nests around the Centre. Away from the screens the swallows and common terns can be seen hunting for insects and fish respectively over Ranworth Broad; along with the majestic great crested grebes.

It

Great crested grebes, photo by David Marney

is easy to fall in love with the great crested grebes, from the elegant physique, prominent colouring, and special mating display; this display is one of the true signs of spring! It starts with a male grebe catching the eye of a female by exaggerating its ruff; the pair then swims face on and they start mirroring each other’s alternating head movements. If the male is successful in this display, the pair swims away, dive down and appear again with mouths full of reed; they then come back together, almost vertically, to start their ‘dance’.

Other wildlife highlights at Ranworth Broad are regular sightings of otters, kingfishers and marsh harriers, along with fen orchid, marsh marigold, and yellow flag iris. Any day now we are expecting the first sightings of our famous swallowtail butterflies, with their large yellow and black wings; and the startling bright green caterpillars feeding on the milk parsley. 

Marsh harrier, photo by David Marney

Come visit NWT Ranworth Broad over the next few weeks to see these incredible species, their magnificent mating displays, and see the intimate footage of nesting swallows and common terns. A great way to see the internationally important wildlife is via the 45 minute ‘guided’ water trail; the expert boat operators on the 12 person Damselfly vessel will help identify all the wildlife, and all the history of the reserve and Broads habitat.