The Ovington Ramblers: Thompson Common

Maureen Simmons

Pingo at Thompson Common

Walking around Thompson Common is like a magical mystery tour.

Starting at the car park on the A1075, just South of Watton, we first walked through the wooded area. Here there are many ponds filled with crystal clear water from the chalk springs below; branches from old trees hanging across the ponds creating an ancient, eerie atmosphere. New bright green shoots of the water plants were plain to see – a sharp contrast to the graceful remains of last season's bullrushes. These fascinating ponds are known as “pingos” and they were created at the end of the last Ice Age, 12,000 years ago and today they provide a unique habitat for nearly 60 threatened species. 

Blue sky reflecting on fresh water mint

 

The pleasant walk continued on a quiet country lane, abundant with snowdrops, and then on to open fields. Here there was a large herd of sheep peacefully grazing in the late winter sunshine, playing their part in protecting this special site. We noticed they had chewed off the bark of a group of young birch trees. Were they taking advantage of the sweet birch sap rising at this time of year?

As the sun was beginning to sink down, we didn't reach the final part of the walk to Thompson Water. We decided to go there another day to (hopefully) spot an otter or two!

Meet Angela Wynne, who takes the majority of the photos for our posts.

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.

The Brecks: curlews and pingos

Isabelle Mudge, Seasonal Education Officer

 

The Education team has recently been on a visit to the Brecks to learn about the sensitive and rare habitats in the area, and about those species which thrive on them.

Stone curlew, photo by Jessica Riederer

The heathland at NWT Weeting Heath is very different from that at NWT Roydon Common, where a sea of purple in late summer is clear evidence of the heather. Lacking heather, Weeting Heath is perhaps less impressive, but this is only at first glance - if you look more closely at the ground you see an incredible patchwork of different colours and textures thanks to the great variety of mosses and lichens which cover the surface of the soil. It is these, and the numerous other plants exclusive to heathland habitats, which amaze the botanists who come here. It is also this environment that attracts birders from near and far to see lapwing, nightjar and stone curlew. Having heard so much about the elusive and rare stone curlew, we were all thrilled when, after scanning the area for some time, we were lucky enough to see first two, then four stone curlews! 

Pingo at NWT Thompson Common

Following our visit to Weeting, we went on to see the pingos, which are ancient glacial formations, at nearby NWT Thompson Common. The pingo trail gives the impression of going back in time, by initially taking you through what looks a bit like a prehistoric jungle swamp where the several pools of water are often concealed by dense vegetation. Then out in the open, however, the clear water of the pingos is exposed and brimming with life, with an abundance of freshwater invertebrates, and several plants such as water violets and lilies, making the pools beautiful and unearthly.

We had a fantastic day, and came away feeling that these two contrasting sites provide the visitor with a unique experience not to be missed.

June's Wildlife Watch event for children takes place at NWT Weeting Heath. Come and discover our Magical Moths!

Upton, Hicking and Cley in a week

Barry Madden, Volunteer Bird Guide at NWT Cley Marshes

Over the course of the past week I’ve had the good fortune to spend time at three of Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s reserves. Being able to sample the diverse landscapes and associated wildlife of these special places has reinforced my belief that NWT is doing a fantastic job of conserving our open spaces, as well as connecting people of all ages and experience levels to their natural heritage.

Upton Broad and Marshes was the first port of call, where a happy day was spent in the company of a few friends walking around this unique area of fresh grazing marsh, fen and wet meadows. As part of the Bure Valley Living Landscapes initiative, much management work is being carried out here to create an environment better suited to the feeding and breeding requirements of wetland wildlife. Already the signs are good; we saw whimbrel, breeding lapwing and oystercatcher, a little ringed plover that was quite possibly one of a breeding pair, and the reed fringed dykes were alive with reed, sedge and Cetti’s warblers. We had a great view of a cuckoo calling from a dead tree, and the air was full of swifts, swallows and martins hawking flies low over the pools formed by the recent flood defence works. We stopped and watched the antics of these summer visitors, some of which actually swooped between us at knee height as we stood admiring their aerial skills. Birds of prey were also well represented with marsh harrier, buzzard, kestrel, sparrowhawk and a pair of hobbies all being seen within a 30 minute spell. But it wasn’t just about birds, because we also had views of Chinese water deer, stoat, rabbits and a party of seven lovely hares that were still engaging in their spring ‘boxing’. Larger insects were absent on this occasion, mainly thanks to the inclement weather, but I’ve been here when the woodland rides and footpaths, blanketed in wild flowers, are alive with butterflies and dragonflies; in fact Upton is one of the best places in the UK to see dragonflies during the summer. It would be easy to spend a few hours at Upton, the footpaths are extensive and there’s always something interesting to see. If you get a chance you should visit.

A few days later I was asked to assist the NWT Education Team, lovely friends, with an event at Hickling Broad NNR. Here, a group of students from Great Yarmouth College were being introduced to the varied habitats and wildlife of Broadland. My task was to talk about moths…unfortunately there wasn’t a single moth to be seen in the trap set the previous evening! No matter, Plan B kicked in, and we simply talked about the diversity of moths, their life cycle, feeding requirements and what would happen if they disappeared (disaster for blue tits). The students were also treated to a boat trip around the reserve, a butterfly walk, a pond dipping session and 30 minutes of dissecting owl pellets – a fascinating activity.  On this day Hickling also played host to a school party of younger children, that were having a great time rummaging nets in the dykes from the specially constructed platforms, then crowding around the trays to inspect their catch. This is what a nature reserve should be like – making areas accessible to all whilst being able to retain large areas for the needs of the indigenous flora and fauna.   

So, to Cley Marshes for my weekly stint sitting in the hides and walking around the reserve helping people with any identification issues, and talking generally about the work of NWT. We had the usual grey skies and wind, but as always a variety of birds, interesting conversations and an excellent lunchtime meal from the visitor centre.

Common sandpipers at Cley Marshes, photo by Barry Madden

This day was mainly about waders, with a lone wood sandpiper engaging the attention of most visitors as it took advantage of the flooded grassland on the ‘Serpentine’ off East Bank. Then a few of us had the rare privilege of being able to watch the courtship antics of a pair of common sandpipers from Bishop’s Hide. This pair chased each other across the south-eastern corner of Pat’s Pool for a couple of hours during the afternoon, piping loudly as they scurried over the muds. Sometimes they trotted very close to the hide, affording excellent views of their fine mottled plumage. It was tempting to harbour thoughts of them remaining on the reserve to breed, but they will no doubt move on in a day or two. Later in the day, a female red-backed shrike could be admired from the other side of the reserve, proving once again that Cley is simply one of the best places to see birds in the country.

Thompson Common Koniks

Paul Waterhouse, Assistant Field Officer Breckland

 

The Konik is a very hardy and primitive breed of pony originating from Poland. They are a descendent of the ancient Tarpan horse also known as the Eurasian wild horse a now extinct species. Koniks have become a popular breed for conservation grazing in the UK, particularly on wetland sites. They are very well adapted for coping with wetland sites and the lush vegetation unlike many other breed. They are able to do this by putting on considerable condition (weight) in the summer and can then loose up to one-third of their body weight in the winter with no ill effect. However, in the future the adaptability and hardiness of this breed may prove that they are useful on a number of different habitats. NWT Thompson Common has a diverse range of habitats such as woodland, open water and wet grassland to name a few. In fact it is so diverse an amazing 34 NVC (National Vegetation Classification) wetland communities are found within the reserve, two of which are so unique they have not been classified. So by pairing the complexity of the reserve with the adaptability of the Koniks makes them the ideal species to graze the site.

Before starting with NWT I knew very little about horses and if completely honest was not all that fond of them. Having worked on a dairy farm for a short while I was familiar with cattle and was confident in moving and managing them. I became to know their temperaments and was able to predict their movements and reactions. Dairy cattle generally go in the direction you are pushing them with a bit of gentle persuasion. However, as I found out horses are slightly less predictable and quite often take you by surprise. 

Thompson Common is split in to a number of large compartments and we regularly move the ponies around the site taking into consideration a number of things including the condition of the site and also the condition of the ponies. As most people are aware our ponies are a little wilder than your average domestic ponies in fact we use the term ‘semi-wild’. So it is not a matter of putting a head collar on and leading them through a gate, we have to round them up. Unlike the cattle I mentioned above these ponies quite often turn back on you and change direction when you least expect it. Their behaviour when moving them can be very different from day to day, quite often relating to the weather conditions. Some days you just have to open the gate and let them trot through and other days they try to go any direction except the way you want. This is usually when it is windy and raining, the ponies primary senses, hearing, smell and vision used for detecting danger are distorted. This leads to them becoming nervous and skittish thus making it more difficult to predict their behaviour and move them.

As well as moving the ponies around the site we obviously keep a close eye on their health, weight and general condition. We do this several times a week, but once a month we carry out a more detailed ‘body condition score’ on each individual. This is a scoring system from one to nine, one being very thin and nine being extremely fat. This is a useful management tool which can provide an indication of necessary nutritional requirements and help prevent welfare problems. NWT aims to have their conservation herds scoring between 4 and 6. 

This is also a good opportunity to record other information such as the condition of the hooves and note anything else that may need monitoring or attention. To carry out these condition scores you need to be able to identify each pony individually, which is not an easy task in itself. When I first started with NWT we had 27 Koniks at Thompson Common (which to me all looked very similar) and it probably took me around six months before I could confidently put a name to a face, so to speak. Since then we have moved a number of Koniks off to other NWT sites leaving us with a more manageable herd of 13, who are hopefully going to be joined by some highland cattle in the coming months. Twice a year we are paid a visit from the vet and farrier who are both very experienced and knowledgeable. They carry out routine health checks and also trim any hooves that may not be breaking naturally. These ‘pony days’ as we call them can sometimes be very long, as we have to setup specially designed handling systems, round them up and also check each pony individually before usually moving on to another NWT site to repeat the process again. Though hard work, these days can be good fun and it often brings together a number of NWT field staff that may not usually work together. I now find working with these ponies very rewarding and can see what a fantastic contribution they make to the conservation of Thompson Common.