Seasonal Visits to Tophill Low
A spectacular nature reserve on an active water treatment site in East Yorkshire, England
I would like to begin this post with an apology to all my valued Subscribers. With packing for our imminent move (becoming more imminent by the day) and online searching for our next permanent home, I have not had a lot of free time for writing. So posts are a little less frequent at the moment.
I hope you will bear with me, though. I will soon have many new places to explore and share along the way. And after more than 30 years in my present home I still have lots of Yorkshire gems to write about!
This post is about Tophill Low - a wonderful wetland nature reserve in East Yorkshire. The photos are compiled from numerous visits over the years in all seasons.
It’s a bit of a trek to get to get to Tophill Low. A narrow, often single-track lane heads off from the village of Watton between Driffield and Beverley. The lane is badly surfaced and subsiding in places, and its passing places are deeply potholed. After heavy rain the potholes fill with water so it is difficult to assess how deep they are - care needs to be taken.
But the trek is well worth it - Tophill Low is an absolutely fantastic reserve. It is managed by Yorkshire Water, and is on the site of an active water treatment works. Not that you would ever know it - there are no unpleasant smells here.
The reserve consists of two sizable reservoirs surrounded by marsh, lagoons, reedbeds and woodland. There are good marked trails around the reserve, and no less than 12 excellent hides. It is very easy to spend a whole day here!
On leaving the car park a tree-lined path heads towards the first Reception Hide. This is a magnificent structure with picture windows and great views over the first of the two reservoirs (D Reservoir - shaped like a letter D).
In Reception Hide you can see lists of recent sightings, browse books about birds and the location, use the provided telescopes to scan the reservoir, and observe birds feeding at the feeding station. There are even comfy sofas to relax in - such luxury!
As can be seen in the photo above, there are often few birds present on the reservoirs in the summer months. But in winter it is a very different story. Impressive numbers of overwintering ducks, geese, coots, grebes, cormorants and swans can be present.
More unusual species that are often seen here include scaup, red-crested pochard and beautiful male smew.
After leaving Reception Hide, Matt and I like to wander through the woods beside D Reservoir. Here we are surrounded by the relaxing sounds of woodland birdsong.
Depending on the season we regularly see and/or hear robins, dunnocks, blue tits, great tits, chiffchaffs, blackcaps, willow warblers, wrens, tree creepers, chaffinches, jays and many more. A tawny owl is often seen here and woodpeckers can be heard drumming in the trees.
After enjoying the woods we usually head to the picnic area. Not for a picnic, but to check out the lovely adjacent pond. Water voles live here and are apparently regularly sighted, but we have never been lucky enough to see one.
In spring we do often hear the noisy cackling sound of the abundant marsh frogs that live here. Not native to the UK, a few populations of this large and very vocal species have been introduced into the wild, and are now well established. We occasionally get a glimpse of a pair of eyes at the surface of the pond, but they are definitely more often heard than seen.
And in summer it is lovely watching dragonflies and damselflies hunting over the pond, and using plant stems to lay their eggs in the water. I believe the one in the photo below is a common darter, but please correct me if I am wrong!
Leaving the pond we follow a trail that leads through the water works towards the second reservoir. A convenient hide on the trail looks over a pond and reedbed, where a well-placed post makes a great perch for a kingfisher. The lighting conditions when the photos below were taken concealed the colours of the bird, but the silhouette is unmistakable.
The trail continues through marshy, wooded terrain, where many invertebrates can often be spotted. Like this cluster of snails huddled together for the winter beside a jelly ear fungus.
And this handsome leopard slug.
And these shiny blue alder beetles happily munching their way through a leaf (and making more alder beetles).
The next hide we encounter has beautiful views back over the lagoon. On calm winter mornings the reflections here can be spectacular.
The reeds turn a beautiful golden colour in autumn and winter. These wonderful plants assist in the water purification process by actively removing contaminants from wastewater, a process known as phytoremediation.
Our trail now reaches the second, smaller reservoir, which is circular and imaginatively called O Reservoir. This area is at its best in spring and summer, when the verges and reservoir bank are covered in wildflowers.
In summer the orchids are particularly beautiful, like this common spotted orchid.
Of course, where there are wildflowers there are also butterflies, like the ringlet and meadow brown below.
The trail does a complete circuit of O Reservoir, with side trails leading to various hides along the way. To avoid disturbing the birds you cannot walk around the rim of the reservoir, but there is a viewing screen at one point.
The various hides encountered give great views over the various marshes, ponds and reedbeds, the colours of which change dramatically according to the season.
All manner of wetland birds can regularly be seen, and the various ponds are often hives of activity.
Marsh harriers are often seen, patrolling the reedbeds for prey, and they regularly breed close to one of the hides. If you look carefully you can just make out two marsh harriers perched in the bush in the photo below.
Cormorants and great crested grebes dive for fish, ducks dabble, curlews, redshanks and oystercatchers probe in the mud and egrets hunt along the edges of the ponds. There is always something going on.
Tophill Low is worth a visit at any time of year, but winter visits are my favourite. On a calm and sunny winter day the landscapes are stunning, and the sheer number and variety of wintering wildfowl make this reserve very special.
At the end of a recent winter visit large numbers of greylag and Canada geese were congregated on D Reservoir. When a noisy, V-shaped skein of pink-footed geese flew overhead, the geese on the reservoir suddenly took to the air to join them, accompanied by much excited honking.
It was bedlam. The different groups of geese kept joining together in one huge flock and then separating again as they whirled around in the sky. It reminded me of a starling murmuration - far fewer birds but each one much larger. Such an thrilling sight and sound, and such a wonderful end to a perfect day.
For more about the reserve including location and admission fees see Yorkshire Water Tophill Low.
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As I’ve come to expect, another wonderfully detailed report, great pictures too. I’ve added it to the list, thank you for sharing.
There is so much wildlife in England! I loved the photos-thank you. It must have been very moving to see the two kinds of geese joining one another and the resulting cacophony. I got chills just imagining it. And all the insects…. The community of snails..(: