“ There are wonderful views of the Orwell estuary from here.
An unbeatable wetland for its sheer number and species of birds.”

Trimley Marshes is an exciting wetland reserve created almost entirely from arable land alongside the River Orwell. Most of the wildlife here today has colonised the site since it was created in 1990 to mitigate against the loss of Fagbury mudflats as a result of the expansion of the Port of Felixstowe.

The mosaic of habitats, managed primarily for birds, makes this reserve one of the best sites in the county. Many of the wet meadows are managed by the traditional method of grazing with cattle. Others are grazed with sheep and by wigeon and geese during the winter months.

Water levels are controlled by a system of sluices. This means that wet conditions can be maintained for wintering wildfowl including wigeon and brent goose and then for breeding waders such as redshank, avocet, oystercatcher and black-tailed godwit.

The reservoir is the hub of the reserve, acting not only as a refuge for wildfowl and marginal nesting birds, but also as the storage and distribution point for the reserve’s water. Rafts of coot, tufted duck, teal and pochard mingling with cormorant, gadwall and shoveler, are a common sight here.

The lagoon and its islands provide a variety of habitats throughout the year. The islands are ideal nesting sites for avocet, ringed plover and tufted duck. In spring and autumn the muddy margins make excellent feeding grounds for migrating waders such as common sandpiper, curlew sandpiper and greenshank.

The network of dykes are mostly fringed with reed. Look out for little grebe, moorhen and both reed and sedge warbler, as well as Britain’s largest hawker dragonfly, the emperor.

The more colourful male widgeon makes a distinctive whistling call which carries far across the water	Shingle islands have been created to encourage breeding waders	Ringed plover are among the birds that nest on the shingle island	Like all hawker dragonfly, the emperor spends most of its time hunting on the wing. Activity depends on temperature and on cloudy days, during early morning or evening they are often motionless

Trimley Marshes are leased to Suffolk Wildlife Trust by the Port of Felixstowe.

Other Trust reserves nearby:Levington Lagoon

STAR SPECIES
Avocet
Wigeon
Brent goose