Barnby Broad and Marshes is a

Site of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain, or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland, is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle ...

(SSSI) in the

Waveney Waveney may refer to: * River Waveney, a river that forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England * Waveney District, a local government district in Suffolk, England * Waveney (UK Parliament constituency) * Waveney class lifeboat, a class ...

district of the

English county The counties of England are a type of subdivision of England. Counties have been used as administrative areas in England since Anglo-Saxon times. There are three definitions of county in England: the 48 ceremonial counties used for the purpo ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

. The site is in size. It is in the parishes of

North Cove North Cove is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is part of the East Suffolk district, located around east of Beccles and west of Lowestoft. It merges with the village of Barnby and the villages sh ...

and Barnby, located between

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Suffolk District, East Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is located along the A145 r ...

and

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

in the north of the county. The site is bordered on its southern edge by the East Suffolk railway line and to the north by the

River Waveney The River Waveney is a river which forms the boundary between Suffolk and Norfolk, England, for much of its length within The Broads. The earliest attestation of the name is from 1275, ''Wahenhe'', from ''*wagen + ea'', meaning the river by a q ...

. It is a

Special Area of Conservation A special area of conservation (SAC) is defined in the European Union's Habitats Directive (92/43/EEC), also known as the ''Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora''. They are to protect the 220 habitats and ap ...

, a

Special Protection Area A special protection area (SPA) is a designation under the European Union Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds. Under the Directive, Member States of the European Union (EU) have a duty to safeguard the habitats of migratory birds and cer ...

under the EC Birds Directive, and a Ramsar internationally important wetland site. There are two

Suffolk Wildlife Trust Suffolk Wildlife Trust (SWT) describes itself as the county's "nature charity – the only organisation dedicated wholly to safeguarding Suffolk's wildlife and countryside." It is a registered charity, and its headquarters is at Brooke House i ...

nature reserves in the site,

Castle Marshes Castle Marshes is a 71 hectare nature reserve west of Lowestoft in Suffolk. It is managed by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Barnby Broad and Marshes Site of Special Scientific Interest the Broadland Ramsar internationally importa ...

and

. The site consists of a mixture of

grazing marsh Grazing marsh is a British Isles term for flat, marshy grassland in polders. It consists of large grass fields separated by fresh or brackish ditches, and is often important for its wildlife. History Grazing marshes were created from medieval tim ...

, carr woodland,

fen A fen is a type of peat-accumulating wetland fed by mineral-rich ground or surface water. It is one of the main types of wetland along with marshes, swamps, and bogs. Bogs and fens, both peat-forming ecosystems, are also known as mires ...

and open water habitats stretching from the edge of the villages of Barnby and North Cove northwards across flood plains to the river. Much of the site floods seasonally and provides a habitat for a variety of bird species.

Barnby Broad

Barnby Broad is an open water habitat around in size.Mud pump restoring new life to Suffolk Broad
, Press release, Broads Authority, 2007. Retrieved 2013-01-25. It was formed as a result of medieval peat cutting in the same way as much of the Broads system. The broad is privately owned. In 2007 it was cleared of silt to provide an improved habitat with agricultural run-off being diverted from the Broad at the same time. Flora found in and around the Broad includes the white water-lily ''

Nymphaea alba ''Nymphaea alba'', the white waterlily, European white water lily or white nenuphar , is an aquatic flowering plant in the family Nymphaeaceae. It is native to North Africa, temperate Asia, Europe and tropical Asia (Jammu and Kashmir). Since '' ...

'', common reed ''

Phragmites australis ''Phragmites australis'', known as the common reed, is a species of flowering plant in the grass family Poaceae. It is a wetland grass that can grow up to tall and has a cosmopolitan distribution worldwide. Description ''Phragmites australis' ...

'' and the rarer tussock-sedge ''

Carex appropinquata ''Carex appropinquata'', known as fibrous tussock-sedge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Cyperaceae, commonly known as sedge The Cyperaceae () are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as ...

'' as well as species such as marsh arrowgrass '' Triglochin palustris'' and southern marsh-orchid ''

Dactylorhiza praetermissa ''Dactylorhiza majalis'' subsp. ''praetermissa'', the southern marsh orchid or leopard marsh orchid, is a commonly occurring species of European orchid. Description ''Dactylorhiza majalis'' subsp. ''praetermissa'' grows to tall, with leaves g ...

''. It is surrounded by an area of mature

Alder Alders are trees of the genus ''Alnus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The genus includes about 35 species of monoecious trees and shrubs, a few reaching a large size, distributed throughout the north temperate zone with a few species ex ...

carr woodland with species such as Ash and

Oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

Castle Marshes

Castle Marshes makes up the gazing marsh section of the SSSI. These cover the flood plain of the

from the edge of the wooded area to the south to the remains of Castle Mill in the north. The marshes are drained with dykes and are managed using traditional cattle grazing. Rare species breeding here include the

Norfolk hawker ''Aeshna isoceles'' (or ''isosceles'') is a small hawker dragonfly that is found in Europe, mostly around the Mediterranean, and the lowlands of North Africa. Its common name in English is green-eyed hawker. In the United Kingdom it is a localise ...

. The protected

fen raft spider The great raft spider or fen raft spider (''Dolomedes plantarius'') is a European species of spider in the family Dolomedidae. Like other ''Dolomedes'' spiders, it is semiaquatic, hunting its prey on the surface of water. It occurs mainly in neut ...

has been reintroduced onto the site as part of a project organised by

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

and Suffolk Wildlife Trust and partly funded by a grant from the BBC Wildlife Fund.Spiderlings to descend on Suffolk broads
BBC news website, 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2013-01-25.Over a thousand rare spiders released on Suffolk Broads
, Press release, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, 2010-10-21. Retrieved 2013-01-25.Rare spiders set up home on nature reserve by Lowestoft- with help of Redgrave and Lopham Fen
, ''Eastern Daily Press'', 2012-07-09. Retrieved 2013-01-25. The marshes are flooded in winter, providing overwintering habitat for bird species such as

teal alt=American teal duck (male), Green-winged teal (male) Teal is a greenish-blue color. Its name comes from that of a bird—the Eurasian teal (''Anas crecca'')—which presents a similarly colored stripe on its head. The word is often used ...

shoveler The shovelers or shovellers are four species of dabbling ducks with long, broad spatula-shaped beaks: * Red shoveler, ''Anas platalea'' * Cape shoveler, ''Anas smithii'' * Australasian shoveler, ''Anas rhynchotis'' * Northern shoveler, ''Ana ...

and

gadwall The gadwall (''Mareca strepera'') is a common and widespread dabbling duck in the family Anatidae. Taxonomy The gadwall was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. DNA studies have shown th ...

and breeding grounds for

lapwing Lapwings (subfamily Vanellinae) are any of various ground-nesting birds (Family (biology), family Charadriidae) akin to plovers and dotterels. They range from in length, and are noted for their slow, irregular wingbeats in flight and a shrill, ...

and

common redshank The common redshank or simply redshank (''Tringa totanus'') is a Eurasian wader in the large family Scolopacidae. Taxonomy The common redshank was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of hi ...

. Bird of prey species such as

marsh harrier The marsh harriers are bird of prey, birds of prey of the harrier (bird), harrier subfamily. They are medium-sized Bird of prey, raptors and the largest and broadest-winged harriers. Most of them are associated with marshland and dense reedbeds. ...

and

hobby A hobby is considered to be a regular activity that is done for enjoyment, typically during one's leisure time. Hobbies include collecting themed items and objects, engaging in creative and artistic pursuits, playing sports, or pursuing other ...

are also present. Much of the marshland area on the site is owned and managed as a

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologic ...

by the

. This area is in area and extends along the southern backs of the Waveney towards Lowestoft outside the SSSI area. Access to the reserve is restricted, although public footpaths run along the river wall.

North Cove Nature Reserve

A smaller area of is privately owned but managed by Suffolk Wildlife Trust as a nature reserve. This area includes a mix of woodland, pools and marshland habitats and was previously a game reserve.Group helps North Cove reserve flourish
''Eastern Daily Press'', 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2013-01-25. The nationally scarce

marsh fern ''Thelypteris palustris'', the marsh fern, or eastern marsh fern, is a species of fern native to eastern North America and across Eurasia. It prefers to grow in swamps, bogs, wet fields or thickets, fresh tidal and nontidal marshes, or wooded str ...

is one key species, whilst

woodcock The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of sandpipers in the genus ''Scolopax''. The genus name is Latin for a snipe or woodcock, and until around 1800 was used to refer to a variety of waders. The English name ...

and the Norfolk hawker dragonfly are both found around this site.

References

{{SSSIs Suffolk Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Suffolk Special Protection Areas in England Special Areas of Conservation in England Ramsar sites in England Waveney District

Barnby Broad

Castle Marshes

North Cove Nature Reserve

See also

References