Thorpe Wood
by George Walthew
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PBC Where to Watch Birds Thorpe Wood by George Walthew |
| Sightings for past week: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
| Sightings for past month: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
| Sightings for past year: | All sightings | Excluding Common | Rare & Scarce |
This wood is next to the Thomas Cook roundabout on the Nene Parkway. It is in fact bisected by the parkway with the larger portion (just over six hectares) north of the road at the edge of Longthorpe and the smaller part (just over four hectares) next to the Thorpe Wood Police Station. The wood is managed by the County Wildlife Trusts with the understory of the northern part now coppiced. The southern portion has been left to develop without any intervention.
It is an oak/ash wood with sycamore, although the sycamore in the northern (managed portion) has been largely cleared. The shrub layer is largely hazel with some, quite large areas of blackthorn and bramble.
For its size, Thorpe Wood is particularly rich in bird life with birds breeding at high densities. The southern part of the wood is particularly good for hole nesting species although the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers no longer appear to breed there. Nuthatches used to breed in the northern part of the wood, as did Tree Sparrows. These used the many nest boxes which were put up in the 1980's but they have fallen into disrepair and have not been replaced.
The wood is still worth a visit, especially in winter and spring, as the wood can turn up some good birds. You can still see Nuthatches there in winter along with Marsh Tits, Great Spotted Woodpeckers are always around and breed, and Hawfinches do appear there from time to time.
The northern portion of the wood is easily accessible from the western end of Thorpe Road. There is a small car park at the junction of Thorpe Road and Holywell Way. A footpath makes a circuit through this part of the wood. The southern portion can be reached by branching off from the footpath along a path which leads to a footbridge over the parkway. There are no paths as such through this part of the wood although you can find some tracks made by dog walkers and others into it. You can also park in the Thorpe Wood Golf Course car park which adjoins the southern portion of the wood. This is on Thorpe Wood Road near the 'Woodsman' pub.
There is also cycleway access from the city centre along the river either from Rivergate.
