Photo by: Ron Knight
Norfolk is a paradise for birdwatchers and there are a huge range of birds to look out for, from easily recognisable kingfishers and geese to birds special to Norfolk like the marsh harrier, bittern and stone curlews. When staying at one of our holiday parks in Norfolk, you can enjoy a day out spotting birds – just remember your binoculars!
You can see the winter migrants at the coast or the raptors roosting at the Broads and hear the endless chorus in woodlands. Having such a wide range of bird life, Norfolk also has some beautiful nature reserves for the wildlife, and here are just five of the best and what you can spot there.
Holkham Nature Reserve
Holkham Nature Reserve covers about 3,706 hectares and can be explored by following the footpaths leading away from the car park. The reserve has coastal wetlands, saltmarshes, dunes, pinewoods and scrub. The birds to see include larks and pipits, peregrine falcons and hordes of wildfowl. There are not just birds to see here too, as the spring flowers get into full bloom.
RSPB Snettisham
RSPB Snettisham plays host to amazing displays of waders and wildfowl who are attracted by the mud banks and salt marshes of The Wash. Here you can see up to 50,000 wading birds in flight that land in front of Snettisham hides making it one of nature’s most impressive sights in the UK.
RSPB Strumpshaw Fen
You can explore RSPB Strumpshaw Fen set in the heart of the Broads in all seasons with numerous nature trails leading you through a variety of different habitats. Listen out for cuckoos and the drumming of woodpeckers, when walking through wildflower meadows. There are six different species of orchid to see, a host of dragonflies and butterflies as well as the rare Norfolk hawker.
NWT Foxley Wood
Foxley Wood is Norfolk’s largest ancient woodland, believed to be over 6,000 years old. Native to Sparrowhawks and tawny owls that also breed in the wood, you might also be able to see great spotted and green woodpecker. For a visit during the spring, you will be rewarded with stunning bluebells on display.
RSPB Titchwell Marsh
RSPB Titchwell Marsh is good for birdwatching all year round. In spring you can spot migrating waders such as ruffs, black-tailed godwits and spotted redshanks. You can also watch marsh harriers perform their amazing ‘sky-dancing’. In summer, the dragonflies and damselflies are easy to see, and you might also spot a water vole along the meadow trail. Autumn gives way to roosting birds of prey and winter brings hordes of wildfowl including pink footed geese.
