This long running Norfolk spring birding tour is as popular now as ever and it’s hardly surprising given the quality of birds on offer. Shorebird passage is at its peak with many arctic bound species resplendent in breeding dress, while subtly beautiful Wood Sandpipers and furtive Temminck’s Stints are usually present too. Little Terns are back, while Little and Mediterranean Gulls should also be present and other coastal breeders will include Eurasian Spoonbills, Bearded Tits, Avocets and Marsh Harriers, while Garganey and Black Tern are regular migrants. Raptors are a key feature, and we will keep our eyes peeled for passing Red Kites and Osprey, while Montagu’s Harrier are sometimes present, and Hobby should also feature too.
In the Brecks, booming Great Bitterns skulk in the reed beds and a couple of pairs of Common Cranes are now establishing themselves, while Stone Curlew, Turtle Dove, Wood Lark, Common Cuckoo, Firecrest and Common Crossbill can also be expected. Other commoner species should include Whinchat, Tree Pipit, Common Redstart, Spotted Flycatcher and Grasshopper and Garden Warblers and our evening excursion will offer European Nightjar and Eurasian Woodcock.
May is of course also synonymous with rare birds, and we have recorded Red-footed Falcon, Collared Pratincole, Purple Heron, Laughing and Bonaparte’s Gulls, Stilt Sandpiper, Black Kite, Black Stork, European Bee-eater, Cattle Egret, Caspian, White-winged Black and Whiskered Terns, Thrush Nightingale and European Serin on this tour among others. The terrain is easy, though the walk along the riverbank at Lakenheath is on very uneven ground and you will average up to five miles per day. Nick Acheson will be your tour leader and you can expect to see approximately 140 species as we explore all the hidden corners of Britain’s best birding county on this Norfolk Spring birding tour.
DAY ONE – Tour 17th May
Check in is available from 15:00. The Briarfields staff will be on hand to welcome you and the bar is open all day for coffee/drinks and lunches if required. The tour guide will be present for introductions from 18:30, as well as a chat about the days ahead, followed by your evening meal together.
Overnight Briarfields Hotel Titchwell
DAY TWO
As well as the well-known reserves there are many smaller, fewer known sites dotted along the Norfolk coast which are all worth exploring during spring migration. Stiffkey Fen and Wells North Point are both likely spots, and waders can feature here with Little-ringed Plover and various sandpipers likely as well as annual Temminck’s Stint and even Black-winged Stilt. At nearby Wells and Holkham the pines can produce migrants and out on the marsh good views of the breeding Spoonbills and Great White Egrets supplement the variety of waders and wildfowl present. The Marsh Harriers never fail to delight as they food pass in front of the hide, to the backdrop of singing Sedge and Reed Warblers, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat. Raptors are a key feature of the week with Marsh Harriers a constant feature wherever we are birding. Depending on the year, we may also have a chance to look for rare species such as Montagu’s Harrier or Honey Buzzard if they become available. Grey Partridge, Tree Sparrow and Turtle Dove are other birds encountered in these farmland areas.
Overnight Briarfields Hotel
DAY THREE
Titchwell RSPB reserve comes into its own in mid May when all of the breeding species are settled down and a flush of migrants is still passing through. Bearded Tits and Pied Avocets are among the resident breeders while Great Bittern has bred in recent years and may be present. Little Gulls often pass through, and three species of tern are likely on the scrapes, and of course May is a time when interesting waders can occur such as Wood or Curlew Sandpipers and Temminck’s Stint. Offshore, large flocks of Common Scoter may still contain one or two Velvet and summer plumaged Sanderling and Ruddy Turnstone are busy along the tide line. Up at Choseley barns, Corn Bunting may be found along with other farmland birds such as Grey Partridge and Yellowhammer.
Overnight Briarfields Hotel Titchwell
DAY FIVE
We will remain flexible on our last day on the coast to account for any species we may have missed, and the presence of any new migrant arrivals. Perhaps the marshes at Burnham Norton might tempt us, or maybe we’ll return to an area visited earlier in the week such as Kelling Water Meadows. This time of year is of course synonymous with rare birds and in previous May’s we have recorded Red-footed Falcon, Dotterel, White-winged Black and Whiskered Terns, Laughing Gull, Purple Heron, Night Heron, Caspian Tern, Alpine Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Black Kite, Bonaparte’s Gull, Red-backed Shrike, Woodchat Shrike, Stilt Sandpiper, Thrush Nightingale, Common Crane, Serin, Bee-eater, Black Stork, Subalpine Warbler and many many more! It is impossible to predict what will turn up, but we can be sure to enjoy a great supporting cast as well!
At the end of the birding day we return to the hotel, collect the vehicles and head south to our next base at Mundford.
Overnight Crown Hotel, Mundford
DAY SIX
A full day in the Broads of East Norfolk today, where a network of wetlands both old and new combine to produce some superb late spring birdwatching opportunities. Scarce birds are regular here and include species such as Red-footed Falcon, Hoopoe or something mega such as the recent Hickling White-tailed Lapwing – present at the same time as a Caspian Tern! The Common Cranes are not easy to find at this time of year but we know their favourite haunts and may be lucky, while out on Hickling Broad Marsh Harriers food-pass over the reeds and Bearded Tits ‘ping’ along the rushy margins. If we’re lucky, a Bittern might just fly over! We may join a specially arranged boat trip with one of the NWT wardens to visit areas only accessible from the water, including the hide overlooking Rush Hills Scrape and the Tree Tower which affords magnificent views of the broads (though this is strictly subject to local availability and weather). If the season is early, two of Britain’s rarest insects, the Swallowtail and Norfolk Hawker, could be seen.
Our evening excursion for European Nightjar takes us to a local forest clearing where we often enjoy good views of the birds as they churr all around us. Woodcock can be numerous at this time of year, often roding in groups of 2-3 birds above the woodland at dusk. Tawny and Barn Owls are also possible on this visit.
Overnight Crown Hotel Mundford
DAY SEVEN
We will today enjoy a great morning’s birding at Lakenheath RSPB reserve. Hobbies often hawk overhead, and a cacophony of warbler song includes Cetti’s, Reed, Sedge and Grasshopper. Cuckoo can be abundant here while the lagoon can produce Garganey, terns and numbers of Swifts and hirundine. Patient scanning of the reeds is likely to produce one or two sightings of Great Bitterns, many Marsh Harriers, Bearded Tits and perhaps Common Crane. Nearby on open sandy breck land we seek cryptic Stone Curlew, largely nocturnal in their activities this bug-eyed member of the African Thick-knee family can be a challenge to find as it sits motionless among the nettles and ragwort. Woodlark too like this open heath land, as well as the clear-felled areas of pine forest where we may also encounter Eurasian Siskin and Common Crossbill. Firecrest should be singing from mixed evergreen understorey throughout the forest and the supporting cast includes Garden Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, Marsh Tit and Grey Wagtail.
The tour concludes at 13:00 to allow for the onward journey home.
We spend part of the tour at a wonderful hotel on the North West Norfolk coast a stone’s throw from Titchwell RSPB Reserve. Our time in the Brecks is spent at a historic hotel and restaurant in the heart of the forest. All rooms are available for single occupancy, ensuite with Wi-Fi and amenities. Upgrades are available (please enquire with the office).
Six nights en suite accommodation on a dinner bed & breakfast basis, packed lunches from day two, minibus transport, services of leader and reserve entrance fees.
Tour 17th May Collection King’s Lynn Railway Station. 23rd May Drop off Brandon or Thetford.
excellent quality rooms and food, perfect after a long day in the field.”
