The Wild Isles series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, takes a look at Britain’s natural wonders but here at Visit Norfolk we reckon we have more than enough fabulous wildlife to pique your interest.
Interestingly, Norfolk is very nearly an isle in itself, the sources of the Rivers Little Ouse, which goes to The Wash in the north west of the county, and Waveney, which goes into Breydon Water in the south east, are just half a mile apart near Redgrave.
Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserves
Any-ho, here’s Norfolk’s most spectacular top 10 wildlife experiences to enjoy…
Bird roosts
The coldest days of winter are the best times to enjoy the spectacle of birds gathering to roost communally. NWT Hickling Broad nature reserve has a wonderful sunset wildlife spectacle which can be viewed from near Stubb Mill. Up to one hundred marsh harriers fly in at sunset to roost on the reserve and with luck you will see hen harriers, barn owls and perhaps even Chinese water deer while you wait.
This is a top site for spotting common cranes which also regularly roost on the reserve. An unrivalled wildlife spectacle and unique to Norfolk! The UK’s tallest bird (over 1m high) had stopped breeding in the UK about 400 years ago until a trio of migrating cranes were blown off course in 1979 and established themselves in Norfolk.
Norfolk has other roost spectacles: starling flocks which put on amazing aerial displays before roosting in reed beds, pied wagtails roosting in trees in busy shopping streets in the heart of Norwich, and the noisy spectacle of more than 10,000 rooks and crows which roost in the Yare valley at Buckenham Marshes – the largest regular winter corvid gathering in England.
Another noisy, roost spectacle can be enjoyed at the other end of the county: Bewick’s and whooper swans roosting in thousands on the Ouse Washes at Welney where they can be viewed under floodlights at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust centre.
Seals of approval
Norfolk has the country’s largest seal colony in the country at Blakeney Point, a four mile long spit caused by longshore drift. But you don’t have to walk there, you can take a boat!
Grey seals have their pups in the middle of winter – December and January are peak times for females to give birth in Norfolk. Unlike the smaller common seals which give birth in the summer, grey seal pups are suckled for three weeks by their mothers and remain on the beach for much of this period. Should you come across grey seal pups please view from a distance and don’t disturb them – they may appear deserted but the mother is usually nearby out at sea.
Norfolk has nationally important numbers of this exciting marine mammal and all around the Norfolk coast you may be lucky enough to spot a seal’s head appearing as they surface from diving for fish.
Where to see the seals in Norfolk
Small things with wings!
Britain’s largest butterfly, the Swallowtail – with a wingspan of 9cm – can only be found in the Broads National Park, choosing sites with a healthy growth of milk parsley, where it lays its eggs on the tallest plants. Visit on a settled day between late May and mid-July for the best chance of spotting one of these rare insect, which can be identified by their bright yellow and black wings and two long tail extensions resembling a swallow’s tail.
Look out for Swallowtail butterflies and Norfolk hawker dragonflies at NWT Upton Broad, NWT Hickling Broad or NWT Ranworth Broad. You might also see barn owls, adders and marsh harriers.
Take a gander at goosey goosey
One of the great winter wildlife spectacles to enjoy is huge skeins of pink-footed geese. More than a third of the world’s population of this species spend the winter in Norfolk with peak numbers present in January and February. These geese are very noisy both in flight and on the ground. They roost together at night in huge numbers on remote parts of the coast and their dawn and dusk flights between inland feeding areas on farmland and these coastal roosts are an amazing wildlife sight.
You can enjoy watching pink-footed geese at NWT Holme Dunes, NWT Cley Marshes, NWT Hickling Broad and NWT Martham Broad nature reserves. As well as the pink-footed geese also look for migratory brent geese on the saltmarshes as well as the resident greylag, Canada and Egyptian geese.
Flocks of birds
Throughout autumn, from August to October, look to the skies for signs of migrating birds leaving and arriving at our shores. Along the Norfolk coast, especially at RSPB Snettisham, shimmering flocks of waders can be seen on their migratory passage, bringing with them some of the less common wading birds, such as little stints and curlew sandpipers.
NWT Cley Marshes is the perfect place to explore for the chance of seeing rare migratory birds blown slightly off course, such as shrikes and bluethroats. Even some of our commonest garden birds, such as chaffinches, flock in their thousands from Scandinavia to arrive at our shores for winter.
Feeding Flyers
Whilst you may have been able to hear their impressive booming calls throughout spring, early summer is now the chance to catch a glimpse of the rare bittern in the air. See if you can spot both marsh harriers and bitterns flying to their nests to feed the hungry mouths of their young. The bittern is one of the rarest breeding birds in the UK and a Red List species, most notable around the Norfolk Broads, so don’t miss out in sighting this spectacular species.
April and May are the months to watch male marsh harriers passing food in mid-air to females. The male will call the female off her nest and either drop food for her to catch in mid-air or they will grapple talons with one bird flying upside down! Amazing to watch.
Look out for them at NWT Cley Marshes, NWT Hickling Broad, NWT Holme Dunes.
Peewits or plovers?
Whatever you chose to call them the aerial displays of lapwings over coastal marshes in March and April are a great spring spectacle.
Lapwings are surely one of our most beautiful birds. They may look black and white in the distance but take a closer look – in sunshine their plumage shines myriad shades of glossy purples and greens. Did you spot the orange feathering under their tails? And at the other end that fantastic crest – slightly longer in the males than the females.
Combine all these showy colours with what has to be one of the most amazing of spring displays – spring is lapwing show-time. They tumble, twist and turn, throwing themselves headlong towards the ground and then skywards, calling as they perform.
You can enjoy all this and more on an early spring morning at NWT Cley Marshes, NWT Holme Dunes, NWT Hickling Broad or on the grazing marshes at NWT Upton Broad and Marshes.
Sea swallows
Around the Norfolk coast and on some of Norfolk’s Broads look out for nesting terns in the Spring. These elegant long distance migrants arrive in April and have young in May and June. They hover over the water then close their wings and plunge dive for small fish. Visit NWT Ranworth Broad this spring to watch the nesting common terns on specially built floating which they breed on. At NWT Cley Marshes and NWT Holme Dunes look for tiny little terns and the larger sandwich terns flying along the shore.
Screaming swifts
Arriving in late April and May, shouting ‘Summer’s coming!’ Once you have seen that first stunt party of swifts screaming their way down village streets, hurtling round buildings, and screaming ‘we’re back’ in the way that only swifts can, you know that warmer days are on their way. May is the month to listen out for the arrival of one or the world’s most remarkable birds. Visit NWT Cley Marshes and NWT Holme Dunes to spot early arriving swifts in April.
Otters hunting
The sight of a gleaming otter, swimming along the river with a fish in its mouth, is undoubtedly one of the most special wildlife encounters you can have in Britain. Autumn and winter are brilliant times of the year to see these elusive creatures. They are most active at dawn and dusk, and they are identifiable from their broad head and long wide tail.
Your best chance of seeing an otter would be to take a long walk along the Broads; they are often seen along the river Yare and Wensum. They are also seen at NWT Ranworth and Barton Broads, so a couple of hours waiting patiently in a hide could prove rewarding.
