Status | Starts | Group size | Leader | Duration/price Inc. flights from/to UK | Duration/price Exc. international flights | Single supp. | ||
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Available | Max. 12 | Nick Acheson Ed Hutchings | 4 days: £795 pp. | None |
Thanks to its location and huge variety of habitats, Norfolk has long been known as one of England’s finest counties for wildlife. In late winter it is superb for grebes and divers offshore, hawfinches, firecrests and goshawks in the Brecks, and flocks of waterfowl and waders along the coast.
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- We meet early this afternoon at our hotel. After check-in we visit a nearby raptor roost where we stay until dusk. We have a chance of seeing marsh and hen harriers, merlin, peregrine and barn owl.
- Accommodation: Knights Hill Hotel, King’s Lynn, 3-nights on half board basis.
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- Today we time our visits to North Norfolk’s many excellent sites around the tide. At high tide the sea offshore of reserves such as RSPB Titchwell Marsh can be excellent for red-necked and Slavonian grebes, black-throated and great northern divers, common and velvet scoters, long-tailed duck and red-breasted merganser.
- Saltmarshes and mudflats nearby commonly support winter flocks of linnet, twite, rock pipit, snow bunting and shorelark. Sometimes Lapland buntings may also be found, while a short-eared owl, merlin or rough-legged buzzard might pass overhead.
- Anywhere along the North Norfolk coast in February we may encounter winter flocks of dark-bellied brent geese, wigeon and Eurasian teal. There will also be most likely dunlin, knot, sanderling, bar-tailed and black-tailed godwits, curlew, oystercatcher, redshank and perhaps scarce winter waders such as green sandpiper and spotted redshank.
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- We spend the whole of today in the wonderful Norfolk Brecks. Along the River Little Ouse we hope to find flocks of redpolls, siskins and bramblings. Also here we will keep our eyes open for lesser spotted, great spotted and green woodpeckers. Along the river itself we may see mandarin ducks and even Eurasian otters. Nearby woodlarks may be in song.
- We also visit Lynford Arboretum which is a fine site for crossbill, siskin, marsh tit, brambling, hawfinch and firecrest.
- In the north of the Brecks, if weather conditions are appropriate, we visit a site where goshawks are often seen displaying, in company with sparrowhawks, common buzzards, red kites and Norfolk’s first recolonising ravens.
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This morning we will visit a coastal nature reserve, or perhaps one of the heaths close to our hotel. Our tour ends at 12:30.
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All prices are per person and include:
- Services of the naturalist leader
- Accommodation
- Guided activities
- Breakfasts and dinners
Accommodation
Our hotel lies in North Norfolk farmland, on the edge of the historic town of King’s Lynn and close to the shore of The Wash. All rooms are en suite and have all the amenities necessary for a comfortable stay. The hotel also has a bar, a restaurant, a health club and a spa.
Meals
Breakfasts and dinners are taken at our hotel and are included. In order to give greater flexibility and maximise time in the field, lunches will be taken in local pubs or cafes and are not included in the cost of the tour.
Birds
Late winter is a wonderful time to visit Norfolk for birds. Many winter visitors, including shorelark, twite, long-tailed duck and red-necked grebe are still present along the coast. Inland, in the Brecks, birds such as goshawk, hawfinch, lesser spotted woodpecker, siskin, crossbill and firecrest are already singing or displaying in preparation for spring.
- Lesser spotted woodpecker
- Long-tailed duck
- Shorelark
- Hen harrier
Mammals
Though this is not the finest time of year for watching mammals in Norfolk, we may encounter post-breeding grey seals along the coast, otters in Breckland rivers and, with luck, shy Chinese water deer in reedbeds anywhere.
- European otter
- Grey seal
- Harbour seal
- Chinese water deer
Scenery
Norfolk is both rich in wildlife and very beautiful. Our tour takes us along the North Norfolk Coast Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and into the historic Brecks, where the landscape has been shaped by Ice Age glaciers and by centuries of grazing, shifting agriculture and rabbit farming.
Photography
Photographic opportunities on this trip are good, especially shorebirds and with luck displaying goshawks and lesser spotted woodpeckers in the Brecks.
Walking
Walks on this tour are typically short and easy. It may, however, be wet and muddy underfoot in some locations. At sites for particular species we may spend long periods standing in the cold, waiting for them to appear.
Ground transport
Ground transportation will be by minibus, driven by the leader.
Altitude
Low altitude throughout. In the words of Noel Coward, ‘very flat, Norfolk.’
Climate
In February the Norfolk coast can be bitterly cold, with fierce winds blowing from the North Sea, bringing heavy rain or even sleet and snow. However, days may equally be crisply bright and warm. Increasingly February is the start of spring in East Anglia.