Winter in the Norfolk Broads (Day Trip)

Summary

Winter can be a busy time in north-east Norfolk’s Broadland area. Despite the chilly weather of a British winter, conditions are actually relatively mild here and many birds head here to escape the less favourable conditions of a continental winter. The Broads region is justly famous for its large gatherings of wintering wildfowl and this is a truly international meeting place, as Pink-footed Geese from Greenland and Iceland rub shoulders with Wigeon and Teal from Scandinavia and Russia. With them come many other species, the highlight of which would be a glimpse of a small but regular group of Taiga Bean Geese, which are ever elusive but always an exciting possibility! Redwings and Fieldfares feed on berries in the hedgerows and large flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plovers gather on the grazing marshes.

As spring moves forward, the exodus of wintering ducks, geese and wild swans from Broadland gets underway and passage birds begin to move through the county offering constantly changing opportunities. At this time resident Broadland birds break into song and the first spring migrants will also appear.

While the masses of wildfowl will impress us, we’ll also be keeping an eye out for wintering raptors – especially Marsh and Hen Harriers, Peregrine and Merlin. Our chances of seeing these birds will be increased by visiting a winter roost site. This site regularly holds an interesting selection of wildlife and, as well as the raptors, the local population of Common Cranes likes to spend the night here too, while Barn Owl and Chinese Water Deer are often to be found out and about. Every winter is different, so there will doubtless be some nice surprises in store for us!

Led by a naturalist, these Day Trips will start at 9am at Buckenham and will cover around 3-4 miles over the course of the day on easy dirt trails. Please also allow up to £10 for car parking charges.

• A wealth of wintering wildfowl
• Common Cranes
• A good variety of raptors 
• Barn and Short-eared Owls
• Large flocks of Lapwings and Golden Plover