Norfolk

[McBilly]

Howdie, how many norfolk people are on here and can give me the inside scoop on seeing birds in this lovely area.

Also any good websites for the reports of whats seen, im too poor for the pager, email system thingy..

Have to say i have done 20 plus reserves in the past month, and i am very impressed with them all and the freindlyness of the staff at the reserves. My fav i dont have one i like all of them for different reasons..

Cley is good, short distance to one hide which has brilliant views over the scrapes and easy enough access to other areas on a schooter.

Tichmarsh is good, havent done more than the temp hide due to the distances for walking but i did like how close the little birds came.

Been over to a few on the broads which were really good, compact and nice to potter round.

[astafjevs]

Hi McBilly,

if you've done 20 reserves in a month you probably know a lot more about birding in Norfolk than most of us do, perhaps you could post a bit about some of those reserves!

I would recommend joining a local bird club, as they'd have extensive knowledge of the area. Most clubs have a 'sightings' page or messagebaord, which might be exactly what you're looking for.

I imagine Norfolk has more than one local club, but you could do worse than try these:
Norfolk Ornothological Association

[McBilly]

Yeh i proberly do lol, i decided to get my moneys worth!! plus work out good ones and the best times of year to go.

Norfolk is full of i think i did last count 40 plus reserves, plus other places to see wildlife, then you go south a bit and theres even more down there!!

See i might know the reserves but do i know the little personal places people find from living some where for years..

Ive got goals for this year - barn owl, crane, kingfisher, as my three for the year - i do like to have other owls on that list because i didnt realise how many are around in this area.

[astafjevs]

Well Barn Owls I can possibly help you with. We had good views of them from walking just a mile or so of the coast path west of the village of Stiffkey last autumn. The path is fairly flat in that area.

Can't help you with cranes, but I would have thought kingfishers would be easy enough to see if you invest a bit of time in sitting by a riverside in the right sort of area.

Good luck

[McBilly]

Thank you, ive seen lots of barn owls just not seen them where i can photo them!! i will try round that area, i do find myself lucky to of seen two rarer birds already... but its good to set a challenge im trying to find a local medow which had a river through it see if they might be there... will be interesting year ahead...

[Kevin_D]

If it's Cranes you want then NWT Hickling Broad is the place. As for Kingfishers Strumshaw Fen normally comes up with the goods but you will need to put in the time and be patient. The tower hide is normally the best place.

[Dave Appleton]

You can sometimes see the Cranes from the coast road between Waxham and West Somerton too, or in flight from Martham Broad. I'm not sure if they're there this year again or not but they have also been at Lakenheath on the Norfolk/Suffolk border - which is a nice reserve although mostly in Suffolk.

Barn Owls should be easy to find in many areas, e.g. Holkham, Burnham Norton, etc. Kingfishers can be tricky but are common enough especially along the inland rivers - I see them regularly at my local patch of Swanton Morley fishing pits. If you don't know their call have a listen - you're far more likely to see them if you hear them first.