Summer Birdwatching Tours – 2023
Our Summer Tours take place during June & July and are amongst the most exciting summer bird watching experiences
in Britain. We are lucky to have a number of rarer breeding species which occur here in East Anglia and are hard
to see elsewhere in the country. It is also a great time of year to look for several of the other iconic species
for which the area is well known.
Our featured tours for Summer 2023 are as follows:
- Early Summer Wildlife & Nightjars - June 9th-11th 2023
- Summer Wildlife & Nightjars - July 14th-16th 2023
As usual, a wide variety of additional dates are available, both for guided group tours and
private customised birding days. Group tours will operate on most weekends through the summer, and additional
single weekday tours may also be available, subject to availability and demand.
We can sometimes offer the flexibility to pick only a single day, or choose shorter weekend or weekday bird
watching breaks from within the longer tours. Please check the itinerary for precise tour destinations and
contact us for more details.
Summer Birds
East Anglia is lucky to be blessed with several very rare or scarce breeding species – including Spoonbills,
Nightjars, Dartford Warblers, Woodlarks, Bitterns,
Cranes and Stone Curlews. Our summer tours will focus on looking for these rare
breeding birds, as well as providing opportunities to catch up with other iconic local species, such
as Marsh Harriers, Avocets and Bearded Tits. We also offer
tours to the Norfolk Broads, to look for Swallowtail butterflies, dragonflies and birds.
The itinerary of the tours will change slightly as the summer progresses. In June, we may also look for late
passerine migrants. If conditions are right, these can include such exciting species as
Marsh & Icterine Warbler, Red-backed Shrike or
Bluethroat. By July, the focus will increasingly change to passage waders, as birds start to
return south from their breeding grounds. In late June and July 2016, we were lucky to have a very rare
Great Knot which appeared here with some of our returning Knot and in July
2018 we saw a Lesser Yellowlegs from North America on several of our tours.
August is considered by us to be a summer month, but for most of our birds it is the end of the breeding season.
Wader numbers really start to increase through the month and Norfolk, with its variety of wetland habitats, is a
great place to see a variety of them at this time of year. In August, we will offer Wader Tours particularly
designed to look for the variety of returning waders. Please see the separate Wader Tours page
here.
Stone Curlew – Norfolk, July 2015 ©The Bird ID Company
More details on the possible individual day tours are given below. All tours are available as standalone day trips,
or as part of longer 2-day/weekend or 3-day breaks. Please see the
itinerary
for provisional tour dates or contact us to discuss the possibilities.
Spoonbills & Dartford Warblers
Spoonbills have recently set up the first breeding colony in Britain for over 300 years, and we
will spend part of the day watching these spectacular birds. Later in the summer, large post-breeding flocks of
adults and juveniles gather on the coast, a real birding highlight at this time of year. Norfolk holds one of the
most northerly breeding populations of the very localised Dartford Warbler. We will explore the
local heaths, looking for the Warblers, as well as for Woodlarks and
Turtle Doves. During the day, there will also be time to look for passage migrants and waders and
we may also see local specialities such as Bearded Tit, Bittern,
Marsh Harrier and Avocet.
Stone Curlews, Cranes & Bitterns
The Brecks, with its mix of habitats including ancient heath and wet fen, has its own specialised breeding birds.
Stone Curlew is still a very scarce breeding species in the UK and this is one of the best areas
to see it. We will visit several sites around Thetford Forest and spend time looking for
Tree Pipit, Woodlark, Spotted Flycatcher &
Firecrest. There may even be a chance of finding a Hawfinch. We will also spend
part of the day at Lakenheath Fen, where the vast reedbeds host several breeding Bitterns and two
pairs of Cranes. This is also a great place to see Hobby,
Marsh Harrier, Cuckoo and Bearded Tits. Unfortunately the Golden
Orioles, for which this site was famous, have failed to return in recent years.
Nightjars & Woodcock
Nightjars are summer visitors to heaths and forest clearings, and we are blessed with a good
population here. Listening to their distinctive churring on a warm evening is a unique experience, and we can
watch them performing from their favoured perches. We will also look for Woodcock 'roding'
overhead at dusk. The breeding population of this species has declined in recent years and it is great to be able
still to witness the display flight of this secretive wading bird. There will also be the opportunity to look for
owls, particularly Barn Owls, and we often at least hear the hooting of the local
Tawny Owls.
The Nightjars & Woodcock evenings will be available on all 3 day tours and
on other dates by arrangement. For this tour we will meet at 7.30pm at an agreed location and we should finish
by 10.30pm.
Swallowtail Tour
The Swallowtail butterfly is a true Norfolk speciality. Our largest native butterfly, its
range is restricted to the Norfolk Broads. It is a real spectacle to see the adults flying over the reeds or
settling to feed on a Marsh Thistle. The area is also alive with dragonflies at this time of year and we will
look for the distinctive Norfolk Hawker amongst them. This species is similarly restricted to
East Anglia and can be found at many of the sites where the Swallowtails are present. This is
also a good time of year to look for orchids, and we have some particularly scarce species here. At the same
time, there should still be plenty of birds to see, with the Norfolk Broads playing to host to such rare breeding
species as Cranes and Bitterns, as well as Marsh Harriers,
Bearded Tits, Grasshopper Warblers and many others.
This tour will run subject to demand, so please contact us if you may be interested in coming along.
Tour Details & Prices
The Three Day Tours run from Friday morning through to late Sunday afternoon with accommodation
from Thursday evening. This includes 3 nights B&B accommodation, all transport during tour days to and from your
base, guiding and packed lunches.
Our basic prices are detailed below.
| Day Tours |
£60 per person per day
includes all guiding and transport on the day from a convenient meeting point.
|
| 2 Days / Weekend |
from £230/295 per person single/double
includes 2 nights accommodation based on Bed and Breakfast, all guiding, transport & packed lunch.
|
| 3 Days |
from £335/445 per person single/double
includes 3 nights accommodation based on Bed and Breakfast, all guiding, transport & packed lunch.
|
| Nightjar evening |
£30 per person
includes all guiding and transport for the evening from a convenient meeting point.
|
As all accommodation is booked to order,
final pricing will depend on the availability of rooms at the time of booking, and a single
supplement may be payable. All tours are also available without accommodation, and it is very easy to add extra
nights if required. Please contact us for a quotation.
Prices are based on a minimum of four customers booked per tour. If there is only a single customer booked, pricing
may have to vary by negotiation or the tour may not be able to proceed as planned.
The accommodation for tours is at White House Farm B&B in the village of Hindolveston, well placed to explore
the north coast of Norfolk and the Broads and Brecks. However, we can usually arrange alternative accommodation
to suit your requirements and budget, if required.
To book a tour please select your preferred date from the tours on these pages or the
itinerary.
It is advisable then to contact us first to discuss availability. You will then be required to return a completed
booking form to us at the address shown. For guidance please refer to the booking page.
During the Rare Breeding Bird Tours no species are disturbed and The Bird ID Company abides by the Bird Watchers
Code at all times and asks our clients to do the same. We do not visit close to the nesting sites of rare species
and report any suspicious activities in the areas of these breeding birds. The bird's welfare must always come
first. Our success rate with the species involved is generally high, though can be dependent on the weather and we
cannot guarantee success.