Winter Birdwatching Tours – 2023-24
Winter is a great time for birdwatching in Norfolk. Large numbers of birds come here to spend the winter,
including wildfowl, waders, birds of prey and owls. This is the season when we have our most spectacular
gatherings of wildfowl.
Our featured birdwatching tours for Winter 2023-24 are as follows:
- Early Winter Tour - December 1st-3rd 2023
- Winter Wildfowl, Cranes & Owls - January 18th-21st 2024
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 winter, and additional single weekday
tours may also be available, subject to availability and demand.
We also 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.
Winter Birds
Winter is the time of year to see large flocks of wildfowl and waders in Norfolk. The gatherings of
Pink-footed Geese are particularly stunning – watch their spectacular flights to and from
their roosting sites at dawn and dusk. This is also the best time of year to see some of our more secretive
resident birds. The resident population of Cranes in the Norfolk Broads can be seen feeding
in the fields or coming in to roost in the reeds at dusk.
Common Crane – Norfolk, March 2017 ©The Bird ID Company
Many raptors also gather here for the winter, Hen Harriers, Merlins and impressive
winter roosts of Marsh Harriers all escaping the cold weather further north. Most winters we have
one or two Rough-legged Buzzards, rare visitors to the UK from Scandinavia. Short-eared Owls
also come here over the North Sea, sometimes in considerable numbers. From the turn of the year,
Goshawks can be seen displaying over the forest on clear days.
We offer a variety of tours through the winter to see all these different birds:
-
The Broads for Cranes, Geese & Raptors Tour - A day spent in the Norfolk Broads looking
for Cranes, lots of geese and birds of prey and finishing off with a trip to the raptor and Crane roost.
-
North Norfolk Coastal sites - Visiting the coast to see a variety of divers, grebes,
ducks, geese, birds of prey, owls, Shore Lark, Lapland Bunting & Snow Bunting. Regular sites visited
include Holkham, Cley, Titchwell and Holme amongst others.
-
The Brecks & Thetford Forest - Visiting woodland sites looking primarily for Hawfinch
& other forest birds including Firecrest, Crossbill and possibly an over wintering Great Grey Shrike.
Later in February, Goshawk & Lesser Spotted Woodpecker might be possible.
-
In addition, we offer specialised Owl Tours - please see
here
for more details.
The precise location of the individual tours varies through the winter. Wildfowl numbers peak through December
and January. Woodland birds become more visible as they start to display in the New Year. Please see the
itinerary
for more details of dates and destinations.
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 £335/435 per person single/double includes 3 nights accommodation based
on Bed and Breakfast, all guiding, transport & packed lunch.
|
| 4 Days |
from £440/570 per person single/double includes 4 nights accommodation based
on Bed and Breakfast, all guiding, transport & packed lunch.
|
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 two customers booked per tour. If there is only a single customer booked,
pricing may have to vary by negotiation.
We typically base these tours in Wells or Hindolveston, depending on the destination of the tours. We generally
use a couple of small friendly Bed & Breakfasts. However, we can 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.