About Us

About Our Tours

The Bird ID Company offers a wide variety of guided birdwatching day tours and longer birding holidays, to see birds and other wildlife across Norfolk and beyond. Tours run regularly, with several dates available most weeks right through the year. The destinations and the sort of birds we might see vary and a guide to our tours by season is shown below:

Spring – Early spring Brecks Tours for Goshawks, Hawfinches and other forest birds run from February to early April. Then Spring Tours take over as migration starts in earnest from mid-April to the end of May.

Summer – Our Summer Tours, looking for some of our rarer breeding species, including Bee-eater, Bittern, Spoonbill, Dartford Warbler and Stone Curlew, run through June and July. In August, the focus switches to our Wader Tours and Spectaculars.

Autumn – Autumn migration is one of the most exciting times of the year, with flocks of birds arriving from the continent, sometimes bringing rarer visitors with them. Our Autumn Tours operate from late August to early November.

Winter – Our Winter Tours operate from mid-November until the end of February, to see flocks of wintering wildfowl and waders, birds of prey and owls, Shore Larks and Snow Buntings. We also offer specialised Owl Tours in January and February.

For more details on particular tours, please refer to the individual tour pages.

Why Choose The Bird ID Company?

Smaller Groups

We cater for all abilities, from complete beginners who are interested in a general selection of birds to more experienced birdwatchers who may be targeting certain species. With our small group sizes, up to a maximum of only eight participants, everyone can be assured of a better experience. Particularly with our focus on making sure you get more out of your birdwatching, we believe it is important that every member of the group has the greatest opportunity both to observe the birds closely and ask questions of your guide.

Scheduled Groups & Private Tours

We offer a variety of very wide variety of different tours. Scheduled group tours range from one day trips to five day birdwatching holidays. Customised private birdwatching tours are also available at any time of the year, for individuals or groups, which can be tailored specifically to your individual requirements (see here).

Accommodation

Our longer tours are available with accommodation, so we can save you the hassle of finding you somewhere convenient to stay. However it is also possible to book any tour without accommodation, if you would prefer to arrange your own. Where required, accommodation is booked to order, so you can choose the number of nights you wish to stay. We generally use small local B&Bs, but alternative accommodation can be arranged to suit your personal needs and budget.

Children

With children of our own, we understand their particular requirements. We generally advise that scheduled group day tours may not suitable for participants under 16 years or age. A customised day tour may be a better option for older children. Please call us to discuss in more detail if you would like to arrange a tour with your children.

The Birding Day

The entire day is devoted to watching the superb wildlife that Norfolk attracts, and helping you to learn various aspects of bird identification. There will be plenty of opportunity to discuss what has been seen and ask questions.

We normally meet at 8.00-9.00am on the day, depending on the tour, either at your accommodation or a convenient meeting point. The details of where we meet are always specified in your final confirmation email.

We might visit several different sites and all transport during the day is provided. We normally finish at around 4.00-5.00pm, depending on the time of year, and you will be dropped back at your starting point at the end of the day.

We normally see around 60-100 species of bird during a day depending on the location and time of year. We often encounter a scarce or rare bird, which always adds to the excitement on the day.

The tour takes place at a relaxed and comfortable walking pace, and we stop regularly to look at birds we see on the way. We might walk between 2 – 6 miles in total during a day, although this is not all in one go. The day is usually broken up into a series of smaller, gentle walks, with a break for lunch. Please contact us beforehand if you have any mobility issues and we can discuss the suitability of any tour.

Please bring binoculars with you (if you don’t have any, it may be possible to borrow a pair). Your guide will have a telescope available for the group to share, but you are welcome to bring yours as well if you have one. There will also be lots of opportunities to take photographs, if you would like to bring a camera.

It is important that everyone wears appropriate clothing and footwear, given the time of year and the weather conditions on the day. We go out in most weather, as it is still possible to see birds – they do not have the option of a day off!

A packed lunch is usually provided for longer tours, where accommodation has been booked as well. For day tours and those not booking accommodation you will need to bring any food and drink required for the day unless otherwise stated.

For information on how to book a tour, please visit our Booking page, or contact us if you have any questions.

About Your Guide

Marcus Nash is the owner and principal tour leader at The Bird ID Company and will be the guide for your tour.

I was born and raised in Norfolk and started birdwatching here at the age of 8, which marked the start of a lifelong passion for birds and wildlife. I studied Zoology at university, where I wrote my dissertation on Little Egrets in the Camargue, France and spent two months in the Peruvian Amazon studying the effects of the then emerging ecotourism on rainforest species distribution. After travelling extensively, birdwatching in various countries, I settled in London to live and work for several years. During that period I still took every opportunity to indulge my interest in birds, with regular trips all around the world and visits back to my home county whenever possible.

I made the decision to leave behind my career and move back to Norfolk permanently with my family in 2006, with a view to turning my hobby into a profession. Since then, I have spent most of my time out in the field, studying birds and their behaviour, investigating different aspects of bird identification, and enjoying other wildlife. This has involved extensive travel around East Anglia, where I have developed a particular interest in how the distribution of different species has changed since I was younger.

I also play a very active role in the local birding community. Amongst other things, I have just begun a second five-year term as a serving member of the Norfolk Rarities Committee and I am a regular contributor to the Norfolk Bird Report.

I have found some exciting rare birds over the years, including the UK’s second Citril Finch, England’s fourth and Norfolk’s first Brünnich’s Guillemot, plus Black-and-White Warbler, Gull-billed Tern, Fea’s Petrel, Desert Wheatear, Red-flanked Bluetail, Eastern Yellow and Citrine Wagtails, several Pallid Harriers, amongst many others.

It is not just about the birds. As well as butterflies, dragonflies and orchids, I also have a particular interest in moths and I am trying to revive my historic entomological training in other directions too. I am also attempting to become a better wildlife photographer – if I ever have any spare time!

I took over the running of the Bird ID Company in 2014, which is the perfect way to allow me to share my knowledge and enthusiasm with others. Since then, I have been running the tours in the same format and just as successfully as they have been run in the past.