Large numbers of birds come here to spend the colder months, including wildfowl, waders, birds of prey and owls, and by November most of our winter visitors should be here in good numbers. There should be large numbers of geese, particularly huge flocks of Pink-footed Geese commuting between their roost sites on the coast and the harvested sugar beet fields inland, where they feed. Sometimes a rarer goose may be mixed in with them, and in some years it is a good time to find Tundra Bean Geese in the flocks. There is always a good selection of ducks and waders to see too at this time of year.
Our over-wintering Shorelarks are always one of the highlights of the season here, and should be back in residence by this time, and there may be flocks of Snow Buntings too. It is a good time for raptors and we will go to a site to watch for Hen Harriers and Merlin coming in to roost at dusk. In some years we may have a Rough-legged Buzzard around for the winter as well.
It is always worth checking the sea and November can be a good time of year for scarcer divers and grebes on the coast. In northerly winds, Little Auks and Grey Phalaropes are both possibilities and maybe even a Pomarine Skua could be blown inshore. In November 2021 one of our groups was lucky enough to find a Brünnich’s Guillemot on the sea here, the first for Norfolk and only around the fourth record for England.
Whilst autumn migration is largely over, some species often still turn up at this late time of the season. On previous tours we have seen such exciting rarer birds like Stejneger’s (Amur) Stonechat, Isabelline Wheatear and Hume’s Warbler. There are still often surprises to be found!
We would expect to see around 110-125 species across the three days.
This tour is based around accommodation at White House Farm in Hindolveston, well placed to explore the north coast of Norfolk and further afield. All rooms are en suite.
You will be picked up from the guest house each morning at 8am. Transport is in our spacious 9-seat minibus and we may visit 2-3 different sites during the course of a day. There is a moderate amount of walking most days, but it is very slow paced and broken into smaller amounts, with lots of stops to look at birds. We normally finish each day around 4.30-5.00pm.
The price for the three days of Bird Tour on 1st-3rd November, with full board accommodation at White House Farm for three nights (31st Oct-2nd Nov, leaving on 3rd), packed lunches included on the three tour days and evening meals on all three nights, comes to £395/£495 per person double/single occupancy.
It is possible to tailor the number of nights’ accommodation and meals to your requirements, so please contact us for more details. If you prefer to eat out on one or all evenings, there is a wide selection of places to eat out within 10-15 minutes’ drive.
It is also possible to arrange your own accommodation and meet us in Hindolveston each morning, normally at 8.00am. The price on a tour only basis is £180 per person for the three days.
Prices are based on a minimum of four customers booked per tour. If there are fewer people booked, pricing may have to vary by negotiation or the tour may not be able to proceed as planned.
Accommodation and meals as above. All transport and guiding on the tour days to and from the guest house. If you are planning to travel here by public transport, please contact us to discuss options to get to Hindolveston.
Reserve entrance fees are not included and we may visit nature reserves such as Cley or Titchwell, so please make sure you have any membership cards for organisations like RSPB or Norfolk WT if you are members (a small charge of up to £5-7 per person is payable on entry for non-members).
You are advised to have travel insurance in case of cancellation.
If you would like to give a gift to someone who is interested in birds then a gift voucher from The Bird ID Company is an ideal present.
The vouchers can be flexible, and used against any tour or tours over the following 12 months, or can be bought for a specific tour.
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