Sculthorpe Moor 15 min
The Hawk and Owl Trust's fen and wet woodland reserve near Fakenham, with boardwalks and hides. Marsh harrier, kingfisher, owls. Open daily; entry by donation.
Field notes
Birdwatching
You don't need to go far. The garden has its own pheasant, red kites drift over the village, and some of the best reserves in Britain are twenty minutes away.
From the garden and the village
- All year
- Pheasant and red-legged partridge in the garden. Buzzard and red kite overhead, kestrel over the fields. Green and great spotted woodpeckers, goldfinch, long-tailed tit, wren, robin, dunnock. Yellowhammer in the hedges along the Holy Mile.
- Dusk
- Barn owl hunting the field edges, best in winter and early spring. Tawny owls calling from the trees.
- On the River Stiffkey
- Kingfisher and grey wagtail, if you walk quietly.
- Summer
- Swallows and house martins from April to September.
- Winter
- Fieldfare and redwing stripping the hedges from October to March.
On the coast and marshes
- Winter, October to February
- Pink-footed geese in their tens of thousands, flighting over Holkham at dawn and dusk. Brent geese, wigeon and teal on the marsh. Snow buntings on the shingle at Salthouse. Knot, dunlin and godwit in the Snettisham wader spectacle on the big tides.
- Spring and summer
- Avocets at Cley and Titchwell. Spoonbills at Holkham, home to Britain's main colony. Sandwich and little terns on Blakeney Point. Bitterns booming at Titchwell on still spring mornings.
- All year
- Marsh harriers quartering the reeds. Little and great white egrets. Oystercatcher, curlew, redshank, ringed plover and shelduck along the shore. Bearded tits in the reedbeds, easiest on calm autumn mornings.
- Not a bird
- Grey seals pup on Blakeney Point from November to January.
Where to go
Holkham National Nature Reserve 15 min
Dunes, pinewoods and grazing marsh behind the beach. Geese in winter, spoonbills in summer. The Lookout café has a hide-like view over the marsh.
Cley Marshes 25 min
Norfolk Wildlife Trust's oldest reserve. Six hides, and a visitor centre café looking across the marsh to the sea.
RSPB Titchwell Marsh 35 min
Reedbeds, lagoons and beach in one walk. Avocets, bearded tits, marsh harriers, and a good café. Recommended by several guests.
RSPB Snettisham 45 min
On the biggest tides, tens of thousands of waders are pushed off the Wash mudflats in a swirling mass. Dates are published a year ahead; you must book parking for them. Pink-footed geese leave the roost at dawn in winter.
Blakeney Point & Morston 20 min
Tern colonies in summer and seals all year, seen from the boats. The saltmarsh walk from Blakeney to Cley is good for harriers and winter geese.