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Day Tours
For 2009 we are continuing to run our half and full day tours to Cley and Titchwell Nature Reserves both of which are suitable for beginners wishing to have a general introduction to the birds of Norfolk. These tours are also suitable for the more experienced birdwatcher as both reserves have a wide variety of species to be seen throughout the year which will appeal to all interests.
In addition to the tours of Cley and Titchwell, we are also running an couple of addition winter day trips to take advantage of some of the prime bird species that occur during this period, consisiting of a day trip for Geese and Raptors on the north Norfolk coast and another for Raptors and Cranes in the Norfolk Broads.
Subject to availability of your guide, any of these day trips can be run to meet your requirements and availability, and whilst single day trips will primarily appeal to those of you already living in the county, if you do live outside Norfolk we can either run just a single day tour for you, or alternatively we are more than happy to combine a couple or more of the venues for a longer weekend tour to make the most of your visit to the county. Low cost B&B can always be arranged, and it may be possible for your guide to collect your from your accommodation. Please contact us to discuss your requirements and we'll do our best to accommodate you within our schedule.
As with all our tours, when attending any of these day trips, please bring with you appropriate footwear which ideally should be suitable for wet and/or muddy conditions and its always sensible, regardless of season, to bring waterproof and warm clothing as it can always stay in the car if not needed. Binoculars are essential, but your guide will have a telescope for the use by the group.
Cost of our day tours are generally £40 for a full day and £20 for a half day tour. Unless otherwise agreed you will be responsible for any entrance/permit/parking fees during the day, and your own transport to the venue. If you guide collects you from your accommodation then a small extra charge may be applied to cover fuel costs for the day. Lunch is also extra, and whilst we prefer you to bring a packed lunch, the visitors centres at both Cley and Titchwell do serve food and drinks.
We will generally meet at a pre-arranged venue, usually the reserve car park, at around 9.00 or 9.30, or alternatively at a time to suit you, and usually carry on till dusk during thecurrent short winter days.
Upon booking you may be asked for a £5 deposit per person, with the balance payable on the day.
A guide to the sites to be visited and some of the main species to be seen are detailed below, but naturally further information can be given upon request. Various tours for spring and summer will be added shortly.
Cley Marshes NWT Reserve and surrounding area
This tour is both ideal as an introduction to the birds of Norfolk for the novice birdwatcher, and as a refresher of the countys birds for infrequent visitors to the area. We will see a good range of species, and in particular will be looking for specialities such as Avocet, Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit and Little Egret, a variety of Waders and Ducks, and if lucky we may see a Bittern to really make it a memorable day.
Tours consist of a 1/2 day guided tour around the famous bird reserve at Cley, or a full days tour when after the visit to the reserve, we will look for additional species that can be found in the surrounding area. The 1/2 day morning tour is generally 3 hours long, usually 9.30-12.30, with the full day tour running to 16.00 with a convenient stop for lunch in the middle of the day. Please note that access to the main set of hides on the reserve is wheelchair friendly, so you are more than welcome to attend just that part of the tour. If you are attending for the full day please either bring a packed lunch, or there is a cafe within the visitors centre if you prefer.
In winter we will see large flocks of Brent Geese around the reserve, and hopefully the Snow Buntings, Shorelarks and Lapland Buntings which were around in winter 07/08 will be present again. We will also take the opportunity to look for Barn Owl which is usually to be found hunting over the nearby Glaven Valley on winter afternoons.
For anyone visiting by public transport, the Coasthopper bus service has a stop on the road by the visitors centre.
Please note that there is a permit fee of £4.00 for entrance onto the NWT Reserve (free to members) which is not included within the price.
Geese, Waders, Ducks and Gulls at Cley NWT Reserve
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Titchwell RSPB Reserve
Another tour that is suitable for both beginners and infrequent visitors to the area is our tour of Titchwell RSPB reserve. Both the path through the reserve to the beach and access to the hides is wheelchair friendly, and binoculars are usually available for hire from the visitors centre.
The reedbeds and pools attract a similar range of birds to those detailed under the above tour with good numbers of wildfowl and waders, Marsh Harriers, Bearded Tit and Bittern. On winter afternoons both Hen Harrier and Barn Owl can be seen hunting in the area.
At low tide the beach is often alive with thousands of birds, with shorebirds such as Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Sanderling, Knot, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Grey Plover and Dunlin present in good numbers, with the occasional Purple Sandpiper also being present. The sea is often very productive, especially in winter, with good numbers of sea duck to be seen along with Divers and Grebes.
Please note that there is a £4.00 parking charge at the reserve for non RSPB members which is not included in the price.
We can either run a half or full day trip around the reserve, and can also combine a morning tour of the reserve with an afternoon trip to look for Geese and Raptors (see below).
Thousands of Gulls and Waders feed on the exposed beach at Titchwell at low tide
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Geese and Raptors Day - North Norfolk Coast near Wells next the Sea (Winter Only)
On this tour we will visit the favoured area for Pink-footed Geese which are one of the major highlights of a Norfolk winter. Over 100,000 birds winter in the county and the sight and sound of them as they take off or land is a truly spectacular and memorable sight, and one that I still find enthralling even after many years of seeing them. We will also hope to see White-fronted, Brent and Egyptian Geese along with the resident Greylag and Canada Geese, and maybe even a rarer species of Goose as these are regularly present amongst the flocks.
We will also take a look at the sea where we will look for Divers, Grebes and Sea-Duck such as Common and Velvet Scoter, Eider, Red-breasted Merganser and Long-tailed Duck, and may well see Snow Buntings or Shorelarks on the saltings on the way.
We'll eat our packed lunches in a hide overlooking grazing marshes which will hold a variety of dabbling ducks, a few waders and Little Egrets, and we will also hopefully see a Marsh Harrier hunting in the area. We will also be able to further enjoy the flocks of geese as they fly in and out of the area.
If time permits we will visit a nearby area of woodland in the early afternoon where will can look for all 3 Woodpeckers, Treeceeper and Nuthatch, and may well see some winter thrushes and small finch flocks which often contain Brambling.
Mid-afternoon we will move a little way along the coast to be in position for an evening Raptor roosting site, where we will hopefully see Hen Harrier, with Merlin and Peregrine also regularly being seen there. We will hopefully see a Barn Owl hunting the fields somewhere in the area and also Brent Geese, Curlew and Redshank on the saltmarsh, and good numbers of Little Egrets will be seen flying along the coast towards their roost site.
Please bring a packed lunch, drink and snacks for the day with you, and a bag to carry them in as we will be taking lunch away from the vehicles, and please note there is a £3.50 parking charge at one of our intended sites, although we may be able to vehicle share from a nearby free car park.
Please also note that you are perfectly welcome just attend for the morning if you wish.
Pink-footed Geese near Wells
The sight and sound of 1000's of these birds moving across a winter sky is an unforgettable experience
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Raptor Roost and Cranes - Norfolk Broads (Winter Only)
This afternoon only tour will intially involve a visit to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust Reserve at Hickling where we will have a look for marsh and water birds, and then we will move to a viewpoint which gives us good views over an area where raptors roost and is also a very good vantage point to see the Common Cranes as they fly over to roost late afternoon.
Marsh Harriers are abundant in the area and there is often over 30 birds to be seen in the skies and over the reedbeds at any one time, one or two Hen Harriers are also usually seen, with both Merlin and Peregrine occasionally present too.
Barn Owls are also a regular sight in the area and skeins of Pink-footed Geese pass overhead.
However it is the Common Cranes that are the major highlight, with 34 birds currently (Sept 08) in the area and small groups of these birds are to be seen as they fly from their daytime feeding areas over to their roost site from late afternoon onwards.
Please note the start/finish time of this afternoon tour will vary depending on the time of sunset. Exact times of the tour can be advised upon booking.
3 Common Cranes flying over near viewpoint
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Weekend Tours
As mentioned above, if you are visiting from outside of the county it is possible to combine any of the above tours to coincide with a few days stay such as a long weekend, and with B&B accommodation starting from as little as £25 per person per night, or a self-catering cottage being a low cost alternative during the winter months, a weekend tour can easily be arranged and with the wealth and variety of birds on offer you'll have an enjoyable and rewarding getaway. Please see the accommodation page of our Tours Schedule for a selection of local guesthouses and self-catering accommodation.
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