Guided Birdwatching Tours and Holidays in Norfolk

Norfolk Birdwatching Holidays offer guided birdwatching tours and holidays throughout the year catering for all levels of experience and interest, and provide a wide range of packages including day trips, weekend and short breaks and a more comprehensive tour of the County. Beginners and less experienced birdwatchers are particularly welcome as in addition to having an enjoyable visit to the county seeing a good wealth and variety of birds, we are here to help you learn about the birds that we see, highlighting their main features to help identify them and those which separate them from any similar species that also occur.

Please don't hesitate to contact us to discuss any aspects of our tours, and if there are any particular species that are mentioned in the seasonal accounts that you are specifically interested in seeing then I can naturally recommend the tour that will offer you the best chance of seeing them. Alternatively we can also offer tours customised specifically to suit your requirements, so whatever you are looking for from your time with us, we should have a tour to suit.

Our single day tours are primarily based either around one location, or at a few within a couple or so miles radius, and either concentrate on a particular species or two, or provide the opportunity to see a good range of the birds that occur. Our day trips to reserves such as Cley and Titchwell are particularly geared around the less experienced and will give us the opportunity to see a good range of the regularly occurring birds that the county has to offer, and with some of Cley and most of Titchwell being wheelchair friendly environments, the enjoyment of their birds is open to all.

Although there are no specific restrictions on the number of participants on our day trips, we will always ensure the parties are of a manageable size to ensure that personal attention is not lacking. Please see the relevant section on our 'Tours Schedule' for the 1/2 and full day tours that we are currently running, the birds that we are hoping to see and any specific instructions relating to the day.

Pair of Pintail

Mainly a winter visitor with a few remaining during the summer

We generally restrict our longer tours to 4 participants as this will ensure that each member of the party will get as much help with seeing and learning about the birds we encounter as required, as we never want anyone to feel left out which can happen with larger groups. We are though more than happy to receive larger group bookings with the only proviso being that you'll need your own transport to travel to the selected sites from your accommodation. Naturally with larger parties we would advise you to book as far in advance as possible, especially for tours in the summertime, to ensure that your accommodation can be secured, and a discount on the cost may well be available.

We offer a variety of durations for our longer tours from a weekend through to a more comprehensive tour during the week. The tours that we offer are carefully selected to both give you a range of options, and to be reflective of what will be around at the time so our tours don't require padding and/or result in us wasting time in the hope that something extra will turn up. We don't want you just to become one of the crowd in a larger group, so your tour will be just that, your tour, and we always try to ensure that you will get value for money and have an enjoyable, relaxing and bird-filled trip, so we plan our tours accordingly with you in mind.

Although our range of packages cater for all levels of ability and interest, our tours are ideally suited to new or infrequent visitors to the area or less experienced birdwatchers, and especially for anyone who just wishes to have a relaxing and enjoyable holiday seeing the wealth and variety of birds that Norfolk has to offer, rather than just chasing round or concentrating on only a few selected species.

Special emphasis will be placed on learning about the identification of the birds that we see, including their songs and calls, their chosen habitat and behaviour, and any 'fieldcraft' needed as although it might seem an obvious thing, I am often astounded at the lack of common sense displayed by some birdwatchers which either results in disturbance to the bird or them not seeing it at all!

Each days birdwatching will be conducted at your own pace, and the distance and terrain that we cover will be specifically geared around the participants. Also we would not expect you to walk for miles in torrential rain or very cold conditions and, where possible, will naturally arrange our days itinerary to take account of the conditions to ensure that we get the most out of the day ahead.

You are highly recommended to bring with you warm and waterproof clothing, as well as boots suitable for wet and muddy conditions, regardless of the time of year you are visiting, as while these are essential during winter, it is always wise to have these to hand just incase we experience any inclement weather during the other seasons. Binoculars are essential, but your leader will have a telescope for the groups use if you do not possess one yourself.

3 Spoonbills, Little Egret and Shoveler at Cley

We'll of course stop for snack and drinks breaks regularly during the day, as well as toilet stops whenever required, or you are welcome to bring a packed lunch with you, and on cold days we will find somewhere to warm ourselves up and have a hot drink and snack if required.

Whilst naturally not every bird that occurs within the county can be 100% guaranteed, obviously the longer the duration of your stay the more chance you have of seeing the full range of species that are present, but if you are visiting primarily to see a particular species or two, we will always put special emphasis on those birds to give you the maximum chance of seeing them, and hopefully our local knowledge and experience of the species will greatly aid us in our search.

Aside from the birds that we will encounter during the tour, I will be happy to advise you of the birds that you could see if you hopefully choose to come on another one of our tours at a different time of year, and also the best places to visit elsewhere in the country to see species that don't occur in Norfolk. As a bonus, there are a number of establishments in the county that sell binoculars and telescopes, as well as a host of wildlife books, clothing and other accessories, so if you were thinking of buying new optics you have the ideal opportunity to compare the various makes and models, and I would naturally be happy to advise you where I can.

Whilst primarily concentrating on the bird life of the area, we can naturally take time to enjoy the other flora and fauna that we encounter, and also if photography is your thing then time can be allowed for that too, after all it is your tour and we want you to enjoy it!

Lapwings

One of the most attractive of our resident birds

So why choose one of our tours?

Our guides have over 30 years experience of living and birdwatching in the county.
Local knowledge of the birds of the area and the best places to see them.
All levels of experience catered for, and tours available to suit all.
Small groups to ensure personal attention.
No fixed itineraries, we can adjust where we go and what we look for depending on the birds present at the time of your visit and the ones you primarily wish to see.
Our primary aim is your enjoyment of your time with us.
No need to worry about finding accommodation, or what birds are about, where or when to go to see them, or how to get to the site/where to park etc, just arrive, relax, and your guide will take you to the best places to see the best birds.
No need to struggle over what the bird is you are watching, you will know what it is and why.
Take away a confidence and knowledge to enable you to get more out of your hobby in the future.

Fulmar by Cromer Pier