I, like many people, see December as a time of reflection on the passing of another year. And, of course, as we enter 2026 with our centenary in March, NWT will be reflecting on the previous hundred years. This year has provided much to celebrate. An osprey pair nested at Ranworth Broad, raising two chicks, the first in the Broads for 250 years. The county’s crane and spoonbill population continued to grow, with spoonbill breeding at Hickling Broad again. Purple emperor and silver-washed fritillary are spreading across Norfolk, with Foxley Wood becoming a hot-spot for both species. Their numbers are probably higher now than at any time during NWT’s hundred-year history.

The translocation from Cornwall to the ‘washboard’ at Weeting Heath of the locally extinct scrambled egg lichen has been a resounding success. And with careful management, many of the rare and threatened Breckland plants continue to thrive, with a project underway to propagate and re-introduce the Spanish catch-fly flower to many of its former haunts. This year, the fen orchid was taken off the endangered list. I know, firsthand, that this is due largely to NWT staff working at Upton and Catfield fens, who over several decades have painstakingly created and maintained the ideal habitat required by this rather fussy orchid. Generous donations during the year have also allowed for land acquisitions, both of new reserves and extensions to existing ones.

Resting on laurels is never a good idea, and there is still much to do. The start of 2025 found me thinking, rather solemnly, about the declaration that the slender-billed curlew was now officially extinct. The only known breeding record of slender-billed curlew is from Omsk in Russia, although it is thought the bird once bred right across the marshy areas of the formerly vast and undisturbed steppe edge woodland. It wintered around the Mediterranean, but by the 1980s the species could only be found at one coastal lagoon in Merja Zerga, Morocco. Ornithologists watched their numbers dwindle to nothing, and despite numerous and extensive expeditions to find breeding slender-billed curlews, none were found. Bad news is a frequent companion of wildlife conservation, but this was of unusually powerful significance, being the first Eurasian bird to become extinct since the Great Auk. Sadly, the Slender-billed Curlew is not the first of its family to become extinct. The Eskimo Curlew, which once nested on the Canadian tundra, hasn’t been reliably seen since 1963. The bird timed its migration through the Western prairie lands to coincide with the emergence of prairie locusts. The prairies had all but disappeared, but it was the eradication of the locusts with pesticide that finally saw the death of this curlew species. This is evidence of the importance of not only breeding areas and wintering grounds, but the staging posts for migrating birds too. 

In the UK the Eurasian curlew population continues to spiral downward, with changing farm practices in our uplands and habitat loss a major issue. In lowland Britain, human (and canine) disturbance is an added concern, but the uncomfortable truth is that nest predation is the commonest reason for the failure of curlew breeding success in Norfolk. As well as the usual suspects, increasing numbers of corvids are taking their toll. The saddest wildlife comment I heard this year was from Ash Murry at NWT Roydon Common, who stated that he felt we are looking at the beginning of the national extinction of the curlew in the UK. They are long lived birds, and the current number of curlews we see today is masking the recent and increasing failure rate of breeding birds, their disappearance will be shockingly sudden. As the UK holds 30% of the world population of Eurasian curlew, this is significant on a global scale.

The year saw the first reported successful breeding of the zitting cisticola (you may know it as fan-tailed warbler). Our neighbours in Suffolk were the host county, so keep your eyes peeled in the Broads over the coming years. This bird joins a growing list of ‘Mediterranean wetland birds’ moving their distribution northward, proving a tangible sign of climate change. It is why we must continue to create habitat for displaced wildlife to colonise as both our own, and southern European, species are forced north by more frequent and extended droughts.

What to look for in January
With the leaves off the trees, winter is the perfect time to spot Norfolk’s many raptors as they search for prey on the frozen, bare ground. With fewer daylight hours to hunt in, hawks and falcons hunt more intensively, often praying on the large numbers of migrant birds visiting our shores over the colder months. Hickling Broad’s Stubb Mill raptor roost is a great viewpoint to see large flocks of birds coming into roost, creating an amazing spectacle. Graceful common cranes are often seen, as well as large numbers of marsh harrier. Barn owls and great white egret are also regulars at the site. Occasionally, the rarer hen harrier, merlin and short-eared owl also make an appearance! 

Take action
With the recent cold snap across the county, and the rare appearance of snow, it’s more important than ever to help the wildlife in our own back gardens. As bird baths and ponds alike freeze over, leaving out a shallow dish of water on the ground will help birds and other wildlife find a drink, as well as gently melting a hole in the ice on frozen ponds with a hot pan. Don’t be tempted to smash the ice – the shockwaves might disturb any wildlife lurking under it! Fat is essential for birds to stay warm, so leaving out suet and fat balls, as well as fatty nuts like peanuts, is a great way to ensure our feathered friends stay cosy and well fed. You can find out more about how to feed garden birds here.