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Where to watch birds in Norfolk

Goldfinches, Pauline Greenwood

Is there a rare bird you’re hoping to see, or do you just want to enjoy the spectacular sights and sounds that Norfolk’s birdlife has to offer?

We’ve rounded up a selection of the best nature reserves for birdwatching in Norfolk – from coast and marsh to woodland and heathland. Norfolk’s diversity of habitats makes it one of the best counties in the country for seeing fantastic and rare birds, including stone curlew, marsh harrier, spoonbill, bittern, pink-footed geese and much more.

NWT Cley and Salthouse Marshes

NWT Cley Marshes is one of the best-known birdwatching reserves in the UK. With its wide range of habitats, it is a haven for a diversity of birds and a hotspot for rare vagrant species. The 300-hectare+ reserve along the North Norfolk coast is made up of vast swaying reedbed, wide open marshes and stretching shingle beaches. The six hides give fantastic views across pools and scrapes that are specially managed to attract breeding and passage birds.  

Of the many birds found at Cley Marshes, the spectacular spoonbill with its long spatula-like bill is one of the most popular sights. Cley Marshes also hosts wintering and migrating wildfowl and waders, as well as birds such marsh harrier, bittern and bearded tit. Its large visitor centre with café is the perfect place to set out on a birdwatching adventure.  

Birds to see: Avocet, redshank, lapwing, black-tailed godwit, spoonbill, bittern, marsh harrier, bearded tit, stonechat 

three spoonbills in the marshes

Spoonbills, Richard Trounce

NWT Hickling Broad and Marshes

The largest of the Norfolk Broads, NWT Hickling Broad is a haven for many of the UK’s rarest birds. Its wide skies, reedbeds and woodland are the perfect place for birdwatching, as well as guided wildlife boat trips. Viewing points allow fantastic vistas across the marshes and water, providing an opportunity to see marsh harrier, great crested grebe and flocks of winter wildfowl.  

In spring, cuckoos call from willow scrub, bitterns boom in the reedbeds, and an array of warblers sing. Spoonbills feed on flooded pools, while egrets stalk along the dyke edges. You may even find cranes leading a newly hatched chick through the marsh. In summer and autumn, Hickling is an important staging-post for migrating birds., with rare vagrants frequently dropping in. In winter, the marshes are brimming with wildfowl, flocks of bearded tits, and huge skeins of wild geese filling the sky. A trip to the lookout platform at the raptor roost may reward you with hen harrier, merlin and crane.  

Birds to see: Marsh harrier, great crested grebe, crane, bittern, spoonbill, little egret, great white egret, bearded tit, cuckoo, merlin 

A marsh harrier hunting over a reedbed.

Marsh harrier (credit: Jon Bunting)

RSPB Snettisham

Snettisham is a renowned birdwatching site for its impressive displays of vast flocks of wading birds taking to the air in the colder months. The mudbanks and salt marshes on the Norfolk coast attract tens of thousands of waders from late summer to early winter, including knot, dunlin and oystercatcher.  

Pink-footed geese make an appearance in winter, flying over the reserve in giant ‘V’s, whilst other waterfowl and wildfowl join them over the colder months, including wigeon and brent goose arriving back from their breeding grounds. Peregrine falcon and hen harrier hunt over the saltmarsh, while goldeneye gather on the lagoons underneath. In spring, avocet and gulls set up home on the marsh’s islands, with tern taking their places to breed in summer. Make sure to check the RSPB website for the best birdwatching dates and tide times and book a parking space.

Birds to see: Knot, dunlin, oystercatcher, avocet, wigeon, brent goose, peregrine falcon, hen harrier, goldeneye

a large flock of knot

Knot, Snettisham, Sally Sherfield

NWT Ranworth Broad and Marshes

NWT Ranworth Broad and Marshes is perfect for birdwatchers to get up close to a fantastic array of species. A wooden pathway ambles through wet carr woodland before opening into reed fen, giving the experience of being deep in a reedbed, with warblers often nesting close to the boardwalk. One of the best ways to enjoy Ranworth is by joining a guided wildlife boat trip.

A pair of ospreys recently hatched chicks on the reserve, making Ranworth the first known site in East Anglia with breeding osprey in hundreds of years. The floating visitor centre provides an excellent view over the Broad to where osprey like to perch. In spring, see common tern returning after their migration - pairs nest on special rafts. In winter, watch large gatherings of wildfowl and hundreds of cormorants roosting in the trees. Thousands of gulls roost on the Broad, while marsh harrier and kingfisher are present all year.

Birds to see: Osprey, marsh harrier, great crested grebe, cormorant, gulls, kingfisher, reed warbler, sedge warbler

A brown and white osprey flying above the water, with its wings outstretched

Osprey fishing at dawn (credit: Peter Cairns/2020VISION)

NWT Foxley Wood

NWT Foxley Wood is Norfolk’s largest ancient woodland and a fantastic place for a peaceful walk all year round. Butterflies and birds abound in summer, and in autumn you’ll spot an array of fungi in all their strange shapes and colours.

Well-known for its beautiful bluebells, this tranquil reserve is home to woodland birds, including nuthatch, treecreeper and marsh tit. Foxley Wood plays host to the rapidly declining spotted flycatcher – a rare treat for birdwatchers. Raptors such as sparrowhawks and tawny owls can be found in the wood, and you may hear the distinctive calls of a great spotted or green woodpecker. In young coppice, birds such as garden warbler, blackcap and whitethroat can be found noisily flitting through the bushes.

Birds to see: Spotted flycatcher, nuthatch, treecreeper, blackcap, whitethroat, sparrowhawk, great spotted and green woodpeckers, garden warbler, tawny owl 

Spotted flycatcher

©Richard Steel/2020VISION

NWT Roydon Common

NWT Roydon Common’s mosaic of habitats and astounding array of wildlife is a glorious relic of the vast heaths, bogs, and commons once found across Norfolk. Acid bog, wet carr woodland and grassland sit side-by side, making the reserve one of the very best in East Anglia for spotting rare wildlife.

Woodlark, tree pipit and nightjar now regularly breed across the heathland, while redshank and snipe breed in the boggy areas of the reserve. Eurasian curlew can often be found here too. In winter, hen harrier and merlin are not uncommon and can often be seen in the late afternoon coming into roost. In late summer, enjoy the beautiful purple carpet of heather across the reserve along with an array of rare invertebrates.  

Birds to see: Nightjar, woodcock, redshank, curlew, snipe, hen harrier, merlin, short-eared owl

Common Snipe

©Fergus Gill/2020VISION

Holkham National Nature Reserve

Holkham’s vast coastal wetlands, saltmarsh, dunes, pinewoods and scrub, grazing marsh and foreshore covers around 3,706 hectares, making it an excellent site for birdwatching on the North Norfolk coast.

Its ancient oaks host woodland birds such as nuthatch, treecreeper and hawfinch, whilst the coastal grazing marshes make the ideal stopping point for wintering wildfowl such as pink-footed and barnacle geese. Herons, egrets and even spoonbill breed on the marshes in the warmer months. Throughout the dunes and wooded areas, firecrest, goldcrest, wheatear, and migrating warblers can be found during the autumn.

Birds to see: Pink-footed goose, brent goose, Pallas’ warbler, yellow-browed warbler, firecrest, goldcrest, wheatear, little egret, spoonbill, ringed plover 

Pink-footed geese on a field in Norfolk during winter

Pink-footed geese (credit: David Tipling/2020VISION)

NWT Weeting Heath

The stony ground and close-cropped turf of NWT Weeting Heath is a popular birdwatching site and one of the best places in the country to see the rare stone curlew. It is also home to many rare Breckland plants.

Weeting Heath is an exceptionally important site, well-known among birdwatchers not only for stone curlew but Breckland specialities like woodlark too. Woodland birds such as crossbill, tree pipit, and the declining spotted flycatcher can be found in the trees around the hides. Wheatear and ring ouzel are also common during spring and autumn migration. The hides at Weeting Heath, open from March to July, are probably the best opportunity to see the unusual and rare stone curlew.  

Birds to see: Stone curlew, woodlark, crossbill, tree pipit, spotted flycatcher, wheatear, ring ouzel 

A stone curlew with its white and brown feathers, large yellow eyes and long yellow legs walking in a field of yellow plants

Stone curlew (credit: iStock)

NWT Wayland Wood

The quiet, ancient NWT Wayland Wood; the alleged site of the ‘Babes in the Wood’ legend, is one of the largest woods in south Norfolk and a fantastic site to see iconic woodland bird species.

The reserve includes a fine mix of native tree species, including blocks of coppiced hazel. This creates dense scrub, ideal for nesting woodland birds, such as willow warbler, nuthatch, coal tit, greenfinch, great spotted woodpecker, and treecreeper. Raptors such as sparrowhawk and kestrel can be seen circling overhead. In spring, a circular walk leads you through a huge variety of flowering woodland plants such as bluebells, early purple orchids, and the rare yellow star-of-Bethlehem.

Birds to see: willow warbler, nuthatch, coal tit, greenfinch, great spotted woodpecker, treecreeper, sparrowhawk, kestrel 

a great spotted woodpecker on a tree trunk

Great spotted woodpecker, Adam Spruce

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