Send us your wildlife sightings

Recording wildlife is an easy way to get involved in wildlife conservation. It is a way of helping us to monitor wildlife across the county to gain an understanding of an animal’s distribution. Your sightings can help us identify areas which are especially important for wildlife and identify species in decline or under threat.

Each season we ask you to help Norfolk's wildlife by sending us your sightings of three iconic species. You don't have to be an expert – all you need to do is tell us when and where you spot them. Use the form to record online, or phone or email us using the details below.

Our current total of wildlife records submitted for this survey are

90
Common Buzzard
39
Marsh Harrier
60
Red Kite

Log your wildlife sightings here...

Submit now

Sighting locations so far...


Key

Common Buzzard
Marsh Harrier
Red Kite
This winter we are asking you to turn your heads to the sky and go in search of three iconic raptor species: marsh harrier, red kite and common buzzard.
Marsh Harrier
Marsh harrier, Norfolk Broads, Mali Halls
This impressive bird of prey is the largest and broadest-winged of the harriers. It is likely to ...
Red Kite
Red kite at NWT Cley by Elizabeth Dack
Red kites sightings in Norfolk have increased as the population has risen over the last 10 years....
Common Buzzard
Common buzzard by Elizabeth Dack
The common buzzard is the most common of Britain’s larger birds of prey and it is found in ...
The presence of such birds of prey as marsh harrier, red kite and common buzzard, can help us determine the health of an environment at they are top predators, who need good quality habitat.

For our survey we have concentrated on three of the larger resident Norfolk raptors who over the last decade have increased in number across the county, this survey will help to give us an understanding as to their distribution across Norfolk, in particular the relatively recent resident, the red kite.

Focusing on the marsh harrier:

  • Marsh harriers were extinct in the UK by the end of the 19th century. They started to recolonise the Norfolk Broads in the 1920’s but by 1971 there was only one breeding pair at Minsmere but they have since made a recovery.
  • The marsh harrier has the broadest wings of all the harriers.
  • The winter raptor roost at Stubb Mill at NWT Hickling Broad and marshes has recorded over 100 marsh harriers.
 

Focusing on the common buzzard

  • Buzzards spend a lot of the time sitting around and are often seen perched on posts or in trees and bushes.
  • The buzzards mating flight is called the rollercoaster as the male bird flies up into the sky and then plummets down in a spiral.
  • Buzzards make big nests out of twigs and branches. They can be up to 100cm wide and 60cm deep and a pair can have two or three nests in their territory.
 

Focusing on the red kite

  • The red kite was extinct as a breeding bird in the UK, except for a small population in Wales.
  • Red kites are spreading across the country and in 2016 eight pairs of kites were reported as breeding or attempting to breed in Norfolk.
  • Red kites are mentioned 15 times in Shakespeare’s plays. They were common scavengers in London feeding on carrion and scraps and using rags to build their nests.

Download the reports on our previous surveys

   Brown-hare,-barn-owl-and-common-frog-survey-April,-May-and-June-2015 Download   
   Hedgehog,-House-Martin-and-Red-Admiral-Survey-August-2015 Download   
   Water-vole,-grass-snake-and-Himalayan-balsam-survey-July-2015 Download   
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Have you seen any other wildlife recently? We would love to hear about it... Notify us now

How to take part in this wildlife survey...

Online

The quickest way to take part is by clicking on the submit button below. You will then be asked: what you saw, when you saw it, where you saw it and who you are.

By phone

Phone Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife Information Service on 01603 598333. Don’t forget you will need to tell us: what you saw, when you saw it, where you saw it and who you are.

By e-mail

Send us an email to wild@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk. Don’t forget you will need to tell us: what you saw, when you saw it, where you saw it and who you are.

Take part today...

Submit now