Norfolk Birding Weekend

Norfolk is arguably the UK’s premier birding county and late autumn is a fantastic time to visit, with wintering geese, ducks and waders arriving in numbers, alongside the chance of scarce migrants and coastal specialities. We will spend the weekend visiting a selection of Norfolk’s best birding locations, likely including areas around Cley, Kelling, Titchwell, Snettisham and the north Norfolk coast, with the final itinerary guided by recent bird sightings and weather conditions.

Proposed Plan

Friday 30 October

• Travel to Norfolk
• Afternoon birding en route if time allows
• Overnight accommodation

Saturday 31 October

• Full day birding along the north Norfolk coast
• Overnight accommodation

Sunday 1 November

• Morning / Early afternoon birding session
• Return journey home

Costs

At this stage we’re looking for expressions of interest before booking accommodation.

Indicative costs are:

Food, drinks and any personal expenses would be additional.

Accommodation

Accommodation and final costs will be confirmed once we know numbers. The aim will be to stay somewhere convenient for the north Norfolk coast to maximise birding time and minimise driving.

Group Size

To keep logistics manageable and ensure everyone gets good views of birds, the trip will be limited to nine participants. (3 cars of 3) .

Interested?

If you would like to join the trip, please let me know. Once we have sufficient interest I’ll confirm:

• Accommodation details
• Final costs
• Travel arrangements
• Departure times
• Planned sites and itinerary

This should be a brilliant opportunity to experience some of the UK’s best autumn birding with a good chance of seeing a wide variety of wildfowl, waders, raptors and coastal species.

Provisional Target Species

Priority Targets

• Pink-footed Goose
• Brent Goose
• Shorelark
• Hen Harrier
• Pallid Harrier
• Merlin
• Short-eared Owl
• Long-eared Owl
• Velvet Scoter
• Snow Bunting

Waders

• Avocet
• Knot
• Dunlin
• Grey Plover
• Sanderling
• Turnstone
• Black-tailed Godwit
• Bar-tailed Godwit
• Ruff
• Curlew
• Greenshank
• Redshank

Wildfowl

• Wigeon
• Teal
• Pintail
• Shoveler
• Goldeneye
• Whooper Swan
• Bewick’s Swan

Coastal and Sea Birds

• Red-throated Diver
• Great Northern Diver
• Common Scoter
• Mediterranean Gull
• Rock Pipit

Finches & Farmland Birds

• Brambling
• Siskin
• Redpoll
• Yellowhammer
• Corn Bunting

Bonus Rarities

• Shore Lark
• Lapland Bunting
• Twite
• Great Grey Shrike
• Waxwing
• Any late autumn rarity that happens to be on the coast

Target for the weekend: 100+ species, spectacular Pink-footed Goose flocks, multiple raptor species, excellent wader diversity and hopefully one or two Norfolk specialities.