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Best time to go to Norfolk - UK (1 Viewer)

Wimpy

Wimpy

Well-known member
Every time I go down to a hide someone starts going on about Titchwell Marsh. Now I've never been. It's a bit too far for a day out, I'm not someone who will drive the length of the country in a day. So it seems that a few days with the caravan would be ideal. Never been to Norfolk, so I can do the touristy thing as well.

But which time of year?

Thanks Roger
 
hi

It dosent really matter as the birds change but if you go after summer wrap up well you have cley and titchwell within 20 miles of each other probably the two best bird watching areas in britain anyway
 
If youre wanting scarce migrants and rarities then septembers the month . Barred warblers , r-b flycatchers , yellow browed warbler , pallas warbler , icterine warbler , wryneck , r-b shrike , curlew sand etc. the list goes on ..... Titchwells a good reserve but personally not the best in norfolk . With cley top of the list and blakeney a close second .
There are caravan sites all over the place so you'll find a suitable camp .
 
Personnally i find december-feb, april-early june and mid sep-late october the best times to visit. Its about a 3 hour drive telford-titchwell when the roads are quiet so it is do-able in a day but there are that many good sites a long weekend is the better option
 
jwreeves said:
Personnally i find december-feb, april-early june and mid sep-late october the best times to visit. Its about a 3 hour drive telford-titchwell when the roads are quiet so it is do-able in a day but there are that many good sites a long weekend is the better option
Click to expand...

Agreed! had a lot of rare bird December-Feb and Late August-Middle November.
Looking back through my records is interesting, back in 2002 we had the following in November and December:
Ruddy Shelduck (Confirmed wild)
Lesser Yellowlegs
Yellow-Browed Warbler
Pallid Harrier
Going back further to 1997 I managed 10 new rarities between 20th Sept and 24th Dec.
It is the place to be for Autumn migration it seems, numbers of rarities seen earlier in the year for me is far less!
 
O.Reville1989 said:
Agreed! had a lot of rare bird December-Feb and Late August-Middle November.
Looking back through my records is interesting, back in 2002 we had the following in November and December:
Ruddy Shelduck (Confirmed wild)
Lesser Yellowlegs
Yellow-Browed Warbler
Pallid Harrier
Going back further to 1997 I managed 10 new rarities between 20th Sept and 24th Dec.
It is the place to be for Autumn migration it seems, numbers of rarities seen earlier in the year for me is far less!
Click to expand...

Just out of interest, how was the Ruddy Shelduck ascertained to be wild?

PS My favourite spot in the autumn is the belt of woodland stretching from Wells Woods to Holham Pines and searching through the roving tit and warbler flocks.

Phil
 
upton-till-i-die said:
Just out of interest, how was the Ruddy Shelduck ascertained to be wild?

PS My favourite spot in the autumn is the belt of woodland stretching from Wells Woods to Holham Pines and searching through the roving tit and warbler flocks.

Phil
Click to expand...

Not sure as I was young at the time and left such things to my dad! Will have to ask my dad as he was there as well and will found out how he found out it was wild! (that was a mouthful).
Agreed on those Woods! Cracking place
 
I didnt think Ruddy shelduck was has every been classed as wild in the uk due to the likelyhood of escape and feral european populations.
EDIT: I see its CAT B, so yes there has been wild birds but not since 1950?
 
Last edited:
birding maniac said:
I didnt think Ruddy shelduck was has every been classed as wild in the uk due to the likelyhood of escape and feral european populations.
EDIT: I see its CAT B, so yes there has been wild birds but not since 1950?
Click to expand...

Who knows mate! Turns out my dad has been at 2 sightings of these and only one was confirmed (somehow)...the one I wasn't at, so it isn't on my life list!

*Also turns out the one he saw was actually in 1997 but wasn't confirmed until 2002....Just reading his notes here, will ask him when I can....
 
O.Reville1989 said:
Who knows mate! Turns out my dad has been at 2 sightings of these and only one was confirmed (somehow)...the one I wasn't at, so it isn't on my life list!

*Also turns out the one he saw was actually in 1997 but wasn't confirmed until 2002....Just reading his notes here, will ask him when I can....
Click to expand...

its quite intresting. According to birdguides (i havent had chance to check BOU) its cat B.
However i have read that it is irruptive, and looking it probably should be on the list. Also, isnt there a place for birds on other countries equivalent of CAT C?
 
To answer the original question, it depends on what your after. I agree that cley and titchwell are brilliant reserves. It honestly depends on what your after, but in Late april i had spring birds and still quite afew wintering birds. Theres always the cahnce of a rarity then.
May is brilliant with many unusual summer birds about, and ive never found it too hot then either (though it was in this april- at times the heat haze was terrible where i was)

Summer is really nice but quite touristy i find (In places)

Im going in late Autumn this year, the only time i have off in migration season.

It really depends on what you want. Winter has the geese too!
 
Until the recent hard winters Norfolk had a fairly strong feral population and small flocks often turned up on the coast. I have seen breeding ruddy shielduck including ducklings , at Bayfield , Sennowe Park , Fulmostone , Wood Norton , Melton Park , Pensthorpe and W Rainham. I suspect in recent years very few if any Norfolk Ruddy shielduck are wild.

Once feral ruddy shielduck can become fairly wild and I would have thought impossible to tell apart from wild birds ( if ever there any ) unless ringed and recovered.
 
Last edited:
Just found out 1997 birds seen at Cley were Feral (The ones I saw) but more were seen at Hunworth in 2002 that were "confirmed as wild".
Who knows personally! :smoke:
 
O.Reville1989 said:
Just found out 1997 birds seen at Cley were Feral (The ones I saw) but more were seen at Hunworth in 2002 that were "confirmed as wild".
Who knows personally! :smoke:
Click to expand...

Well the BOU must know as Ruddy Shelduch remains on Cat B. Not aware of any review of the 2002 sighting to elevate the species back to Cat A.
 
Im thinking of heading over to Norfolk in September (depending on if the girlfriend can get time off work). And I would love to do some sea watching, for skuas and shearwaters etc as I need to build up my ID skill for them species. Where, if anywhere, is good for this in Norfolk? And is September the time to go for them? Hoping to pick up some of the usual passerine migrants as well, plus some waders.

Adam
 
We used to get up to the North Norfolk coast from Norwich on a regular basis back in the '80's. The most memorable seawatching experiences I had were when it was bitter cold, and on the shingle bank at Cley or Salthouse (still there?). An auk wreck always guaranteed entertainment, however sad, and if I remember correctly such events usually occured in late October/November. Then there were divers, seaduck, grebes, gulls and the like.
For seaduck, waders and geese the area west of Cley, up to the wash, was more productive.

If however bitter cold in the Norfolk winter is not your scene check out this newsletter for other possibilites. Apologies in advance to all the moral standard-bearers out there!

Steve
 
steve west said:
We used to get up to the North Norfolk coast from Norwich on a regular basis back in the '80's. The most memorable seawatching experiences I had were when it was bitter cold, and on the shingle bank at Cley or Salthouse (still there?). An auk wreck always guaranteed entertainment, however sad, and if I remember correctly such events usually occured in late October/November. Then there were divers, seaduck, grebes, gulls and the like.
For seaduck, waders and geese the area west of Cley, up to the wash, was more productive.

If however bitter cold in the Norfolk winter is not your scene check out this newsletter for other possibilites. Apologies in advance to all the moral standard-bearers out there!

Steve
Click to expand...

Norfolk's nice but can't beat birding in Spain!
 
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