Hickling Broad & Potter Heigham (Day Trip)

Summary

The Norfolk Broads offer great wildlife spectacles any time and it’s difficult to pick a time that doesn’t produce something special.

June/July

By visiting in June and July, we should be able to find Swallowtail butterflies on the wing in their UK stronghold, along with a range of other butterfly species that may include Dark Green Fritillary, White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak. Marsh Harriers and Bitterns will be busy finding food for young, making it a good time to keep an eye out for them on the wing. Avocets, Bearded Reedlings, Hobbies and even Little Egrets all nest locally, while there’s a very good chance of seeing one or two of the area’s Common Cranes that continue to increase steadily in number here. Migrant waders such as Green Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit are likely to be around and it’s a good time for a few surprises, too! Dragonflies are plentiful and if we’re lucky, we should be able to find that really local speciality, the Green-eyed or Norfolk Hawker.

August

In late August, we should be in time for the second generation of Swallowtail butterflies to be on the wing, while Marsh Harrier numbers will be swelled by the season’s fresh-faced youngsters. We’ll visit two key parts of the area, taking in a mix of open fields, scrub woodland, reedbed and open water, which should provide a wonderful range of Broadland wildlife. Avocets, Bearded Reedlings, Bitterns, Hobbies and Little Egrets all nest locally, while there’s a very good chance of seeing one or two of the area’s Common Cranes that continue to increase steadily in number here. Migrant waders such as Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit are likely to be around and it’s a good time for a few surprises, too! Dragonflies are plentiful and if we’re lucky, we might just catch the back end of the Green-eyed or Norfolk Hawker season.

• Classic Norfolk – with windpumps, huge skies and swaying reeds that go on forever!
• Waders likely to include Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits and a range of seasonal migrants
• Abundant dragonflies, including a good chance of Green-eyed (Norfolk) Hawkers
• Breeding Bitterns, Bearded Reedlings, Marsh Harriers and Common Cranes
• A stronghold for Swallowtail butterflies