What is on the East of England Nature Coast

Suffolk and Norfolk in the East of England have 130 miles of coastline brimming with chances to experience nature in the raw. During the colder months, come and enjoy the East of England’s Winter Wildlife Safari where you’ll enjoy unique vignettes of the natural world.

Enjoy our Nature Coast - it’s all on the coast in Norfolk and Suffolk during the winter.

Home to some of the best birdwatching spots and the largest seal colony in the British Isles, and in the winter the backdrop for the migration of hundreds of thousands of birds, including swans and geese.

The East coast of England is on the East Atlantic Flyway, an internationally important migration route used by around 300 species of bird.

Here are the top spots to visit for winter wildlife in Suffolk and Norfolk, in the East of England.

The Wash

Gouged by the last Ice Age, from 350,000 years to 10,000 years ago, The Wash is the largest estuary system in the British Isles, spanning 20km across and 30km in length, and one of the most important wetlands in Europe.

Crucially, the tide recedes twice a day into the North Sea, leaving open the saltmarsh, shallow waters and channels where there is an abundance of marine warms, small fish and shellfish for birds to consume.

In winter, arrive early at RSPB Snettisham to see the murmurations of waders and seabirds on the foreshore, including Curlews, Oystercatchers, Knots, Dunlins and Redshanks.

Look out for the a ‘whirling wader spectacular’, when tens of thousands of Knots and other wading birds are pushed off the mudflats during high tides.

 At daybreak it is a wonder of nature to experience the tens of thousands of Pink-Footed Geese taking off from the mudflats and flying over in their V-shape skeins to feed inland before heading back at dusk.

90% of the world’s Pink-Footed Geese population winter in the UK, the majority here on the Suffolk and Norfolk coast, arriving from Iceland, Greenland and Spitsbergen in Norway. It’s thought there are around 40,000 Pink-Footed Geese on The Wash, making it one of the east coast’s most spectacular natural shows.

Where to stay: Le Strange Arms Hotel, Brickley Rise, Cedar Springs, Heacham Manor Hotel, Britannia Cottage

Natural wonder of Norfolk: The Wash and Hunstanton cliffs

Welney Wetlands

In the winter Whooper Swans fly in from Iceland and flock to WWT Welney on the Ouse and Nene wetlands, making it one of the most important winter habitats for swans. Listen out for their raucous calls, a very distinctive whooping sound. Accompanying them are Bewick’s Swans from Siberia on the Russian tundra.

The difference between Mute Swans and the migrants is that our native Mute has an orange and black beak, the incomers have yellow and black beaks.

You can watch the swans being fed at dusk every day at Welney from early November to February.

Where to stay: Knights Hill Hotel and Spa, Congham Hall, Hays Wood Retreat, Watatunga Wildlife Reserve

Cley Marshes

Cley Marshes, Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s oldest and best-known nature reserve, sees a huge number of migrating dark-bellied Brent geese in the winter. These Mallard-sized birds, migrating from Russia, fly to find food on coastal saltmarsh and nearby grasslands, both in abundance at Cley.

Use the hides at Cley Marshes to spot waders including Snow bunting, Twite and Shorelark.

Where to stay: Cley Windmill, Maison Du Quai

RSPB Titchwell

The extensive reed beds and freshwater lagoons at Titchwell create the perfect viewing conditions to see winter visitors that include Brent Geese, Brambling and Knot. Marsh Harriers and Little Egrets return to their roosts as dusk falls, and you might see small Starling murmurations.

Where to stay: Titchwell Manor Hotel, Briarfields Hotel

Holkham Nature Reserve

Holkham Nature Reserve covers more than 10,000 acres of the Norfolk coast between Burnham Norton and Stiffkey. The pinewoods are a shelter for smaller birds but you might also see Spoonbills, Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets, Cormorants and Grey Herons on the grazing marshes. In the winter this is a haven for Pink-Footed geese.

Visit the Holkham Estate with its impressive Palladian manor house to see the herds of deer.

Where to stay: The Victoria, The Globe Inn, The Crown Hotel

Blakeney Point

Winter is the best time to visit Blakeney Point by boat, when the resident Grey Seals pupping around Christmas. In recent years, around 9000 have been born, making this the largest seal colony in the British Isles.

You can experience this amazing natural word phenomenon by boat trip from Morston Quay with Beans or Bishops.

In the winter the Blakeney Point and its marshes are also home to golden plovers, common shelduck, Eurasian wigeon, Brent geese and common teal.

Where to stay: Blakeney House, The Blakeney Hotel, The Blakeney Cottage Company, 8 Carpenters Cottages

Where to see the seals in Norfolk

Hickling Broad

Hickling Broad is the largest of the Broads in the Broads National Park, with around 202 hectares of water within a larger 485 hectares of water, reed beds and marsh. In and around this expansive body of water you might see marsh harriers gathering for extraordinary winter roosts, great white egrets, Bearded tits, and water rails, so-called because of their slimness to move around reed beds.

Where to stay: Waxham Sands Holiday Park, Herbert Woods

Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust Carlton Marshes Nature Reserve, on the southern fringe of the Broads National Park, is a 1000-acre wetland teeming with winter wildlife including flocks of wigeon, snipe, and teal that gather across the floodplain marshes and lowland fen. Look out for marsh harriers gliding silently overhead and one of the largest populations of wading birds in the East of England.

Where to stay: Waveney River Centre, Wheatacre Hall Barns

RSPB Minsmere

RSPB Minsmere’s unique mix of landscapes, including reedbed, shallow lagoons, wet grassland, heathland and vegetated shingle, make this is one of the best places on the east coast of England to see a wide variety of wildlife.

During the winter, visitors can expect to see a variety of species, including ducks, including teals, wigeons, and gadwalls as well as geese, swans, and wading birds.

Highlights of winter wildlife at RSPB Minsmere include birds of prey such as marsh and hen harriers, peregrine falcons, barn owls, and short-eared owls hunting overhead, otters in the reedbed pools, the soft churring of nightjars at dusk on the heath, and some of the UK's rarest breeding species, including the bittern, stone-curlew, and nightingale.

Where to stay: The Westleton Crown, The Anchor, Mill Hill Farm Caravan and Camping Park