Private Guided Tours

I offer private guided wildlife tours for small groups in my local area and further afield. If you are visiting Norfolk, or just want to know what is on your doorstep, drop me an email at jimbradley.bradley@gmail.com and I will sort out a well priced package.

Depending on the time of year, it is a short drive (or even walk) to observe Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Bearded Tit, Swallowtail Butterfly, Barn Owl and much more. We really are spoilt for choice in Norfolk.

A recent client kindly commented after a summer Swallowtail tour:
Hi Jim, just wanted to thank for such a fantastic afternoon on your guided tour. We really did benefit from your expert guidance and extensive knowledge of flora and fauna. Our aim on the tour was to see the swallowtail butterflies which, with your assistance and impressive knowledge of where to look, allowed us to achieve our goal. Thanks to the diverse nature of the Reserve and your well-prepared tour, we saw a lot more than we could have hoped for. Amazing views of a Marsh Harrier, the distinctive sound and sight of a tree creeper, stunning dragonflies, teams of comma butterflies and close-up views of white admirals were amongst a few of our favourites. We were all amazed at your incredible ability to identify birds from their call or song alone. So, even though we might not have seen a reed warbler, at least we can say we heard it!
We will definitely like to book you for another tour, maybe at a different time of year to allow us to see different species the local reserves have to offer. It was a real pleasure to meet you again and thank you for making the day so successful. Kind regards , Elaine Parsley"

Comments

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day. I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...

A weekend to live long in the memory

Saturday 12th, I picked up Connor around 6.30am and we headed to Waxham with migrant hunting in mind. It was clear that the NW blow and rain had dumped many common migrants. Every bush had a Robin, some more than one. There were also almost equal numbers of Song Thrush and Blackbird. As the sun rose, slowly more birds became active. Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrest and ticked and tacked from cover. Superb stuff! Overhead, Brambling and Redpoll were moving, and some did rest long enough for decent views. Heading out into the dunes towards the pipe dump, we encountered a female Redstart and a Woodcock on route. Still, birds were arriving including more Thrushes and even a few Skylark. Without much success around the pipe dump itself (a Robin with a sore throat gave us a headache for a while) we headed back to the car and onto Horsey. Although there were less birds around by mid morning, little clumps of cover were alive with activity. In the same patch of scrub and pines that last ...

Claxton-on-sea!

Although it was not quite the Christmas we wanted here in the valley, the rain has bought its own gift. A grim vision of the future, perhaps. But right now, the patch is peaking and is alive with birds, and for that I am thankful. On Christmas eve, it was a job to navigate away from the village due to standing water that had left abandoned cars and undelivered presents in its wake. The rain had been persistent and unforgiving, the ground, saturated. Over on the marsh, where there had once been a muddy puddle amongst the pasture, a city had sprung from the leak, with a plethora of new occupants noisily laying claim to a patch of sodden marsh. Wigeon and Black-headed Gulls in their thousands now wheeled and whistled over and amongst the newly formed pools, accompanied by smaller numbers of Teal and Shoveler. A flock of two hundred-strong Lapwing enjoyed feeding on the less damp spots where green grass was still exposed, and thrown in for good measure have been a couple of Ruff, the ...

Notes from the valley

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