For the last week or so we’ve been lucky enough to have the local Cranes flying over the farm and landing on our meadow, it’s the most amazing sight – and sound – to hear them overhead and apparently their call can be heard for 3 miles!
Nearby Stubb Mill, close to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust’s National Nature Reserve at Hickling Broad is one of the best Raptor roosts in the country and well worth a visit for avid bird watchers. If you arrive about an hour before sunset there may be up to 30 Cranes coming in to roost, as well as anything up to 100 Marsh Harriers, and maybe even Hen Harriers and Merlins. Barn Owls and Bitterns will sometimes fly by too. It is a ¾ mile walk from the NWT Centre – cars are not allowed – and boots are recommended as it can get wet and muddy but there is a raised viewing platform.
The Crane, with its long legs and neck and drooped, curved tail feathers is one of Europe’s largest birds and has a wingspan of around 2 metres. It is unfortunately on the UK Amber list as numbers are so low, but it seems there is now a small breeding population in Eastern England.
Please let us know what wildlife you spot when you stay with us at Dairy Barns so we can add your sightings to our website and let other visitors know what to look out for.
