High tide Tours in Norfolk 2023
High tide tours are available as a single day tour usually once or twice a year and also as an integrated part of a three or five day group tour. The tours including a High tide spectacular are noted in the tour description.
The high tides are an amazing and incredible spectacle with ten and sometimes hundreds of thousands of shorebirds gathering in a narrow area of the SW corner of The Wash at RSPB Snettisham. The vast majority of birds will be Red Knot (120,000 October 2020!), plus thousands of Bar-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and hundreds of Redshank and Curlew, plus masses of other wildfowl.
Saturday 5th August A Day tour for a group of up to 8 persons. Tour cost from £60.00 per person.
OCTOBER 29th-31st NORFOLK A 3 day tour including a High Tide spec tacular & migration tour.
Wednesday 1st November A Day tour for a group of up to 8 persons. Tour cost from £60.00 per person.
The very highest tides see the shorebirds fly on to the gravel pits, this is probably the greatest spectacle when thousands are packed together in masses close to observers and the hides. The great spectacle is as they leave this refuge usually 2-3 hours after the highest point of the tide.
The highest tides are affected by the direction and strength of wind, so it’s difficult to predict if birds will make it onto the gravel pits. Though even gatherings out on the saltmarsh are still extremely entertaining and you will still see huge flocks, with ‘mexican waves’ appearing in the skies as the birds are disturbed by hunting raptors.
October and November are the best months for the biggest numbers of shore birds, December and early January for a combination of shorebirds and Pink-footed Geese. There are still spectacles and large numbers to be had from August to September and again February to April, when often the light can be really good.