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Wetland wonders

	Our wetlands offer fantastic opportunities for winter wildlife watching. Why not take a few tips from the Nature's Calendar team as we get close to wildlife with activities that you can participate in.
Starling spectacle - swirling sights at the dusk of night

Bird watching in the Montrose Basin

To get the best out of the birding in the Montrose Basin, you have to be there early in the morning to grab the best view when the birds arrive.

Look out for Eider Ducks - a good time to see them is when they're feeding.

Watch them diving and follow where they're going by keeping an eye on the line of bubbles in the water.

If you're lucky, you might see them eating their favourite food - mussels.

Watch as they give the shells a bash or two in the water and then eat the whole thing, the shell and its contents.

The birds' beaks are uniquely adapted to feeding in this environment, and this is most obvious from looking at the Curlew, with its long curved beak which enables it to probe deep into the mud so it can get to creatures way below the surface.

Watch the birds standing on one leg - one theory is that birds lose a lot of their body heat through their feet, so they tuck one leg under to minimise the heat loss.

Starling spectacle

Close to Slimbridge, there's a great opportunity to see one of nature's spectacles - a huge Starling display.

The birds will have been feeding during the day and gather into larger groups just before dusk.

Then at a critical moment these larger flocks will start heading for the roost sight.

The first flock to arrive circles in sky above roost acting as a 'flag' to attract the others. Then they all start coming in.

Listen to the noise of the birds and the sound of starling wings.

This gives rise to the name for a flock of starlings - a murmuration.

Watch for the birds swirling in the sky and making amazing patterns which shift and change.

No one really knows why they do this but it could be to confuse predators like Sparrow Hawks or Peregrine Falcons.

Crane watching on the Broads

Hickling Broad is the best place to look for Cranes in the wild from the comfort of a hide.

The Cranes can be recognised by their distinctive long, straight necks and their huge wing span of around seven feet.

Watching the Cranes is a question of good timing - the birds tend to fly off early in the morning to feed on nearby fields.

Once they've flown, they'll be gone for the day - you can't be sure where they go, so we don't recommend chasing round the countryside, although they can sometimes be seen from the coast road near Horsey, as they feed in the fields.

You can't be sure which way they'll come - that depends on where they've been feeding. You're likely to come across the cranes when you least expect to!

The birds are most easily seen in flight on their way out in the morning or their way back at dusk.

Eye in the sky

The Norfolk Wildlife Trust's tree tower offers fabulous views of the Cranes in flight.

Listen for the Cranes' distinctive high pitched call - it sounds like children shouting to each other in a school playground.

Watch out for Crane displays - all Cranes call and display in pairs with their heads thrown back and beaks pointing upwards.

This usually happens at their nesting sites which will be hidden, so you will be very lucky to see this!

The male bird lifts his wings over his back while the female keeps hers folded. The male starts the display, one of his calls answered by three from the female.

The birds engage in a dance - they bow, jump, run, toss sticks or grass and flap their wings.

This behaviour is not always designed to attract a mate - existing pairs do it to re-inforce their 'marital' bonds. This can start as early as Valentine's Day!

The best time for seeing them dance is mid February to mid March - but only when the temperature is above 10 degrees or there's a warm sun.

There are also captive cranes at Pensthorpe Waterfowl Park in Norfolk.

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