Lisa G Saw • April 8, 2026

Winter in Suffolk and Norfolk - Part 1

Winter is an excellent time to visit the north Norfolk coast, in terms of wildlife opportunities. It seemed the perfect area for us to explore for our most recent holiday, which was for my birthday. It's a place we're both very fond of and yet we'd not been there together before, so it was lovely to return together and share some fabulous new wildlife experiences. We'd booked a lovely cottage in Morston for one week, but as usual, we made the journey there part of our adventure. We had an overnight stop in Lowestoft on our way north, which allowed us to visit RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk before heading to Norfolk. We had two great days before we'd even reached our accommodation for the week.

In the weeks leading up to our trip, the weather was either wet, grey or windy, or all three! We didn't have high hopes for how many dry or sunny days we'd have for our trip, so I packed a few books, just in case! That also meant we'd packed all the necessary waterproofs and wellies, ready for anything. As it turned out, it was that really glorious week of lovely sunny, dry weather we had early March. What luck!

We've been lucky with our visits to Minsmere before, and we were again this time around. We were really hoping to see some Woodcock, without spooking them and having a back-end view as one rapidly flies away, which is what usually happens. I've only ever seen them a couple of time before, so I was eager for my first good view of one. Perhaps it was fitting, therefore, that I was the one that spotted one, at the precise moment Bob was saying, 'We probably won't find any!'

At first, it was not so well concealed, as I saw it sitting amongst the wet green grass. The dry brown autumn leaves are better at providing camouflage for this gorgeous looking bird. It was brilliant to see it walk around a little, and have a brief glimpse of its long bill. We were able to approach a little bit closer, by which time it was hiding in more dense foliage. The feather detail is stunning and it was such a privilege to have a reasonable view of one. It buoyed us for the whole day and was the best start for our holiday that we could hope for.

All around the nature reserve we spotted several Munjac Deer. They are the smallest deer species we have in the UK, though they're not native. They were clearly used to visitors and were fairly relaxed as they foraged for food, so long as they didn't feel threatened.

We headed to Island Mere Hide first, where we'd had such spectacular close views of a Bittern on our previous visit. Naturally, we didn't expect the same again. However, it was lovely looking out across the reeds and water watching the movements of the birds around us. Marsh Harriers and Great Egrets were the biggest birds seen flying around, and on the water we saw several pairs of Great Crested Grebes courting and diving, plus a few Whooper Swans.

After a while, we moved on to the Bittern Hide, which is positioned much higher and gives a fabulous view overlooking the expanse of the reedbed. It was a slow start in there, but when we saw a Bittern suddenly fly in and land in the reeds ahead of us, not too far away, we were thrilled. Whilst waiting to see if it would appear wading through the reeds, a familiar beautiful flash of blue flew past the hide. A Kingfisher perched on a branch, and then flew to another spot, perching on a reed, but way too far away to photograph. It's always lovely to see them though.

Our patience with the Bittern was finally rewarded as it appeared from between the reeds. It's movements were so slow, as it moved stealth-like through the water, keeping close to the edge of the reeds. This was probably my first decent, prolonged view of a Bittern. Not so close as before, but it was wonderful to witness its behaviour.

Eventually, it disappeared into the reeds and we didn't see it again. So, we moved on to the North Hide.

I was pleased to have some lovely views of the Black-tailed Godwits. I'd seen large numbers of them flying together at Pulborough Brooks before, but some distance away. So, this was the first time I could appreciate them up close and see the black tail for which they're named.

The light was improving all the time as the day progressed and shining nicely on some ponies grazing around the water's edge, where Shovelers and Teal were swimming.

From the hide we headed to the sea along the North Wall. A Green Woodpecker flew past and a Red Deer in a nearby field stopped in its tracks, keeping an eye on us, before strolling on. It was a lovely end to the day.

After our overnight stay in Lowestoft, and a fabulous filling all-you-can-eat breakfast, we headed up the coast to Horsey Beach, Norfolk. The last time I'd visited the place was in December 2018 when the female Grey Seals had come ashore to give birth to their young. In March, it's the moulting season, so they're all back ashore again, even the young seals who aren't yet strong enough to stay out at sea.

At first, we were able to walk along the back edge of the beach in a roped off section. But, when we reached the main sections where large numbers of seals were on the beach, we had to walk up in the sand dunes and look down to the beach. Then later on, we were able to drop down to the beach again where it was safe to do so, keeping a respectful distance from the seals. It was just as well there were some volunteer wardens there to help make sure people did this!

To start with, it was quite windy. I loved how the sand was blowing across the beach. It was quite atmospheric whilst the seals were sleeping.

The weather did improve during the course of the day and we even had some spells of sunshine...not that the seals noticed, as they slept a lot!

Occasionally, I caught sight of one yawning.

The male Grey Seals are much darker in colour and a lot heavier too, weighing between 170-300kg. They look a bit like a large dog from some angles!

During the course of our visit, we saw several swimming in the sea, with some coming ashore nearby. We watched how they'd use the tide to help them get as far up the beach as possible. Since the females were between about 150-200kg, it was a lot more effort for them manoeuvre themselves with just their flippers.

The patterns on their fur were so varied in colour. They're like human fingerprints, because each seal has their own unique pattern, which remains the same even after they've moulted. This black and white one reminded me of a semi-precious stone.

When they weren't sleeping, or moving up the beach, I'd occasionally spot a seal having a good stretch. They looked far more agile doing this, even balletic looking.

In this next photo, you can see a young seal that's started moulting near the head. It looks like it has a bald patch.

With the tide gradually coming in, the seals kept shifting up the beach, but virtually always remained close to the tide line. However, this little youngster kept shuffling closer towards us up on the sand dunes. In this photo, it's in mid shuffle, so you can see how its slightly lifted up off the sand.

On our return to the car park we only stopped occasionally to take photos, as we'd already taken quite a few by then. My interest was peaked when I spotted these two females fighting. It wasn't very aggressive, but one would rise up and bash into the other one.

At other moments it looked more playful and affectionate. However, looks can be deceiving!

After a lovely day spent mostly at the beach, we moved on up the coast to Sheringham, where we'd heard there had been good sightings of a very rare migrant species, an Eastern Black Redstart. Although, by this time the sun had disappeared and the light was very poor, we gave it a shot anyway.

We walked around the location close to the promenade, but it didn't seem especially good for it there. But just a little further up was a manicured garden area with far more vegetation, so we moved up there and slowly wandered around keeping our eyes peeled. We were almost at the point of giving up, when Bob suddenly spotted a bird in a bush beside the promenade. It came out into the open, at the edge of the bush and we saw it clearly. Bingo! What a lovely striking bird and the perfect end to our day.

All we had to do from there was pop into the supermarket and then drive to our accommodation. Navigating the country lanes in the dark was interesting, but we reached Morston without incident.

More to follow on this trip soon!

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Books and Courses 1

By Lisa G Saw • March 11, 2026

THE FIRST SET OF BOOKS AND COURSES THAT HAVE HELPED ME ON MY JOURNEY I began this blog series, Living My The Best Life Possible , back in 2022 after a series of events, and a couple of chronic injuries, quite literally stopped me in my tracks. Having followed conventional approaches to try and turn things around, but to no avail, I felt compelled to seek out help from alternative approaches. I opened my mind to the possibility they could help me, taking a more holistic approach to my healing. Along my journey, I've done some serious soul searching, dug deep to uncover suppressed and hidden trauma, and held a mirror up to myself, realising there were things I needed to let go of and much I needed to change. It's been uncomfortable at times and emotional, but completely worthwhile, as I've worked through things and persevered. Awareness was key . From that I had the power to change my thought patterns and my view of the world. I know all my relationships are better for it, including the one I have with myself, and I wouldn't be where I am today without what I've learned. I've discovered there are many different ways to heal and I've been amazed by what I've learned. It's been surprising, uplifting and most of all, empowering. Along this journey I've been led from one book to another, then another, and on it goes. Sometimes the books have been recommended to me by family, friends or health practitioners, other times they've merely been mentioned in passing or in another book, and I've felt as though it was something that could help me further my knowledge and understanding. In many ways, they were like signs guiding me along at just the right moment when I needed them. My curiosity to learn more has led to a voracious appetite to read, which I've never experienced before. I love it! I feel like I'm on a fast train to somewhere, but the landscape out of the window isn't a blur as I whizz by, metaphorically speaking, but a glorious view of the world around me, simply seen from a new perspective. There is still much I wish to share in this blog series about my experience, in the hope it helps others and not just myself. But, it will take time to write it all whilst I'm still working. So, in the meantime, I decided to share some of the most significant books that have helped me along the way. It isn't the full list, by any means. For now, I'm only including a summary and snapshot of the significance to me, but hopefully this will be interesting and/or useful. Perhaps one of them will grab your attention and be something you might wish to read to help you on your own unique journey. You can see a list of all the books that will eventually be mentioned in this blog series by clicking on the button below. However, I'm going to split them over two or three posts, so each one doesn't get too long!

February 26

By Lisa G Saw • March 10, 2026

WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHTS Bob and I have visited West Rise Marsh a few times this month to look for Jack Snipe, but sadly without much success. We did see one, we think, on one visit, but it flew off before we set eyes on it. It's much the same with the Common Snipe, which as their name suggests, we see more of, but they're super skittish and fly off well before we're even close to where they're hiding, around the boggy wet marshes. With so many wet, windy and dull days, plus the fact I still have to go to work, I was starting to wonder if my February Highlights would be virtually non existent, so I was content with photographing and observing a Heron, standing in the water. They can stand motionless for ages, and move very slowly, stealth-like through the water to new areas. Unfortunately, I was just moving into a new position, when it actually caught a fish. I missed capturing that moment when its head quickly and unexpectedly darted downwards and snatched its prey from the water. But, you can see the Heron in mid-gulp (first photo).

January 26

By Lisa G Saw • February 7, 2026

WILDLIFE HIGHLIGHTS January can be a difficult month for many people. I don't usually suffer from the January Blues, but I did notice this year I felt a certain flatness. I think it was largely because there were days when Bob and I would go out for a walk and hardly see anything at all. Well, that is, anything out of the ordinary. There's no doubting it - I get a real lift when nature reveals its beauty to me in its many wonderful and surprising ways. But, it's been a good reminder that even the simple things can give great pleasure if we take the time to appreciate them. Sometimes, it's worth looking with more careful eyes and appreciating even the ordinary. The year actually was off to a great start, when the snow fell early on in the month. I love the snow! I'll leap at any opportunity I have to walk in it! Living close to the coast meant we didn't have any on our doorstep, but Ashdown Forest had a good covering and it wasn't too far away to visit. Even the car park looked lovely, with the sun shining through the wintry trees on this gorgeous sunny day. It might have been crisp and cold, but we were dressed for it and of course had some welcome hot drinks after our walk. The highlight of the day, aside from the snow, was having some brief glimpses of a couple of Crossbills at the top of the fir trees, though not as good as we'd had in December .