Category: Nature

Spot the nest

Eagle-eyed passengers are enjoying spotting our birdlife, including all three of the Broads’ common goose species, nesting in some unusual, tucked-away places.  The water birds probably pick these spots to hide from predators.

An Egyptian goose is nesting in the roof of a summerhouse in a riverside garden in Wroxham.

egyptian goose nesting on thatched roofclose up of egyptian goose nesting on thatched roof

A Canada goose is barely visible nesting in the long undergrowth on Wroxham Island.

canada goose barely visible in overgrowth of river bank

The male of the nesting pair is certainly making himself seen however, having stood guard near the top-end entrance to Wroxham Broad for the last couple of weeks.  He has even tried to ‘see off’ our trip boats if we get close to the nest!

canada goose on the water

Perhaps the hardest nesting bird to spot on the river at the moment is a Greylag goose tucked away under a tree at the bottom end of Salhouse Broad.

greylag goose barely visible behind tree and foliage on river bank

The Great Crested Grebe pair that we featured in our last blog building a floating nest on the river in Woodbastwick are doing well.  The male grebe has been very diligent, regularly bringing large lily leaves to add to the nest as shown below, as well as catching fish to feed his partner with.

great crested grebe on floating nest

A little further upstream we managed to get a picture of another grebe catching fish.

great crested grebe on water with fish in its mouth

Perhaps what has delighted passengers most of all though is the ducks and geese that have already hatched their adorable young.

This lovely picture shows a family of Greylag geese with their beautiful little goslings that are only a few days old near the top end entrance to Wroxham Broad.

two grelag geese flanking goslings next to river bank

A second Greylag family, with equally cute goslings, are spending much of their time on a riverside garden at the bottom end of Wroxham village.

Last but not least, we have two mallard duck families in this area.

duck on the water with a duckling swimming on each side

Words and images – Oliver Franzen

Nature springs to life

The Broads are bursting into life with our resident birdlife busily performing their breeding rituals. And signalling the coming of spring, the first Swallows have arrived on Wroxham Broad after their long journey from Africa.

Passengers have been delighted by our first brood of Mallard Ducklings on the River Bure, just downstream from Wroxham Village. Very cute!

ducks with many ducklings following behindA Great Crested Grebe pair are nesting on the river, near Woodbastwick, and are incubating their eggs as shown below.

grebe on a floating nest

Another pair of Great Crested Grebes started building a nest a little further upstream on Salhouse Broad, but appear to have abandoned it.  This is not unusual, as Great Crested Grebes quite often have a few attempts at making a nest before sticking with their perfect ‘family home’.

Canada, Greylag and Egyptian geese are also nesting on Wroxham Island and have been fighting over the best spots for the last month or so.

egyptian goose on dry nest on river bank

two canada geese on water next to river bank

Elsewhere, on Hickling Broad, we have spotted our first brood of lovely little Egyptian Goose goslings being well cared for by their attentive parents. This pair of geese hatched their young on almost exactly the same date last year – as shown in the picture below:

two adult egyptian geese paddling with two goslings

Not to be left out, our swans are in full swing with their mating rituals.  We captured ‘the moment’ with this amorous couple in our boat basin.

two swan intertwining necks

We have also enjoyed some lovely sightings of Kingfishers and Marsh Harriers since the last blog.

This picture shows a Kingfisher perched on a branch near Bridge Broad.

kingfisher perched on branch

This photograph captures the moment a Marsh Harrier swooped low over the marshes on the opposite side of the river to Wroxham Broad.  At the time this picture was taken we were lucky enough to see two Marsh Harriers and two Buzzards all in the same location!

marsh harrier in flight from below

Why not come on a boat trip and see the wildlife for yourself!  Our regular 2017 trip boat timetable started at the beginning of this month and is now running seven days a week.  Click to see the river trip timetable or call 01603 782 207.

First day of spring signals wildlife spectacle

Today is the first day of meteorological spring and wildlife is bursting into life right on cue.

Male swans are getting really territorial, puffing up their feathers and seeing off the competition.

swan on the water

One pair of swans have even been spotted trying out the nesting spot shown below in a secluded area of Wroxham Broad, although this seems to have been abandoned.

two swans nesting on river in cluster of reeds

Wroxham Island, a narrow strip of land that splits Wroxham Broad with the river Bure, is now a cacophony of activity with Canada and Greylag geese noisily squabbling and jostling for the best nesting positions. The island is a much coveted nesting spot for geese as it affords good protection from predators such as foxes.

two canada geese on water underneath bank overgrowth

two canada geese standing on reed back

two canada geese on water one reaching over to the other with its mouth open

Currently the Canada geese seem to be the most aggressive at staking their claim on the island and are certainly getting the best of the Greylag geese, which are still moving in large numbers as shown landing on Wroxham Broad below.

multiple greylag geese flying above water

Another interesting phenomenon is some of the Cormorants (which crowd onto the imposing trees on Wroxham Island) developing white patches in their plumage.  The birds with white patches are the mature birds that are ready to breed in the spring.

two comorants perched on a bare branch

A little further down river, on Salhouse Broad, Great Crested Grebes are continuing their delightful courtship routine.

great crested grebe on water swimming away from camera

Great Crested Grebes very rarely come to land because they have their feet on the back of their body, making it difficult for them to stand, which is why they build floating nests for their eggs.

However rules, as they say, are ment to be broken and we recently spotted a Great Crested Grebe climbing on to the bank – a very unusual and slightly ungainly sight as you can see in this picture!

two great crested grebes on on river bank and one on water

Another notable point on Salhouse Broad is that there are unusually high numbers of Pochard ducks as you can see below.

multiple pochard ducks on the water

The Pochards are mixed in with other winter species, such as Tufted Ducks and Gadwalls, which are still remaining on the broad for now.

pochard tufted and gadwall ducks swimming together on water towards bank

5 tufted ducks swimming together on water away from camera

On a final note we had to rescue a swan yesterday, which became dangerously tangled in fishing tackle.  The vets took it away and thankfully it is recovering well in the care of the RSPCA.

Words and images by Oliver Franzen

Half term trips are a treat for wildlife

Our half term kids go free* boat trips are in full swing and children and adults alike are being treated to a wonderful display of wildlife.

Topping the list was an otter popping up in our boat basin to the delight of passengers – who got to see one of the Broad’s shyest and most enigmatic creatures before even reaching the river!

Every trip has been a riot of wildlife activity, with some birds starting their spring courtship rituals but other shyer species, which are usually only seen in the winter, still present in large numbers.

A real highlight has been watching Great Crested Grebes performing their courtship ‘mirror’ dance.   With their beautiful headdress fluffed up – as if showing off their best clothes on a first date – the male and female birds face one another and copy each others movements giving the appearance of looking in a mirror.   It’s a truly magical sight that will soon be followed by Great Crested Grebe pairs making a floating nest for their eggs and, eventually, successful mothers carrying their cute little ‘greblets’ around on their backs.

two great crested grebes facing each other on the water

 

great crested grebe on water facing away from camera

Other signs of spring include mature adult cormorants heads’ turning from black to white to signal that they are ready to breed and male swans starting to act territorially as they look for a mate. Elsewhere we have even seen one pair of swans already making a nest on a remote and inaccessible corner of Broadland (Alderfen Broad).

swan on water next to river bank

close up of swan on water next to river bank

Equally as exciting is the way we have been spoilt with lots of rarer winter species.  In particular, there are still very large numbers of Little Grebes emerging from the riverside undergrowth.  These cute, fluffy little creatures that are a constant buzz of activity (forever diving and hiding) are hardly ever seen for most of the year because they are so shy.  Fortunately for us they clearly feel confident enough to venture out onto the river at this quieter time of year.

grebelets on the water by the river bank

grebelet close up on the water

grebelet on the water swimming towards the bank

Another highlight is that there is a full complement of rarer ducks to spot.  Although we are seeing many species on Wroxham Broad perhaps the most productive area is Salhouse Broad, where there are large numbers of Gadwall,

gadwall ducks on the water by the bank

Tufted Ducks

two tufted ducks on the water

and a few Pochards.

pochard duck on the water

Not to be outdone, Teal are putting in a welcome appearance on the river between Salhouse and Wroxham close to where the Little Grebes are being spotted.

teal ducks on the water

Perhaps the most majestic moments have come from watching marsh harriers gliding through the air, as shown by this one that was unusually high over Wroxham Broad.

marsh harrier in flight from below

If you haven’t come to our half term boat trips yet don’t miss out!  Trips run until Sunday 19 February at 11.30am and 2pm. All trips last 1.5 hour from Wroxham to Salhouse Broad taking in the open vistas of Wroxham Broad.  Colouring in sheets are available for the ‘little ones’ too!

For more information contact 01603 782 207.

Finally we will leave you with a couple of pictures of the ever charismatic herons in Wroxham village!

grey heron standing on river bank facing camera

profile of grey heron standing on wooden railings

*Maximum of two free children’s tickets available with every full paying adult.

Arctic aura

With arctic conditions upon us causing many Broads to freeze over now isn’t the most obvious time for a boat trip.    But, in the interest of investigation one of our skippers, Oli Franzen, wrapped up warm and headed out in a small day boat to discover what the Broads had to offer at this unlikely time of year.  He found that fortune favours the brave and was rewarded with the waterways teaming with wildlife.

As I donned an extra jumper and thick coat ready to climb aboard my day boat – the weather forecast was broadcast on the radio.  “A high temperature of zero today…but it will feel like minus 5”, they said. Oh great, perfect for a boat trip I thought!

Fortunately I didn’t abandon my plans because it turned into one of the best boat trips of the year.  My route was simple, heading downstream to Salhouse Broad via Wroxham Broad and back again.  It’s a route that I do every day in my double decker trip boat during  the summer season but one which took on a completely different persona in the winter – not just due to the blocks of ice floating downstream set against the stark winter scenery – but because it was alive with wildlife.

What was immediately obvious is how much more wildlife has moved into Wroxham  village than you would see in the summer, perhaps because there’s much less boat traffic to disturb shy species but also because fish tend to shoal up in boatyards at this time of year and  the water birds that feed on them follow their prey.

In addition to an extremely cold and grumpy looking Heron (any suggestions for an amusing picture caption of what this heron is thinking would be gratefully received!)  there was a surprising number of Great Crested Grebes and Cormorants fishing.

On Wroxham Broad things got more exciting.  Water birds have flocked together in huge numbers and I had a magical moment, when my boat was completely surrounded by hundreds of Greylag geese, as shown in this panorama picture.

There were also huge flocks of Tufted Ducks, which are shy and rarely seen in the summer:

The Coots had come together in large numbers too, with some diving into the cold water to catch and eat zebra mussels, as you can see in the picture below.

Next I headed back out on to the river towards Salhouse Broad, revealing perhaps the most special moment of the whole trip – lots of Little Grebes which I encountered in pairs every few hundred yards downstream.  Little Grebes are notoriously shy and we hardly ever see them during the summer months, so to see so many pairs feeling confident enough to come out in the open due to the lack of boat traffic was wonderful. I stopped on each occasion to take some pictures of these beautiful, but notoriously difficult to photograph birds.

On reaching Salhouse Broad – one thing was immediately obvious.  Half the broad was frozen solid!  These pictures show somewhat confused Black headed gulls standing on the ice.

In fact, I was reminded later that Salhouse Broad was frozen even more thickly than this in 2010, as shown by this lovely picture featuring a puzzled swan taken by James Greasley.

Elsewhere on the bank rather more sensible Black Headed gulls than the ones on the ice huddled together on a fence for warmth.

By the end of my two hour trip I felt about as warm as those gulls but delighted I had made the effort to head out on the water and can thoroughly recommend it.  Even if you have been out on a boat with us in the summer, you will see a completely different World at this time of year.  So wrap up warm, bring a hot drink and hire a day boat for a couple of hours!