Holkham NNR
About this location
Holkham National Nature Reserve protects an exceptionally varied stretch of the north Norfolk coast, with tidal flats, saltmarsh, sand dunes, grazing marsh, scrub and the distinctive Holkham Meals pinewoods. Much of the grazing marsh was reclaimed from saltmarsh between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, then re-wetted from the 1980s onwards, creating important breeding habitat for lapwing and common redshank and major wintering grounds for pink-footed goose, brent goose and Eurasian wigeon.
The coastal habitats are equally important: saltmarsh, foreshore and dune systems support breeding and migratory shorebirds, while in winter the open beach and saltmarsh can hold species such as shore lark and snow bunting. The nineteenth-century pinewoods form a striking, often surprisingly quiet barrier between the grazing marsh and coast, while their edges and adjoining scrub provide important cover for migrant birds.
- Country
- 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
- Habitat types
- Wetland, Coastal, Woodland, Grassland, Shrubland
- First visit
- 10 February 2025