With many miles of unspoilt coastline and big open skies, Suffolk in East Anglia is a haven for many birds and a birdwatcher's treat. The jewel in the crown is of course the RSPB's Minsmere reserve on the east coast, but there are many other locations in Suffolk, which make the county a joy for the birdwatcher and nature lover.
The rich birdlife of the coast is much of what makes Suffolk special, and the Suffolk Coast and Heaths is an Area of Natural Beauty, which includes the RSPB's flagship reserve Minsmere by the coast at Aldeburgh. The heaths are rich too, host to churring nightjars in the summer. This iconic bird of the heathland, with its eerie almost mechanical sounding call was chosen as the waymarker for the Suffolk Coast and Heaths path. However, the inland heaths have their treasures too, a Great Grey Shrike returning a couple of years to the heaths near Thetford Forest. The RSPB's Lakenheath Fen was only created in the last few years but has already attracted rarities.
This website is a celebration of some of Suffolk's birds. Neighbouring Norfolk does of course have fame as a birdwatcher's paradise, with Titchwell Marsh and Snettisham, and the rewarding coast from Hunstanton to Great Yarmouth. But Suffolk has its own understated charm, and I would like to share a little of that with you here. There are many birding sites to keep the visitor busy for a long time.