Doorstepnaturetours

29/02/2024

Fantastic evening yesterday showing guests our local wild Harvest Mice.

Using the Thermal we found 4 and were able to watch 2 at very close range for over 10 minutes each. We could enjoy watching them using their tails to help them climb reeds and move from stem to stem.

One eventually sat on a fallen reed head and fed contentedly. I even managed a picture with my phone!

Earlier we watched one feeding on a tall reed swinging back and forth in the wind!

A very satisfying evening and topped off with a Woodcock feeding in a neighbouring paddock.

Get in touch if this is an event you’d be interested in attending.

02/02/2024

Spent some time last night searching for Harvest mice with my Thermal. Successfully found 3 and we were able to watch them feeding undisturbed.

The sort of wonderful wildlife encounter which I might be able to help you enjoy. Contact me through the Doorstepnaturetours website:

WWW.DoorstepNatureTours.com using the enquiry link.

Here to show you the amazing wildlife of Suffolk, Norfolk and Essex. To coach and enthuse you so that you take skills and confidence away with you onto future walks in our beautiful countryside. Whatever your skill level, I can tailor our time towards what you are looking to get out of the day which...

23/12/2023

Amazed to go out with the Thermal this evening and find this Hedgehog trundling round a local horse paddock!

15/10/2023

On a sunny day in October, it was great to look round the RSPB Minsmere reserve.

The remaining Common Darters were sunning themselves on south facing wooden surfaces. This image from the thermal shows why. These surfaces are getting much warmer than surrounding perches. They’re clearly making the most of the few remaining warm days!

26/02/2023

Our walk at Dunwich this morning was very successful.

The first outing for the new Thermal Imager was an excellent test and it successfully found a Jack Snipe hidden in the wet saltmarsh. These birds are extremely difficult to find as they are superbly camouflaged and only fly away when they’re virtually trodden on. The Thermal works by detecting heat and the attached screenshot shows how this bird stood out from the wet, cold marsh it was hiding in. It allowed us to get these scope views and to leave it undisturbed and it kept feeding happily in it’s little patch of wet. When we returned on the way back to the cars it had walked/ shuffled about a metre.

We also found a fantastic Spotted Redshank and enjoyed watching a Skylark pottering about the grassland.

The freezing cold wind made viewing difficult so we retreated for a Coffee to warm up.

If you’d like to join us on any future trips, check out our planned itinerary at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com or enquire about our personal tours dedicated to what you’d like to search for.

Looking forward to the next planned tour around the South Suffolk Marshes on Sunday 12th March. Also check out our amazing Mothers Day offers on the website.

23/02/2023

🍾MOTHERS DAY AND FATHERS DAY SPECIAL OFFERS🍾

Visit www.DoorstepNatureTours.com to see our Special Voucher offer.

With the purchase of a voucher, your Mum or Dad can take a guest of their choice along on the trip for FREE.

You can personalise the voucher and include a personal message to your loved one.

Visit the website for a full itinerary running throughout the year.

🍀🍀🍀If you share this post, you become eligible to enter our competition to win a GOLDEN TICKET. Last year’s winner had a day at RSPB Minsmere with their family, being guided by myself and shown the reserves many specialities!! Just visit the website to enter the competition 🍀🍀🍀

SEE ENJOY EXPERIENCE NEW!! WILDLIFE BREAKS NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK SPECIAL OFFERS...... for MOTHERS DAY SPECIAL OFFERS........ for FATHERS DAY WHY US? Doorstep Nature Tours has been set up to help you enjoy the wildlife on our Doorsteps. East Anglia is full of some of the best habitats, the best natur...

20/01/2023

A few winter tours in the coming weeks which still have places available. Get in touch via www.DoorstepNatureTours.com and book your place. All our tours are geared towards all abilities so if you’re interested in learning more or just enjoy the social aspect of getting out into our glorious countryside, have a look and get in touch.

Sunday 29 January 9-11am
Sudbury Meadows walk
FREE BUT MUST BE BOOKED ONLINE
Let’s see what we can find, we might get lucky with a Kingfisher

Sunday 19 February 9-5pm
Norfolk Broads wild goose chase
£50
A tour of the broads to find wild geese and swans. Cranes will be a target, Grey Seals are still pupping plus we will end up at the Horsey roost to try for Hen Harriers and more Cranes.

Sunday 26 February 9-1pm
Dunwich Beach
£25
A long walk to try and find Snow Buntings, Spotted Redshank and Red Deer. Let’s see what is offshore and we might get lucky with Bittern or Great Egrets.

We have further trips lined up for spring along with a Kent and Sussex Tour for Orchids and Butterflies.

Take a look at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com and get in touch.

Looking forward to meeting you.

SEE ENJOY EXPERIENCE NEW!! WILDLIFE BREAKS NOW AVAILABLE TO BOOK WHY US? Doorstep Nature Tours has been set up to help you enjoy the wildlife on our Doorsteps. East Anglia is full of some of the best habitats, the best nature reserves and some amazing species which we aim to help you enjoy. Our days...

05/11/2022

BLACK FRIDAY DEALS

I am pleased to let you know that we are offering a Buy 1 get 1 free deal for a selection of events this winter. Take a look at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com for details and a booking form.

This offer is available all November. It's an ideal gift for either a friend, a loved one or indeed, yourself. Treat someone to some guided time in a fantastic location learning about and enjoying our local wildlife. Pick from over 10 events this winter.

Looking forward to meeting you.

27/10/2022

Sunday 30 October
9am-11am
FREE guided wildlife walk around the Sudbury water meadows.
Limited places so please book through www.DoorstepNatureTours.com

A return of these popular walks exploring the local meadows. Let’s see what we can find! Fingers crossed for a bit of sunshine. Looking forward to meeting you.

Ian.

10/07/2022

Our Bradfield Woods walk was successful in finding our quarry and we enjoyed the warm sunshine, bringing the rides to life.

We watched 2-3 Purple Emperor glide around the treetops, one buzzed our heads and finally we found one land on a leaf low down allowing great views.

During our walk we bumped into a couple who had an Emperor feeding on their shoe! It allowed us to enjoy it’s iridescent wings, with the purple moving with it’s position and angle to the sun. A stunning opportunity despite it’s tatty wings.

The rides were full of Silver Washed Fritillary, Ringlets and many Whites. We also bumped into a low Purple Hairstreak, 3 White Admiral and Brimstone. Comma, Large Skipper and Meadow Browns added to our walk.

We also heard Nuthatch and Treecreeper but this morning was all about the butterflies.

If you’d like to join us on future walks and trips, get in touch via our website www.doorstepnaturetours.com after checking out our full itinerary.

25/06/2022

Last weekend we went searching for Swallowtail butterflies with mixed results!

Our first stop at RSPB Strumpshaw reserve gave us not even sniff of one! We did however, enjoy Variable Damselfly, Small Red Eyed Damselfly, Scarce Chaser and Norfolk Hawker all living their lives.

We also used some pheromones to find Red Tipped Clearwing. This is where a chemical replicates the smell of a female which attracts the male moths of this strange and enigmatic family of moths. You’d never guess from the pictures that this is a moth!

We moved on to Potter Heigham where we had much more success with Swallowtails. We had prolonged views of one ‘salting’ where moist soil attracts butterflies because they can ‘drink’ salts from the ground. Around 10 individuals were attracted to brambles but the breeze helped them leave quickly as they used their huge wings to fly over the vast reedbeds. Just as incredible were the huge numbers of Garden Tiger caterpillars in all the surrounding vegetation. I’ve never seen such an infestation spread over such a wide area. We also got to enjoy Hobby and Marsh Harriers enjoy the sunshine.

If you’d like to join future trips, take a look at www.doorstepnaturetours.com for further details.

Looking forward to meeting you.

20/06/2022

Another day in Kent last week allowed us to enjoy the rare Heath Fritillary butterflies near Canterbury. We saw about 20 displaying, interacting and even found a pair mating. A beautiful butterfly in a beautiful woodland.

We had started the day nearby looking in on the Late Spider Orchids but this time our target was the rare Black Veined Moth. We found 2 of these day flying moths hidden in the long grass.

We finished the day at Sandwich Bird Obs where we were allowed onto a private area to see the recent re-colonist Dainty Damselfly. These delicate Damsels are slowly spreading from this pool but remain extremely rare and sought after. We had great views and captured some great pictures.

It was a great day and our guests thoroughly enjoyed what we saw.

If you’re interested in joining a future trip, check out our itinerary at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com and book through the website.

Looking forward to meeting you.

12/06/2022

Our Kent Orchid trip was a great success and we were able to find everything we wanted and more. The early season this year made it hard to find pristine plants but we benefitted by finding 2 Musk Orchids.

Due to recent thefts of rare Orchids from their natural habitat, I’ve decided to not publicise which sites we visited and just describe the day as a whole.

We found Late Spider along with some early flowering Chalk Fragrant Orchids.

A beautiful woodland meadow held hundreds of Lady along with Greater Butterfly, Fly, Common Spotted, Twayblade and White Helleborine. An unusual aberrant Greater Butterfly lacked any white in it’s petals! A Garden Warbler sang constantly as we rambled, with a Peregrine calling as it flew over.

A beautiful meadow had many Monkey Orchids, Fragrant still in bud, a lone Lady and Fly but 15 Greater Butterfly Orchids. We were lucky to find 2 Musk Orchids out already. I always think the Kent Monkeys are a lot more robust than the ones near Reading, they certainly seem to be doing well. A Firecrest sang by one of the meadows.

A last patch of woodland held many Fly and Lady but strangely these were all over.

If you’d like to join a future trip or would like a personal guide to somewhere of your choosing, check out www.doorstepnaturetours.com for details.

19/05/2022

We are entering a season when many rare and beautiful wild Orchids are in flower around the east of England.

We have a selection of trips in our itinerary to visit some amazing sites and see the last remaining plants of some amazing flowers.

Next weekend for example we are travelling to Oxfordshire and Kent to see Monkey, Lady, Butterfly, Military, Fly and Birds Nest Orchids, to name a few.

We will search out the flowers and will be able to help you develop and improve your plant photography.

If you are struggling to get there to meet on site, get in touch as we may be able to car-share.

Take a look at our website at www.doorstepnaturetours.com to see further details and our booking form.

Looking forward to meeting you.

14/05/2022

Our Orchid meeting tomorrow has been cancelled due to my concern over difficulties accessing the area safely.

The area where the Early Marsh Orchids are is so full of Orchids, lots of which are not flowering, that I’m concerned that some will get trodden on. It’s a beautiful display of flowers and readily viewed from the information board. There is also a swarm of Adders Tongue Fern nearby. A single Twayblade will be at it’s best in a weeks time.

I’ve contacted everyone privately but wanted to let people know incase of last minute bookings.

If you’d like to join us on future trips, take a look at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com for details of lots of upcoming days out to see Birds, Butterflies and Orchids. Looking forward to meeting you soon.

14/05/2022

Orangetip butterflies are still active and making sure the next generation succeed.

The female here is laying eggs. You can see that the tips are black and not orange, but the green mottled underwing makes identifying them easy.

02/05/2022

Our visit to Samphire Hoe in Kent was a success as we had a brief spell of sunshine so the butterflies came out and gave great photographic opportunities.

The primary focus of the trip was to kick off the Ophrys season with Early Spider Orchid. These are the Orchids which imitate insects to attract pollinators.

There were many hundreds of Orchids but few were photogenic so we had to hunt for the best ones.

A brief spell of sunshine encouraged the butterflies out and we saw lots of Wall, Dingy Skippers and Small Heath. We headed for a quiet corner of the reserve where we watched Small and Adonis Blues, more Wall and Dingy Skippers and a lone Common Blue.

Birding highlights were a Black Redstart singing INTO the cliff face, using it to reflect out the song and allowing us to hear it over the crashing waves 100m away!! Peregrines calling overhead and Ravens cruised the cliffs.

Moving on to Oare Marshes we were greeted by flyover Yellow Wagtails, raucous Cetti’s Warblers and a croaking Marsh Frog.

The lagoon was quiet with a few Pochard and Little Grebes. The Sea wall was better with many Whimbrel and a Bar Tailed Godwit. Sedge and 1 Reed Warbler singing out of the wind accompanied distant views of Common Seals.

A great day in Kent. If you’d like to attend future events, visit www.doorstepnaturetours.com to check out our itinerary of future trips. You’d be most welcome.

30/04/2022

Moths are underrated so look at this amazing species. It’s a Brindled Beauty and a master of camouflage. The photo doesn’t really capture the golden sheen created by the scales on the wings.
It’s a male and you can tell by the elaborate antennae which are used to ‘sniff’ out a female.

Nature on our doorstep is amazing!!

30/04/2022

A recent walk at Winks Meadow in north Suffolk gave an amazing spectacle of 000s of Green Winged Orchids and many Adders Tongue Fern. Looking forward to revisiting to search for Frog Orchid.

17/04/2022

On one of our recent Bespoke tours our guests were keen to see Dartford Warblers and other heathland species.

We found singing Dartford Warblers which allowed us to learn the song and compare it to the Stonechat song. The warbler avoided my camera so I’ve attached a picture from a previous visit to the same Heath.

A highlight was watching and listening to the Woodlarks and Skylarks singing. We were able to compare their plumage and structural differences as well as their song and song flight behaviour. Very educational and fun with such brilliant species.

Another highlight was watching a busy pair of Long Tailed T**s collecting nest material from the bark of a Birch and flying deep into a pine to construct their domed nest. They weave lichen and spider webs to creat a nest able to expand as their young grow inside. One of my favourite birds and a privilege to watch.

If there’s something in particular you’d like to see, get in touch via www.DoorstepNatureTours.com and we can discuss a potential Bespoke dayout tailored to what your family or group are interested in seeing.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

15/04/2022

Not the best picture but this goes to show what can be found on our Doorstep. This male Ring Ouzel visited the fields between Long Melford and Acton yesterday. It’s on its way to breed in the moorlands of Scotland, Wales or maybe Yorkshire. They rarely hang about so it may be on its home territory already?

30/03/2022

We will be visiting the iconic reserve of RSPB Minsmere reserve on Saturday 9 April. You are welcome to join the group , just book online at www.DoorstepNatureTours.com to grab one of the remaining places.

The breeding season is well underway with Adders basking, Avocets pairing and Bitterns have been booming. Over the next week we should see a big influx of summer migrants arriving back and bringing this patchwork of habitat to life. We will tour the main reserve and take a walk on the Heath where we should find Dartford Warblers.

Visit our website for full details, our booking form, as well as our new set of summer trips recently added.
Www.doorstepnatureTours.com

28/03/2022

Our tour of the Brecks this weekend was successful in finding all the specialities of the area.

The Brecks is a sandy area of forest and grassland around Thetford which creates a series of niche habitats for some special species of birds. We had decent views of what we saw but didn’t manage many decent photos so attached are some from previous visits.

Our first stop was near Santon Downham where we were successful in seeing Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers, Bramblings, Siskins and were lucky to see a Hawfinch. The Firecrests nearby were in full song and were actively defending their territories.

Onto another area of the forest where we waited for Goshawks to start their day. We were entertained by Stonechats and Yellowhammer while we waited but no Woodlark. We eventually had 2 Goshawk soaring including one so close we could hear it calling regularly. Butterflies were active though with Brimstones and Comma.

Lynford failed to provide more Hawfinches but another singing Firecrest with a random hoot of the roosting Tawny Owl were highlights.

Weeting gave us a single Stone Curlew with a singing Marsh Tit and a brief Holly Blue butterfly.

RSPB Lakenheath was full of Waders and Ducks. Avocets were paired up and were scattered amongst Garganey, Black Tailed Godwits, Snipe, Curlew and Great White Egret. It was a privilege and a bonus to watch a Bittern track the river bank opposite.

One last stop let us listen to Woodlark in the afternoon sunshine.

We’ve got lots of trips lined up over the coming months. Orchids and Butterflies start to feature on the www.DoorstepNatureTours.com itinerary so take a look and book to join us on future trips.

12/03/2022

Todays Kestrel was hunting for her lunch for so long I was able to video her - before she swooped down (and failed)

12/03/2022

Guiding around South Suffolk marshes and heathland today was an absolute pleasure.

RSPB Hollesley Marshes was full of ducks in full breeding plumage. The large flock of White Fronted Geese gave us a flyby before landing to feed in the usual meadows. So sad that there are so few young birds in these flocks! The Marsh Harriers were enjoying the sunshine and a Red Kite surprised us, despite their relentless spread over East Anglia. Hovering Kestrels are rarely so helpful: allowing prolonged scope views before diving down (and missing out on a mid morning snack) A Great Black Backed Gull stood out among the other gulls. A single Seal was hauled up on the Ness. A Chiffchaff called near the carpark so could be an overwintering bird.

Most unusual was a leucistic Magpie feeding in the meadows. That is where a bird lacks it’s colour pigment and this bird was all whites and buffy creams.

Hollesley Heath allowed us to watch a number of Woodlark feeding quietly amongst the Heather. We only heard a brief song flight before being distracted by a singing Dartford Warbler. A male Stonechat also displayed a short song flight for us. Lunch was spent watching Siskins drinking from a large puddle: just showing how important a water source is for wildlife.

Boyton already has Avocets on the small pool, displaying and getting territorial. Todays gorgeous light allowed us to really see the detail in a Gadwall’s subtle plumage. Even the Teal’s vermiculations were discernible. Curlews and another few seals in the river almost rounded off the day, but we first had to watch roughly 500 Cormorants flying to roost: quite a sight!