Broadland Country Park - Biodiversity and conservation

What to look out for during your visit

You are likely to see resident woodland birds like mistle thrush, great and blue tits and great spotted woodpecker on site year round.

In the spring you can find bluebells and primroses and in the summer butterflies and dragonflies can be seen along the woodland fringes.

When autumn arrives and light levels drop, the site turns purple as the heather starts to flower and sweet chestnut trees ripen. There are likely to be small flocks of crossbill, siskin, lesser redpoll and goldcrest present in the pines.

In the winter, bare silver birch trees create a striking contrast in the landscape.

During your visit you might also be lucky enough to see common lizards, slow worms, grass snakes or adders - four of the UK's six indigenous reptile species.

Heathland

Heathlands form a landscape that is rarer than tropical rainforest is home to some of our rarest and most exciting wildlife in the UK.

Heaths are at their most interesting, and colourful, the in Spring and Summer. A visit to Broadland Country Park on Summer evenings might give you the chance to see and hear nightjars. During the day, you will be able to see common lizards basking in sunny spots.

Habitat guide

As part of their third year Science Communication module at the UEA, two students were tasked with producing a common species guide and recording pack for all of the habitats in Norfolk. In the future these resources will be used to facilitate an inter-parish recording programme, run by Norfolk Biodiversity Information Service (NBIS), to encourage more people to take up Biodiversity recording in Norfolk.

Learn about some of the common species that might be found at Broadland Country Park.

If you would like to see the full recording pack for all of Norfolk’s habitats, provide feedback for the students and learn more about the upcoming inter-parish recording program, complete the 'Feedback for NBIS parish recording scheme' form.