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United Kingdom United Kingdom Ramsar wetland

Breydon Water

250 bird species recorded; the most from April to May and from September to October.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec176at the peak
Species recorded in each month · tap a month

Rackellar at English Wikipedia · Public domain

This month here

160 species in January.

The birds you are most likely to see in the month you choose, those that come for the season first. It opens on today's month.

Common Gull
Common GullLarus canusWinter visitorAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
European Herring Gull
European Herring GullLarus argentatusResidentKulac · CC BY-SA 3.0
Black-headed Gull
Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundusResidentDiliff · CC BY-SA 3.0
Pink-footed Goose
Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchusWinter visitorMPF · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Starling
Common StarlingSturnus vulgarisResidentmarsupium photography · CC BY-SA 2.0
Carrion Crow
Carrion CrowCorvus coroneResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Great Cormorant
Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carboResidentJJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0
Eurasian Wigeon
Eurasian WigeonMareca penelopeWinter visitorПочта России · Public domain
Northern LapwingNT
Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Mediterranean Gull
Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalusResidentMPF · CC BY-SA 4.0
Mute Swan
Mute SwanCygnus olorResidentGeni · CC BY-SA 4.0
Common Wood Pigeon
Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbusResidentTristan Ferne from UK · CC BY 2.0
Eurasian Teal
Eurasian TealAnas creccaWinter visitorKoshy Koshy from Faridabad, Haryana, India · CC BY 2.0
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed GullLarus marinusResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Eurasian Magpie
Eurasian MagpiePica picaResidentAlexis Lours · CC BY 4.0
Common Kestrel
Common KestrelFalco tinnunculusResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
White Wagtail
White WagtailMotacilla albaResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Rock Dove
Rock DoveColumba liviaResidentwilliam_stephens · CC BY 4.0
Little Egret
Little EgretEgretta garzettaResidentBirdman1 · CC BY 2.5
Eurasian Blackbird
Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merulaResidentKahvilokki · CC BY-SA 4.0
Eurasian CurlewNT
Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataResidentAndreas Trepte · CC BY-SA 2.5
Northern Pintail
Northern PintailAnas acutaWinter visitorJ.M.Garg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Mallard
MallardAnas platyrhynchosResidentTetiana.iefimenko · CC BY 4.0
Western Marsh Harrier
Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosusResidentPierre-Marie Epiney · CC BY-SA 2.0
  • Resident all year
  • Summer visitor comes to breed
  • Winter visitor comes for the winter
  • Passage migrant in spring and autumn

In numbers

250 species, counted.

87out of 100

Our own rating, from the records only: species (50 points), threatened species (20), migrants (20) and protected status — Ramsar, IBA, SPA, observatory (10).

  • 250Speciesrecorded more than once
  • 124Migrantssummer, winter or passage visitors
  • 11ThreatenedVulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered (IUCN)
  • 52,406Recordsopen records within 6 km
  • 12Raptors
  • 4Owls
  • 39Waders
  • 32Gulls & seabirds
  • 34Ducks & geese
  • 13Herons, ibises & grebes
  • 2Storks & cranes
  • 1Flamingos
  • 95Songbirds
  • 18Other birds

From open records (eBird and others, through GBIF, licensed for any use). More birdwatchers mean more records: a quiet place may have more birds than it shows.

The checklist

All 250 species.

By group, with the year in twelve cells: the darker the cell, the more often the bird is recorded that month.

Raptors12 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common KestrelFalco tinnunculus
  • Western Marsh HarrierCircus aeruginosus
  • Common BuzzardButeo buteo
  • Eurasian SparrowhawkAccipiter nisus
  • Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus
  • European HobbyFalco subbuteo
  • Rough-legged BuzzardButeo lagopus
  • MerlinFalco columbarius
  • Red KiteMilvus milvus
  • Hen HarrierCircus cyaneus
  • OspreyPandion haliaetus
  • White-tailed EagleHaliaeetus albicilla
Owls4 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
  • Western Barn OwlTyto alba
  • Tawny OwlStrix aluco
  • Little OwlAthene noctua
Waders39 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Eurasian CurlewNumenius arquataNT
  • RedshankTringa totanus
  • Eurasian OystercatcherHaematopus ostralegusNT
  • Northern LapwingVanellus vanellusNT
  • DunlinCalidris alpinaNT
  • Pied AvocetRecurvirostra avosetta
  • Black-tailed GodwitLimosa limosaNT
  • Common Ringed PloverCharadrius hiaticula
  • Eurasian WhimbrelNumenius phaeopus
  • Red KnotCalidris canutusNT
  • European Golden PloverPluvialis apricaria
  • Bar-tailed godwitLimosa lapponicaNT
  • Grey PloverPluvialis squatarolaVU
  • SanderlingCalidris alba
  • Ruddy TurnstoneArenaria interpresNT
  • Common GreenshankTringa nebularia
  • Common SnipeGallinago gallinago
  • Common SandpiperActitis hypoleucos
  • Spotted RedshankTringa erythropus
  • Curlew SandpiperCalidris ferrugineaVU
  • RuffCalidris pugnax
  • Green SandpiperTringa ochropus
  • Eurasian WoodcockScolopax rusticola
  • Broad-billed SandpiperCalidris falcinellusVU
  • Great KnotCalidris tenuirostris
  • American golden ploverPluvialis dominica
  • Pacific Golden PloverPluvialis fulva
  • Little StintCalidris minuta
  • Kentish PloverCharadrius alexandrinus
  • KilldeerCharadrius vociferusNT
  • Wood SandpiperTringa glareola
  • Purple SandpiperCalidris maritima
  • White-rumped SandpiperCalidris fuscicollisVU
  • Lesser yellowlegsTringa flavipesVU
  • Jack SnipeLymnocryptes minimus
  • Greater YellowlegsTringa melanoleucaNT
  • Temminck's StintCalidris temminckii
  • Long-billed dowitcherLimnodromus scolopaceusNT
  • Collared PratincoleGlareola pratincola
Gulls & seabirds32 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • European Herring GullLarus argentatus
  • Lesser Black-backed GullLarus fuscus
  • Black-headed GullChroicocephalus ridibundus
  • Great Black-backed GullLarus marinus
  • Mediterranean GullIchthyaetus melanocephalus
  • Common GullLarus canus
  • Common TernSterna hirundo
  • Sandwich TernThalasseus sandvicensis
  • Red-throated LoonGavia stellata
  • Northern gannetMorus bassanus
  • Little TernSternula albifrons
  • Black-legged kittiwakeRissa tridactylaVU
  • Little GullHydrocoloeus minutus
  • Yellow-legged GullLarus michahellis
  • Common MurreUria aalge
  • Arctic SkuaStercorarius parasiticus
  • Caspian TernHydroprogne caspia
  • Arctic TernSterna paradisaea
  • RazorbillAlca torda
  • Pontic gullLarus cachinnans
  • Roseate TernSterna dougallii
  • Glaucous GullLarus hyperboreus
  • Iceland GullLarus glaucoides
  • FulmarFulmarus glacialis
  • Black TernChlidonias niger
  • Ring-billed GullLarus delawarensis
  • Great skuaStercorarius skua
  • Little AukAlle alle
  • Pomarine SkuaStercorarius pomarinus
  • Sooty shearwaterPuffinus griseus
  • Franklin's GullLeucophaeus pipixcan
  • Common LoonGavia immer
Ducks & geese34 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common ShelduckTadorna tadorna
  • Mute SwanCygnus olor
  • MallardAnas platyrhynchos
  • Eurasian TealAnas crecca
  • Eurasian WigeonMareca penelope
  • GadwallMareca strepera
  • Greylag GooseAnser anser
  • Pink-footed GooseAnser brachyrhynchus
  • Egyptian GooseAlopochen aegyptiaca
  • Northern PintailAnas acuta
  • Northern ShovelerSpatula clypeata
  • Brent GooseBranta bernicla
  • Tufted DuckAythya fuligula
  • Canada GooseBranta canadensis
  • Common PochardAythya ferinaVU
  • Greater White-fronted GooseAnser albifrons
  • Common ScoterMelanitta nigra
  • GarganeySpatula querquedula
  • Barnacle GooseBranta leucopsis
  • Common EiderSomateria mollissimaNT
  • Bewick's SwanCygnus columbianus
  • Tundra Bean GooseAnser serrirostris
  • Common GoldeneyeBucephala clangula
  • Whooper SwanCygnus cygnus
  • Greater ScaupAythya marila
  • Velvet scoterMelanitta fuscaVU
  • Red-breasted MerganserMergus serrator
  • Long-tailed duckClangula hyemalisVU
  • Snow gooseAnser caerulescens
  • GoosanderMergus merganser
  • Taiga Bean GooseAnser fabalis
  • Mandarin DuckAix galericulata
  • Ross's GooseAnser rossii
  • American WigeonMareca americana
Herons, ibises & grebes13 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Great CormorantPhalacrocorax carbo
  • Little EgretEgretta garzetta
  • Grey HeronArdea cinerea
  • Eurasian SpoonbillPlatalea leucorodia
  • Great Crested GrebePodiceps cristatus
  • Little GrebeTachybaptus ruficollis
  • Great White EgretArdea alba
  • Eurasian BitternBotaurus stellaris
  • Glossy IbisPlegadis falcinellus
  • Western Cattle EgretBubulcus ibis
  • ShagPhalacrocorax aristotelis
  • Horned GrebePodiceps auritusVU
  • African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
Storks & cranes2 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • White StorkCiconia ciconia
  • Common CraneGrus grus
Flamingos1 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Greater FlamingoPhoenicopterus roseus
Songbirds95 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Carrion CrowCorvus corone
  • Common StarlingSturnus vulgaris
  • Eurasian MagpiePica pica
  • Eurasian BlackbirdTurdus merula
  • White WagtailMotacilla alba
  • Western JackdawColoeus monedula
  • SkylarkAlauda arvensis
  • European GoldfinchCarduelis carduelis
  • European RobinErithacus rubecula
  • Eurasian Blue TitCyanistes caeruleus
  • Meadow PipitAnthus pratensis
  • Common LinnetLinaria cannabina
  • House SparrowPasser domesticus
  • Eurasian WrenTroglodytes troglodytes
  • Barn swallowHirundo rustica
  • Great titParus major
  • DunnockPrunella modularis
  • Common Reed BuntingEmberiza schoeniclus
  • European GreenfinchChloris chloris
  • RookCorvus frugilegus
  • Eurasian ChaffinchFringilla coelebs
  • Common ChiffchaffPhylloscopus collybita
  • Sedge WarblerAcrocephalus schoenobaenus
  • Western Yellow WagtailMotacilla flava
  • BlackcapSylvia atricapilla
  • WhitethroatSylvia communis
  • Song ThrushTurdus philomelos
  • Eurasian Reed WarblerAcrocephalus scirpaceus
  • Northern WheatearOenanthe oenanthe
  • Eurasian JayGarrulus glandarius
  • GoldcrestRegulus regulus
  • Cetti's WarblerCettia cetti
  • RedwingTurdus iliacus
  • European StonechatSaxicola rubicola
  • FieldfareTurdus pilaris
  • Bearded ReedlingPanurus biarmicus
  • Black RedstartPhoenicurus ochruros
  • European Rock PipitAnthus petrosus
  • Common House MartinDelichon urbicum
  • Snow BuntingPlectrophenax nivalis
  • European Pied FlycatcherFicedula hypoleuca
  • Coal TitPeriparus ater
  • Eurasian SiskinSpinus spinus
  • Sand MartinRiparia riparia
  • Grey WagtailMotacilla cinerea
  • Common RedstartPhoenicurus phoenicurus
  • BramblingFringilla montifringilla
  • Willow WarblerPhylloscopus trochilus
  • WhinchatSaxicola rubetra
  • Common FirecrestRegulus ignicapilla
  • Yellow-browed WarblerPhylloscopus inornatus
  • Lesser whitethroatSylvia curruca
  • Spotted FlycatcherMuscicapa striata
  • Mistle ThrushTurdus viscivorus
  • Garden WarblerSylvia borin
  • Hume’s leaf-warblerPhylloscopus humei
  • Ring OuzelTurdus torquatus
  • Common Grasshopper WarblerLocustella naevia
  • Desert wheatearOenanthe deserti
  • Red-flanked BluetailTarsiger cyanurus
  • YellowhammerEmberiza citrinella
  • Pallas's Leaf WarblerPhylloscopus proregulus
  • Water PipitAnthus spinoletta
  • Little BuntingEmberiza pusilla
  • Tree PipitAnthus trivialis
  • Hooded CrowCorvus cornix
  • BullfinchPyrrhula pyrrhula
  • Common RedpollAcanthis flammea
  • Bohemian WaxwingBombycilla garrulus
  • Olive-backed PipitAnthus hodgsoni
  • Eurasian TreecreeperCerthia familiaris
  • Marsh TitPoecile palustris
  • Rosy StarlingPastor roseus
  • Red-backed ShrikeLanius collurio
  • Shore LarkEremophila alpestris
  • Red-breasted flycatcherFicedula parva
  • Lapland LongspurCalcarius lapponicus
  • Great Reed WarblerAcrocephalus arundinaceus
  • Wood WarblerPhylloscopus sibillatrix
  • Lesser Grey ShrikeLanius minor
  • Eurasian Tree SparrowPasser montanus
  • Siberian stonechatSaxicola maurus
  • TwiteLinaria flavirostris
  • Booted WarblerIduna caligata
  • Corn BuntingEmberiza calandra
  • Arctic warblerPhylloscopus borealis
  • Dusky warblerPhylloscopus fuscatus
  • Northern RavenCorvus corax
  • Radde’s warblerPhylloscopus schwarzi
  • Common crossbillLoxia curvirostra
  • Eurasian NuthatchSitta europaea
  • Willow TitPoecile montanus
  • WoodlarkLullula arborea
  • Icterine warblerHippolais icterina
  • HawfinchCoccothraustes coccothraustes
Other birds18 species
JFMAMJJASOND
  • Common Wood PigeonColumba palumbus
  • Rock DoveColumba livia
  • Eurasian Collared DoveStreptopelia decaocto
  • European SwiftApus apus
  • Common PheasantPhasianus colchicus
  • Common MoorhenGallinula chloropus
  • Stock DoveColumba oenas
  • CootFulica atra
  • Great Spotted WoodpeckerDendrocopos major
  • Red-legged PartridgeAlectoris rufaNT
  • Common CuckooCuculus canorus
  • Common KingfisherAlcedo atthis
  • European Turtle DoveStreptopelia turturVU
  • European Water RailRallus aquaticus
  • Green WoodpeckerPicus viridis
  • Grey PartridgePerdix perdix
  • WryneckJynx torquilla
  • Lesser Spotted WoodpeckerDryobates minor

Monthly presence relative to all bird records that month, so a busy month does not inflate every species.

When to go

The most species from April to May and from September to October.

Species recorded in each month, with the usual temperature and rain.

  1. Jan1607°/4°74 mm
  2. Feb1557°/4°66 mm
  3. Mar1478°/5°57 mm
  4. Apr16410°/7°39 mm
  5. May17313°/10°56 mm
  6. Jun14316°/12°65 mm
  7. Jul14718°/15°73 mm
  8. Aug15719°/16°78 mm
  9. Sep16717°/14°64 mm
  10. Oct17614°/12°89 mm
  11. Nov16411°/8°85 mm
  12. Dec1498°/6°85 mm
  • Bar: species recorded that month.
  • Temperature: average maximum / minimum (NASA, 1991–2020).
  • Rain: monthly total.

The place

Breydon Water.

Site of Special Scientific Interest at Great Yarmouth Norfolk

Breydon Water is a wetland of international importance (Ramsar) in United Kingdom.

250 bird species have been recorded here more than once, in 52,406 open records.

The most recorded are the European Herring Gull, the Lesser Black-backed Gull and the Black-headed Gull.

52 species come for the summer, 67 for the winter and 5 only pass through.

11 are threatened worldwide, including Grey Plover, Curlew Sandpiper and Common Pochard.

The most species are recorded from April to May and from September to October.

Breydon-north
Rackellar at English Wikipedia · Public domain

Get there and watch

Plan the visit

A guided walk, a bed nearby, a car.

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

From above

The place and its surroundings.

The satellite image of the 6 × 6 km around the place, with the bird hides, towers and trails that OpenStreetMap shows.

Breydon Water seen from above (Sentinel-2)
Seen from above: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 (EOX, CC BY 4.0), 6 × 6 km, north up. Points © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Around, in OpenStreetMap

  • 1bird hides within 6 kmObservation Hide
  • 14marked trails within 4 kmNorfolk Coast Path, Wherryman's Way, Angles Way and 11 more
  • 4viewpoints within 5 kmWilliamson’s Lookout, Oasis Tower and 2 more
  • 150car parks within 3 km
  • 16restaurants and cafés within 3 km
  • 60campsites within 10 kmEastern Beach Caravan Park and Clubhouse, Elm Beach Caravan Park, The Tower Caravan Park and 57 more
  • 101places to stay within 10 kmSenglea Lodge, Norfolk Lodge, Silverstone House and 98 more
  • observation towers within 6 km
  • visitor centres within 6 km

Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit. A low number may just mean nobody has mapped it yet.

In our other atlases

Around Breydon Water.

The lakes, beaches, islands, rivers and mountains around this place, and its night sky, in the family's atlases.

Lakeyas2 lakes within 15 km
Fritton Lake0.3 km² · 6.7 kmFilby Broad0.3 km² · 7.4 km
Riveryasthe river nearby
River Yare77 kmRiver Waveney95 kmRiver Bure

Figures from the sister sites' databases (Wikidata, HydroATLAS, GeoNames, OpenStreetMap). Links open when each site is online.

Other places nearby.

Breydon Water

United Kingdom

  • 87Birdyas Score
  • 250Species
  • 124Migrants
  • 11Threatened

North Norfolk Coast Site of Special Scientific Interest

United Kingdom · 60 km

  • 90Birdyas Score
  • 363Species
  • 189Migrants
  • 20Threatened

See the guide

Holme Bird Observatory

United Kingdom · 86 km

  • 90Birdyas Score
  • 297Species
  • 134Migrants
  • 16Threatened

See the guide

Dersingham Bog

United Kingdom · 85 km

  • 88Birdyas Score
  • 266Species
  • 133Migrants
  • 13Threatened

See the guide

Where these figures come from

Name and typeWikidata (Q4962793) · CC0
Birds52,406 open bird records within 6 km (GBIF, CC0 and CC BY 4.0 only; mostly eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
See these recordsgbif.org
SpeciesGBIF Backbone Taxonomy · CC BY 4.0; Wikidata (CC0); Wikimedia Commons
AltitudeCopernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Temperature and rainNASA POWER (CERES SYN1deg, 2001–2020; MERRA-2)
What is around© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
ImagesEOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons
Sister atlasesIslandyas, Lakeyas, Riveryas

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

The family

Do you prefer beaches, lakes, mountains, waterfalls, islands, rivers, canyons, caves, dark skies, viewpoints, birdwatching or forests?

Same idea, other landscapes: field atlases built on open data, in seven languages.