One of Europe’s rarest birds breeds for the first time at Wild Ken Hill

Excitement as Eurasian Spoonbill nests at Heacham's nature restoration project.

“It’s a great conservation success story,” Hetty Grant tells me, “Spoonbills are such odd-looking birds you can’t help but be enthusiastic about them and intrigued by them.  As the habitat on the marsh here has matured, I have eagerly anticipated their arrival. We’re really lucky to be one of the sites they’ve chosen to nest.”

The conservation manager at Wild Ken Hill explains that the wading bird went extinct as a breeding species in the UK in the 1600s. But it all changed in 2010 when a colony was established at Holkham National Nature Reserve, which is where they’ve radiated from.

Hetty says that for a few years the Spoonbills have been coming and ‘prospecting’, when birds assess potential breeding sites or territories. “We have been thinking will they...won’t they, but this year there have been 4 nests with 10 young, which is very exciting!”

Eurasian Spoonbill are named after their distinctive spatula-like bill, which they gracefully sweep from side to side in the water to catch insects, small fish and other prey. They can weigh up to 2kg and their wingspan can reach four and a half feet. 

They nest communally with other species, such as Little Egrets and Grey Herons, and lay between 3 and 5 eggs. The eggs hatch after around 25 days, with the chicks finally fledging around 50 days after that.

Gra Bloomfield, who lives in Snettisham, has been photographing the birds, “When I first saw Spoonbills up in the trees at Wild Ken Hill, I couldn't believe what I was seeing. To say I was very excited to witness a first for our area is an understatement! Getting an insight into these wonderfully strange-looking birds has been a fantastic experience."

News of the nests has been kept quiet until now, as disturbance before the birds fledge could cause them to be abandoned.  Gra adds, “Staying quiet has been very frustrating, but protecting these birds is paramount.”

Project manager Dominic Buscall says when a species colonises or returns to the area it is 'incredibly uplifting', "It shows that our efforts to restore nature are really working and bodes well for the future.”

All images Gra Bloomfield