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The conservation area is the fourth stop on our tour. It
forms a horseshoe of water around a small wooded island. Boats
are not allowed in this area in order to help protect the habitat.
The water in this part of the broad is much shallower,
this makes it ideal for waders and the wildfowl wanting to use the area.
The area also includes a blank area of shingle, made up
of flint and stone. This forms a small island that will hopefully encourage
terns to come and breed in the future.
You'll see a great deal of Greater Reed Base along the
northern side of the broad, what a lot of people call Bullrush. Whatever
you wish to call it, the reed provides excellent cover for a great deal
of birdlife.
You'll see coots, mallards and one of Britain's largest
and heaviest birds, the mute swan.
Egyptian goose |
Foreign visitors
You can also find Egyptian and Canadian geese in the parkland.
The Egyptian Goose (Alopochen aegyptagus) was introduced
to Britain in the late 17th century to decorate the lakes and gardens
of large estates.
It's thought that more than three quarters of the feral
population live in Norfolk, with the largest flock of nearly 200 birds
at Holkham.
This highly adaptable visitor has not spread across to
other parts of the country, so visitors to Norfolk always find them a
surprise resident to the county's birdlife.
Found mainly around lakes and rivers, they are also known
to roost and even nest in trees.
Despite being a very attractive bird they are quite
quarrelsome and are normally only seen in pairs. They are also known to
drive off other geese and wildfowl, and will break other birds eggs.
During the winter month you'll see a number of wildfowl
on the Great Broad including teal. These are the
smallest duck and, unlike most wildfowl, do not need to taxi to take off.
After you've spotted some of the birdlife on the conservation
island, make your way back to the main path and turn left.
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