Bird Hide Takes Flight for New Location on Hickling Broad

Uprooting a fragile, 13-year-old bird hide on a Broadland National Nature Reserve isn’t the easiest of tasks, let alone when it’s attached to the legacy of the Cadbury family. However, we used our half a century of problem solving expertise to assist Norfolk Wildlife Trust (NWT) in the movement of its 13ft tall Cadbury Hide at NWT Hickling Broad.

The Cadbury Hide has been re-sited to elevate it from the higher water levels that will be present on the nature reserve once the Hickling wetland creation is complete. The hide will overlook a much larger collection of scrapes and flashes as a result of the habitat improvement work.

We worked closely with the team at Hickling to ensure the move was safe, stable and carefully managed so that disruption to the structure and local wildlife was minimal.

The move, which took two weeks from ground preparation to relocation, involved a number of different processes including carpentry to strengthen the base of the structure, groundworks to prepare the surrounding area and transporting the structure to its new home.

The move forms part of the NWT’s wider project to extend and improve 77 hectares of rare fenland habitat within the Upper Thurne and re-connect areas of floodplain with the Broad.

NWT Hickling Broad is situated in the upper stretches of the River Thurne, and is the largest expanse of open water in the Broads.