About Norfolk Birding
From 1st April 2025, Chris Mills has joined forces with local tour company Oriole Birding Ltd. Between them the guides have many years experience providing high quality small-group tours around the World including Norfolk. We believe that this development will add to what Norfolk Birding can provide. We will continue to base our tours at the White House Farm Hindolveston but the booking and pre-tour process will be handled by Oriole who are a fully regulated tour company and can offer card payment facilities, financial protection and a full pre-tour service. The new business is still a family-run company with a small group ethos and we can guarantee a high level of personal service and attention to detail from our expanded team. Thank you for visiting our website and we look forward to welcoming you on a tour with us soon!
Nick, Ashley and the Oriole Birding Team
What do we offer?
Birdwatching and Wildlife Tours in Norfolk, Scotland, Spain and India.
Norfolk tours are based from our local area in mid Norfolk and are suitable for all levels of experience. Most tours are 3 days and 3 nights, a few are 4 or 5 days long. If we have availability you may be able to join us for a single day.
In between group tours, we run exclusive tours as well, so if you are a family or a group of friends and are interested in a day or arranging tour then just contact us with your requirements. If you are an individual wishing to see or photograph a certain species or group of birds please contact us for details.
We run two spacious 9 -seater minibuses, so we cater for groups of up to 8 persons, although usually, our maximum group size is 7 persons.
If you are interested in one of our tours in Scotland, Spain or India then you can find details of these on the other web pages, or if you would like an itinerary just request this via the contact us page.
Chris Mills
Chris Mills started Norfolk Birding in 2009, running the business until 2025 before joining forces with Norfolk-based tour company Oriole Birding. Chris has been birding & photographing wildlife for 30 years and for the last 16 years in Norfolk. Birding has taken him to many wonderful places around the world, visiting Finland, Norway, France, Spain, Canary Islands, Turkey, Corsica, Israel (12 times!), Oman, UAE, Gambia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Goa, India, Nepal, Thailand, California, Texas, New Jersey & Peru.
Chris is a natural guide with great experience, knowledge & enthusiasm. He will continue to lead tours for both the Norfolk Birding and Oriole Birding brands going forward, including India, Scotland and Spain.
Ashley Saunders
Ashley has been watching birds since a very young age and has lived in North Norfolk all his life. At 41 he has well over twenty years experience in the business having spent seven years running his own company before helping to form Oriole Birding. Ashley has vast experience in tour leading in the UK and abroad, and there is no-one more skilled and enthusiastic to lead your birding holiday. Ashley has authored occasionally for the UK birding magazines, not to mention TV and radio appearances! Ashley has birded in France, Germany, Estonia, Spain, Greece, Mallorca, South Africa, Costa Rica, Florida, Israel, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Sri Lanka, Panama, The Gambia, Holland, Romania, Morocco, Cuba, Honduras and Trinidad. Finding rare birds is Ashley’s great passion, developed through a lifetime of birding remote east coast locations during the spring and autumn migration. This has resulted in the discovery of such gems as Pine Bunting, Little Bittern, Cackling Goose, Blyth’s Reed Warbler, Red-flanked Bluetail, Gull-billed Tern, Siberian Stonechat, Pallid Swift, Swainson’s Thrush and Semipalmated Sandpiper. Being a 50% shareholder in our parent company, Ashley oversees company strategy alongside Nick, helps manage our tour logistics and itineraries, and runs our website and marketing. Ashley lives in the Norfolk market town of Fakenham with his wife Lucy and 13 year-old daughter Lily and enjoys football and darts in his spare time.
Nick Parsons
Nick has been a Director and shareholder of parent company Oriole Birding since 2017. Nick and his family live in Norfolk and their Great Ryburgh Home is also our office. A solicitor in private practice for many years Nick works with Ashley on our business strategy and general management as well as tour leading. Nick is a firm believer in putting something back when it comes to nature and he has been a trustee of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust for many years and is currently Chair of Trustees. Locally, he is an active member of the Ryburgh Wildlife Group. When work and family commitments allow Nick is usually to be found out in the field looking for his own birds. He is a seasoned birder overseas China, USA, Colombia, Morocco,South Africa, Spain, Mallorca, Canary Islands, Cyprus, Lesvos and Israel. His other interests are cricket, football, history and archaeology.
Jonathan Farooqi
Jonathan started birding when he was seven years old and joined his dad on days out birdwatching in his home county of Northumberland. His interest grew rapidly, and he enjoyed spending as much time as possible birding his patch of Druridge Bay, or Lindisfarne if the winds were right. He particularly enjoys trying to find rare birds, and his finds in Britain include Buff-bellied Pipit, Red-breasted Goose, Thrush Nightingale, Broad-billed Sandpiper, Pacific Golden Plover, Pallid Harrier, Caspian Tern and White-spotted Bluethroat. Jonathan is also interested in bird photography and has had photos published in a number of books, magazines and other publications. He has spent time birding across much of Britain as well as overseas in locations including Cyprus, Mallorca, the Canary Islands, Iceland, and Catalonia.
Between 2019 and 2022, Jonathan studied for a BSc in Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia, falling in love with Norfolk at the same time. He moved to Norfolk permanently in 2023, settling on the edge of the Norfolk Broads. During his studies, Jonathan worked on the bird news team at BirdGuides and he currently works as an Ornithologist for HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd. He is a member of the Northumberland Rarities Committee and enjoys volunteering with the RSPB to do conservation work and surveying. His other interests include cricket, football and meteorology.
Our Groups
We concentrate on small groups, no more than 8 clients usually just 7 plus the guide. We want everyone to have an enjoyable personal experience. Our groups are varied and mixed. We provide an educational backdrop whilst watching our subjects not just identification but migration, feeding and behavioural aspects as well. Beginners through to experienced birders benefit from our tours and local knowledge.
We offer the following tours & workshops
Norfolk
Winter Birding Tours
Spring Birding Tours
Summer Birding Tours
Autumn Birding Tours
Exclusive Birding Tours
Wildlife photography tours
Scotland Tours
Feb & March Islay one week birding tours
May Highlands one week birding tour
June Outer Hebs Eight day birding tour
Spain Tours
February Extremadura photography tour
April/May Extremadura one week birding tour
September Andalucia one week birding tour
November Extremadura one week birding tour
Bespoke 2-4 day birding tours
Photography Tours
One to One workshops
Introductory one to one workshop
Intermediate & Subject selection workshop