Pensthorpe Nature Reserve (Home of BBC Springwatch) | nature conservation park / area

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Springwatch is on the move this year. In 2008 our new home will be Pensthorpe Nature Reserve near Fakenham in Norfolk. We'll be exploring new habitats, meeting new animal characters, experiencing new adventures and, no doubt, meeting a new set of challenges along the way.

Of course we'll still have plenty of animal characters to follow using dozens of hidden Springwatch cameras. But this time, touch wood, we'll also have marshland and grassland species and some special birds of prey.

Some of the animal stories we're aiming for include box-nesting birds such as blue tits and wild-nesting birds such as lapwings and skylarks. Maybe sparrowhawks and barn owls too.

Will that perennial favourite, the badger, have a role? What part will other mammals, rabbits, stoats, weasels, water voles or even otters, have to play? Let's not forget the reptiles and those beautiful species of butterfly, the swallowtail and painted lady. Fingers crossed, it's going to be a good one.

So why Pensthorpe?
For starters it offers a pretty special range of wildlife habitats from heathland, marshland and grassland to ancient woodlands and farmland with field margins. There are lakes and ponds of various sizes and water meadows along the river Wensum, a Special Area of Conservation.

With such varied habitats it's no wonder the reserve attracts an important and diverse population of birds including many wading, farmland and grassland species. It's also home to a captive breeding cranery which contains eight of the world's 15 species of crane.

Based at the reserve, the Pensthorpe Conservation Trust participates in a number of nationally significant conservation projects such as the Great Crane Project (in partnership with the RSPB and the WWT) and the Corncrake re-introduction programme (with the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London).

Badgers, foxes and deer can all be found here, as well as the smaller mammals such as voles, shrews, mice and bats. Otters, trout and the endangered white clawed crayfish live in the river.

Owners Bill and Deb Jordan bought the reserve in 2003. Since then they've worked hard to conserve and restore this important range of habitats, as well as converting the 300 acres of farmland to Conservation Grade land for sustainable agriculture.

As any twitcher will know, Norfolk itself is a fantastic place for bird-watching. Its coast is home to loads of waders, waterfowl and migrant birds. Nearby Blakeney Point is famous for its breeding seals.

So here's to hoping that Pensthorpe brings us as many thrills and spills as that good old farm in Devon.