Today's little outing to Titchwell turned out to be a veritable species bonanza! Three more lifers acquired, bringing my life list up to 158. Weather was warm-ish but very gusty winds.
Firstly, the Lifers:
SANDWICH TERN - 5 seen from Island Hide
LITTLE RINGED PLOVER - seen from pathway in Scrape 2
CURLEW SANDPIPER - seen from pathway.
Other species seen (takes a very deep breath indeed)
Spoonbill - 5 on the second lagoon, 2 very active circa 15:45 probing lagoon for food.
Marsh Harrier - 3 hunting over reserve
Peregrine - pursuing all kinds of prey over the salt marsh area
Kestrel - 1 hunting on farmland and salt marsh
Canada Geese on marsh
Greylag Geese mixed in with the Canada Geese
Egyptian Goose - 1
Mute Swan - 6
Eider - 7 on sea
Mallard - many all over reserve
Teal - 2
Shoveler - 15
Shelduck - 2
Little Egret - 4
Little Grebe - 2
Coot - 4
Moorhen - 1 calling from reeds
Water Rail - 3 juveniles in secluded bit near feeding station
Grey Heron - 2
Black-tailed Godwit - many
Bar-tailed Godwit - about 25
Lapwing - hundreds
Avocet - 30
Ruff - about 60
Grey Plover - 70 (variances of summer / winter plumage)
Redshank - 30
Turnstone - 3
Oystercatcher - 2 large flocks
Curlew - 10
Dunlin - many on lagoons
Sanderling - 2 small flocks on beach
Ringed Plover - 2
Common Tern - 5
Cormorant - 20
Gannet - 7 diving offshore
Arctic Skua - 3 offshore
Black-headed Gull - many
Little Gull - 1
Lesser Black-backed Gull - 5
Greater Black-backed Gull - 3
Herring Gull - 15
Swift - 10
Swallow - 40 around and about
House Martin - 6
Bearded Tit - 4
Chaffinch - many adults and young at feeding station
Greenfinch - many adults and young at feeding station
Pied Wagtail - 4
House Sparrow - 1 on feeding station
Blue Tit - 6 near feeding station
Starling - 2 big flocks
Blackbird - 5
Carrion Crow - at various sites
Woodpigeon - 8 on reserve
Collared Dove - 1 seen just outside reserve..................................
** collapses in breathless heap on the floor **
Probably one of my best days of birdwatching at Titchwell, soon to be transformed...... had my usual mini-spree in the shop afterwards. Nice lunch of vegetable pasty and salad after 'lap 1' of the visit! News crew from BBC Look East there covering the Titchwell transformation. Their report managed to get onto the BBC News channel, BBC News and Radio 4 as well.
I've decided to save up some money and spend about 5 days or so visiting as many Norfolk coast reserves as possible, using the Coasthopper bus to get around. Want to do Snettisham, Holme, Titchwell, Cley and Holkham area. Any other suggestions would be welcome!
