November 2023 Sightings

Titchwell’s November Sightings          30th November 2023           Sue Bryan

 

‘Rivers raging flood roadside ditches filled

creeks and culverts overflowed

roadbeds washed out from below

every November is the same

still we drive on through the rain’

wrote Puti Ira when she composed her poem ‘Rain’

 

Here at Titchwell, we drove on through the rain as the change in the weather brought lots of rain and challenging conditions for our wardens, keen birdwatchers and visitors alike. We watched the water-levels rise on the Freshmarsh and high tides with blustery conditions give some interesting bird sightings. The birds of course, had to battle through the conditions, find new feeding areas and continue their migrations southwards, sometimes with the wind aiding their flight and sometimes having to take unexpected shelter. Winter ducks, swans and geese continued to arrive as well as good numbers of thrushes. Waxwings which are always exciting to see, spent 10 minutes in the trees around the Visitor Centre as they arrived from Scandinavia. Early morning sea-watching continued by our enthusiastic group of staff and volunteers which added to the sightings of some scarcer grebes and sea-ducks. Most of our summer migrants have now gone but some late broods produced some unexpected sightings for the time of year.

 

Car Park, Visitor Centre, Woodland and Picnic Area

A Treecreeper was seen in the car park on the 4^th of the month and again on 14^th. A Tawny Owl was heard in the same location on 9^th. A Bullfinch brightened up the day the same day too. Two Ravens were seen flying over the Visitor Centre on the 5^th, which were a very exciting sighting for a member of staff who is trying to beat the all-time record for a year list. However, 9 Waxwings alighting in the trees around the Visitor Centre on the 10^th brought even more delight to those that were present at the time. A Coal Tit was seen around the Visitor Centre on 18^th and the 20^th added a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a Lesser Redpoll and a Chiffchaff. A Siskin was seen on 22^nd and more unusually a Brambling and a Firecrest were seen on 26^th around the picnic area.

 

Photo Credit: Lance Fisher

West Bank ditch

A Water Rail was seen in the ditch on 9^th. This is a regular sighting here for Water Rail during the winter.

 

Reedbed

Marsh Harriers continue to frequent the Reedbed during the day and at roost. Twenty-four birds were seen coming into roost on 5^th and 32 birds were counted coming out of roost on 20^th. When it’s not windy Bearded Tits continued to be seen with 4 counted on 7^th and another on 14^th. Two Water Rail were seen on 4^th chasing around each other along the Reedbed Pool. A Kingfisher was seen in the Reedbed on 9^th and again on 20^th.

 

Freshmarsh

Winter ducks are beginning to arrive, so 5 Pintail seen on 7^th was a good sighting with small numbers counted to the end of the month on most days. A Common Snipe was observed on 1^st, 7^th and 21^st. Two Whooper Swans were seen on the Freshmarsh early in the morning only on 4^th. Cetti’s Warblers were still heard on 5^th whilst an Avocets, a Kingfisher and a Marsh Harrier were noted for this day. Spoonbill numbers peaked at 7 on 1^st with numbers varying between 5 and 6 until 16^th on several dates. On 10^th and 14^th, a Water Rail was heard and on 10^th and 18^th a Goosander was another good sighting for Titchwell. The evening of 12 produced a Yellow-legged Gull. On 14^th a Ruff was noted along with Golden Plover. Stonechats are not often seen on the Freshmarsh as they are more usually on the Grazing Meadow, Saltmarsh or in the dunes towards Thornham Point so a sighting here on 15^th was a little unusual. A Chiffchaff was seen around the Island Hide on 21^st and a Bearded Tit was observed on 26^th.

 

Beach and Sea

The first of the month saw some good sightings on the sea with Black Guillemot, Goldeneye, Black-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe, and a Little Gull all seen. A Woodcock was seen flying in off the sea on this date too. A Pomarine Skua was noted on 3^rd. A Red-necked Grebe was reported on many dates in the first half of the month and a Black-necked Grebe was seen on 4^th. A few Velvet Scoters were seen throughout the month with 4 being recorded on several dates. Three Red-throated Divers were seen on 10^th, and more were reported throughout the month. More unusually 7 Shags were seen on 4^th and some of these were seen again until 10^th. There is always excitement if Shorelarks are seen, and one was seen on 7^th on the beach along with a Snow Bunting which was recorded on many dates in the month. By the 10^th Snow Bunting numbers had swelled to 13 birds with 8 seen again on 19^th.Twenty Red-breasted Mergansers were counted on 12^th. Twenty Great Crested Grebes were counted on 12^th, but these are often unreported to the staff in visitor centre.

Huge flocks of Common Scoter were a common sight at titchwell many years ago but have not been noted in the last few years, so it was good to see a flock over around 2000 birds off-shore on 19^th. A volunteer estimated that this had swelled to 3200 by 20^th. However great excitement followed when a Surf Scoter was found in the flock on the 19^th along with 4 Velvet Scoters by a member of staff. A Long-tailed Duck was also seen on this date until the end of the month. The sea also produced a Great Northern Diver on 20^th and a Slavonian Grebe on 22^nd. A Peregrine was also seen along the beach on 22^nd.Other birds noted were Eider on 24^th, Goosander on 26^th and a Sooty Shearwater was seen by one of our regular photographers on 28^th.  

 

Photo Credit: Cliff Gilbert

Volunteer Marsh

A report of a Great Northern Diver on the marsh that only stayed for the early part of the morning was a most unusual sighting here. A Rock Pipit was noted here on 20^th.

 

Tidal Pool

Tidal Pool often has some more unusual birds for the year-listers which included a Spotted Redshank on many dates of the month, a Goosander on 1^st,16^th ,18^th 20^th and 21^st and up to 6 Greenshank at the beginning of the month dropping to one or two birds by the end of the month. A Kingfisher was noted on 4^th and several dates until 26^th. A Merlin was a pleasant surprise on 9^th. Rock Pipits have started to return, and two birds were noted at the beginning of the month lurking here which continued to be seen until 19^th. Linnets were seen here on 15^th and 16^th. A Water Rail was lurking around the pool on 20^th and 30^th. A Goosander was added to the list here on 22^nd.

 

Fen Trail

Winter thrushes continue to arrive, and some sizeable flocks can be seen on some days flying over the reserve. Sometimes the birds can be exhausted and need to take shelter or find food, so are sighted in the trees around the reserve. Redwing were noted along the Fen Trail on 4^th and a Bullfinch added some colour here too. Other birds seen along the trail included a Siskin on 14^th, a Chiffchaff on 15^th and a Tawny Owl on 18^th.

 

Patsy’s Pool, Old Tank Road area

With some of the reeds having been cut around Patsy’s Pool, a Grey Wagtail has taken a liking to it and was seen for an extended period on 9^th. A Bittern was seen here on 19^th and 24^th too, causing some excitement.

 

Grazing Meadow

As our visitors, volunteers and staff walk along The West Bank Path, they take note of birds on the Grazing Meadow. On the 1^st and 26^th of the month they recorded a Merlin, which is always exciting to see. A Stonechat was seen on 4^th 16^th,19^th and 26^th. On 7^th and 16^th, a Hen Harrier was a excellent sighting and a Great White Egret was seen on 7^th. On 14^th a Barn Owl and five Spoonbills were seen. The 15^th saw a sighting of a Common Buzzard. Along the dunes, a Merlin was observed which was also seen on 18^th and 19^th. A Woodcock was also seen in the dunes on 16^th. A Little Egret was seen on the saltmarsh on 16^th, but it is suspected far more are seen out on the saltmarsh that are not reported to staff because they are common sightings here now.

 

Thornham Point

Down at the point 110 Blackbirds were counted on 1^st and a Stonechat was seen on 9^th. A Woodcock was seen in the dunes on 21^st.

 

Flyovers

A Spoonbill was seen flying over the reserve on 1^st. Migration continues apace during the beginning of November as thrushes, finches along other species escape the winter snows further north. One of our volunteers estimated nearly 10 000 Starlings flying over the reserve on 4^th. On 7^th Brambling, Lesser Redpoll, Redwing, Fieldfare, Crossbill, Whooper Swan, and a Grey Wagtail were all seen flying over the reserve. A very late trio of House Martins were seen over the Reedbed on 10^th. Four Cattle Egrets were counted flying over on 3^rd.

Fieldfares continued to arrive until the middle of the month and seventy were counted flying over on 14^th with more on 15^th. Eleven Whooper Swans flying over on 18^th was a joy to see in groups of five and a six. Pink-footed Geese continue to fly over on most days but are often not recorded as they are a common sight on the North Norfolk coastline at this time of year. A Mediterranean Gull was seen flying over on 15^th and a Great White Egret was seen in flight on 16^th. Two Lapland Buntings were heard calling over the reserve on 20^th.

 

Photo Credit: Phill Gwilliam

Other Wildlife

Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer continued to be seen throughout the month. A Fox has also been seen down at Tidal Pool on a few dates. A Bank Vole has lived in and around the Welcome Hub for some time now, which keeps staff and visitors entertained as it runs out to scavenge food put down for the birds.