Hello!
Here's our Conservation Volunteer, Ryan, again with our most recent sightings. Over to you Ryan:
Heeello and welcome to another weekly wildlife round-up from Titchwell and Snettisham. With more “wintery” (some might just say rubbish!) weather last week, some amazing stand-out birds really brightened up the week.
At Titchwell, the headline bird was a red-head smew that was spotted flying in from the sea by our (very lucky) volunteer Matt on the 11th December. With the last Titchwell smew reportedly seen over a decade ago, it really quickened the pulses of the team and local birders, but unfortunately after careful checks around the reserve there was no sign with it likely flying straight over on its journey south.
The black brant has continued to drop in occasionally onto Fresh Marsh this week from the nearby fields at Choseley with a small flock of dark-bellied brents – so definitely worth a closer look at the brent flocks for this eye-catching beauty! Other highlights at Titchwell include a fantastic black redstart spotted on Thornham Point (14th and 15th), two Slavonian grebes on the sea (11th-13th) and also three drake long-tailed ducks (11th), several great northern divers, three long-tailed ducks, a red-necked grebe and two shags (16th). Two spotted redshanks seen on tidal marsh and two greenshanks and a water pipit seen on freshmarsh. Two kingfishers have also been showing well in the creeks on Thornham Marsh from the West Bank Path – enough to brighten even the gloomiest day!
At Snettisham, the undoubted highlight this week was the juvenile white-tailed eagle which was distantly spotted sitting in the trees south of Pit Four (9th-10th). Other sightings include a flyover snow bunting (10th), a stunning ringtail hen harrier along with several marsh harriers and the overwintering adult little stint present on the mudflats every day this week.
What will the next week hold? Come and visit us to find out!
All the best.
Ryan.