This week we have been treated to northerly winds creating the right conditions for some sea watching and a small arrival of migrants.
Car park / visitor centre
At this time of year, a slow walk and pause around the extension car park is worthwhile. Within the tit flocks this week there has been several chiff chaffs, the odd willow warbler, families of blackcaps, 2 garden warbler and several goldcrests. A second pied flycatcher was found in the sycamore on the afternoon of the 2nd September.
Goldcrest, Les Bunyan
Reedbed / Patsy’s
The highlight this week has been the start of the autumn little egret roost with 90 little egrets counted leaving the roost from willow wood on Thursday 2nd September.
A great white egret continues to drop into Patsy’s occasionally, also in this area is a kingfisher, lots of coots and gadwall plus a few pochard.
Marsh harriers have started to become more noticeable again with at least 3 quartering the reserve, meanwhile a peregrine is often sighted across the reserve and whilst looking up a few swifts, swallows, house martins and sand martins can be seen.
Water rails have been heard squealing from the west bank path this week and the cetti’s warblers have begun to find their voice again.
Kingfisher, Les Bunyan
Little egret, Les Bunyan
Freshmarsh
This week whilst the Freshwater Habitats Project continues creating new islands on the eastern section the waders have been providing up close views in front of island hide.
The beginning of the week there was a peak count of 20 little stints; the numbers have since dropped to 9 on Thursday 2nd September but they were joined by a curlew sandpiper. As expected at this time of year avocet and black-tailed godwits numbers have started to drop a little, however there is still plenty of variety with several snipe, 2 greenshanks, 2 common sandpipers, 167 golden plovers, 50 ruff, lapwings and the odd turnstone and dunlin.
Yellow wagtails and pied wagtails have been walking around the dried-out sections feeding on insects whilst in the evenings the gull roost has had several yellow-legged gulls dropping in.
Little stint, Les Bunyan
Volunteer / Tidal
On tidal marsh small flocks of oystercatchers are roosting on there along with redshanks, black-tailed godwits and turnstones. Whilst a pintail has been bobbing about with the shoveler, gadwall and mallard.
On 2nd September 2 spotted redshanks dropped onto volunteer marsh as well as three stonechats were at the junction of the tidal / volunteer marsh.
Stonechat, Les Bunyan
Beach / Sea
On the beach there is a lovely collection of waders feeding on the mussels and other shellfish that have been washed up. This includes bar-tailed godwits, sanderlings, grey plover, ringed plover dunlin, turnstones, oystercatchers, a large flock of knot and a lone purple sandpiper.
A pied flycatcher has remained at Thornham Point all week and there has been a stonechat in the dunes.
On the sea there have been a few arctic skuas, great skuas and the odd long-tailed skua observed in the mornings. Other highlights on the sea have included gannets, guillemots and small numbers of wigeon and teal flying west. On Tuesday 31st August a juvenile Sabine’s gull flew west.
Grey plover, Les Bunyan
Report your sightings
If you are visiting why not enter your sightings on to BirdTrack. Your records support species conservation at local, regional, national and international scales. For more information follow the link https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/birdtrack
And finally...
Our guided walks are coming back from Monday 13 September 2021.
The ‘Discover Titchwell’ walks provide you with a brief overview of the history and wildlife of the reserve and our guides will explain how the RSPB is working to protect our wetland wildlife at Titchwell.
For more details please follow this link https://bit.ly/2W2ml7l
See you soon,
Lizzie Bruce
NW Norfolk Reserves Warden