This week we completed our monthly WeBS count, however it also coincided with fencing contractors being on site and a hungry peregrine causing some displacement across the reserve.
Car park / Visitor Centre / Meadow Trail
The woodland bird song has been building with a song thrush singing its heart out most mornings and the blue tits are busily checking the nest boxes.
The two Siberian chiffchaffs remain around the visitor centre and meadow trial along with several other common chiffchaffs.
There are small flocks of chaffinches feeding on the woodland floor along with blue tits, great tits, robins and dunnocks and a small number of brambling and siskin.
The water rail continues to show very well in the ditch that runs along the west bank path from the visitor centre.
Reedbed
We recently completed a January marsh harrier count, recording 15 roosting marsh harriers and a hen harrier. The hen harrier was seen again on Monday 24 January leaving the reedbed. Continuing from the last sightings blog we have been witnessing further marsh harrier mating and sky dancing.
The open channels have been providing good opportunities to glimpse the bittern as it swims across, and the great egret is a daily occurrence along with kingfisher.
The bearded tits can be heard on the Thornham marsh side of the reedbed but are not that easy to see at the moment.
We are hearing several Cetti’s warblers blast their song out and the occasional water rail squeal can also be heard.
Bittern - Les Bunyan
Freshmarsh
There has been a noticeable number of lapwings using the Freshmarsh at the moment, on some days over 1000 have been counted along with several hundred golden plovers. However, they all decided to depart just before we completed our WeBS count on the 24th.
Several snipe, ringed plovers and turnstones are feeding on the muddy edges along with small flocks of dunlin.
Gadwall, shoveler, tufted ducks, pintail and wigeon are all using the Freshmarsh in varying numbers, as are the dark bellied brent geese.
The water pipit has occasionally been seen walking along the bunds with skylarks, meadow pipits and rock pipits.
The highlight of Wednesday 26th January was a white-tailed eagle flying over the Freshmarsh. This eagle is known as G471, a male eagle that was released on the Isle of Wight. It spent much of last winter here in Norfolk and after wondering around Scotland the south west he has returned.
Gadwall - Phill Gwilliam
Volunteer marsh / Tidal pool
During Monday’s WeBS count on volunteer marsh there were 7 redshank, 1 grey plover, 27 teal, 4 shelduck, a curlew, 2 dunlin and a wigeon. On Tidal marsh there were 9 redshank, 55 bar-tailed godwits, 9 black-tailed godwits, 45 knot, 18 oystercatcher, 25 dunlin, 11 grey plover, 1 ringed plover, 4 turnstone, 4 curlew and 7 avocet. Also on the tidal pool were 13 mallard, 5 shelduck, 7 pintail, 34 shoveler, 140 wigeon, 38 teal and a little grebe.
Beach/ Sea
A highlight of the WeBS count with 450 oystercatchers, 64 turnstone, 157 sanderling, 96 grey plover, 32 dunlin, 26 ringed plover, 12 knot, 4 curlew and 331 bar tailed godwit was the beach. There was a nervous moment as we began the count and a peregrine dived from the sky, but it was a half-hearted attempt and the waders quickly resumed their feeding.
On the sea we were treated to an Iceland gull and 2 kittiwakes following a trawler. In addition, there was 2 red-throated divers, 105 wigeon, 10 red-breasted mergansers and 8 goldeneye.
Other birds on the sea this week have included a Slavonian grebe, great crested grebe, eider, common scoter and long-tailed duck.
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