At Titchwell the keen visitors have their eyes and ears open for the birds that forge ahead in their migration for the year’s breeding cycle. This year the early migrants were met with cold northerly winds that dominated most of the month of April’s weather. However, our visitors are not easily put off and donned suitable clothing and took great delight in seeing the wonderful birds and wildlife that Titchwell has to offer.
Car park, Visitor Centre, woodland
The last of our departing winter Fieldfare were seen on the 4th as 40 flew over reserve along with 20 Lesser Redpoll that dropped into the trees around the visitor centre with a few Siskin and a lone Redwing. A Nuthatch was heard calling on 4th along with a Treecreeper on 5th. Two delightful Firecrests kept visitors entertained, with one in the car park and one near the welcome hub. A Tawny Owl was seen around the visitor centre on 5th and 26th.
Newly arrived Willow Warblers were seen on 4th as well as singing Blackcaps. The first Swallow of the year was seen over the visitor centre on 6th. A Great White Egret in breeding plumage landed in trees near the visitor centre on the 14th which entertained those that saw it! Ring Ouzels are often sought by the ardent year-listers and on the 19th a member of staff was lucky as he arrived for work seeing 2 in the entrance road hedge. The first Lesser Whitethroat was heard on 22nd and great excitement was had when a regular visitor found a Wood Warbler singing at the back of the visitor centre.
Below image, Wood Warbler, Cliff Gilbert. Note the yellow throat and white underparts.
Reedbed
The first Reed Warbler of the year was reported on 7th and the first Sedge Warbler was reported on 13th. In the reedbed a Great White Egret was seen in its breeding plumage on 4th and a Great Crested Grebe was in one of the pools on 8th. Twenty singing Cetti’s Warblers were recorded in a survey on 11th along with 4 Marsh Harrier nests on 13th. Flyovers included a Sparrowhawk and a Little Egret on 14th. Seven pairs of Bearded Tits were recorded as well on the 14th. A Bittern was heard to boom on 15th and seen on 22nd. Along the Old Tank Road a Grasshopper Warbler was heard reeling on 15th. Five Green Sandpipers were seen flying over by the warden on 18th and another flying over on 22nd. A pair of Garganey arrived and were seen intermittently on 21st until 24th.
Freshmarsh
Extraordinary counts of Mediterranean Gulls took place between 5th and 13th with counts varying between 183 and a whopping 444 birds! After 4 Swallows on the 5th and 10th, 2 Sand Martins flew over on the 5th. A count of 70 Sandwich Terns was done on 7th dropping to 20 on 10th. Flyover Yellow Wagtails were seen or heard on 9th, 19th and 24th. Two Little Ringed Plovers were watched on 9th and 12th with a Little Gull seen briefly on 10th. A House Martin and 6 Sand Martins were seen on 10th followed by 7 Little Ringed Plovers on 11th. There were good counts of 18 Ruff and 44 Turnstones on 12th with Black-tailed Godwit numbers swelling to 64 on 13th. The 13th also saw counts of 18 Curlew and 3 Wheatear.On 16th 170 Avocet were counted, delighting many of our visitors who are keen to see this species. April is a good month to see White Wagtails and Titchwell provided 2 birds on 17th along with 4 Whimbrel. On 19th Great Crested Grebe dropped on to the freshmarsh followed by a Greenshank on 20th, A ringed Barnacle Goose from Holkham was noted on 24th. A Flyover Arctic Tern was reported on 26th and the first Swifts of the year on the same day. By the 30th a Spotted Redshank had also joined the April records.
Beach and sea
A Merlin was noted flying along the beach on 4th after noting a Little Tern on 20th and Common Tern on 21st . The real excitement was a Black Guillemot seen on 29th.
Tidal Pool
A count of 129 Brent Geese was done on 13th with a Common Sandpiper seen on 20th. After seeing 6 Little Ringed Plovers on 26th. Birders and visitors were delighted with a Temminck’s Stint on the Tidal Pool here too on the same day.
Meadow Trail
Three Garden Warblers were present on 27th. (Image below, Phill Gwilliam. Simple colouring, but best identified by song).
Fen Trail
Two Willow Warblers were present on 2nd. Chiffchaff now stay with us over the winter, but 20 were in full song mode on 6th singing for a mate. A Common Snipe flew over on 14th and a Garden Warbler was seen along the trail on 28th.
Image below, Willow Warbler, Cliff Gilbert. Lighter legs than the Chiffchaff, but best identified by its fluting song.
Image below, Chiffchaff, Phill Gwilliam. Similar in looks to the Willow Warbler, although it can be distinguished by its distinct song - which sounds like it's name - and darker legs.
East Trail
In the hedge along the trail House Sparrows were chirping on 5th, a fairly unusual sight here. On 17th a Ring Ouzel was seen here too. A Redstart was noted on two dates 25th and 27th for some lucky observers and a Whinchat was added to the migrant list on 26th. The first Hobby of the year was seen on 30th along the trail.
Willow Wood
Always a harbinger of Spring arriving, the first Cuckoo was seen and heard on 21st. Tawny Owls also like the Willow Wood and were heard here too.
Grazing Meadow/Marsh
A Merlin was seen flying over the marsh on 2nd and a Wheatear on 4th.A nice spring arrival of a Yellow Wagtail was seen on the 11th. A bird that many visitors are keen to see is an Osprey and they were not disappointed when two different birds were seen flying over towards Thornham on 11th and 13th. Another bird that visitors are always excited to see is a Spoonbill and one frequented the marsh on 13th. Staff and visitors alike went running down the West Bank path when a couple of Common Cranes were reported flying towards the reserve on 17th and in due course many happy faces were beaming when good views were had of the 2 birds as they flew over.
We are always delighted when they can see and hear a Grasshopper Warbler. One set up its usual territory by the West Bank path and was heard reeling from 18th to 30th. Five Whimbrel were seen flying over on 20th and a Whinchat was located on the marsh on 27th followed by a Cuckoo on 28th. Tree Pipits were heard by a member of staff on 24th and 30th.
Thornham Point
On 6th both Sparrowhawk and a Swallow were noted and on 17th a Merlin and a Wheatear were also noted
Other wildlife
Spring brings the emergence of other wildlife including butterflies on the wing. Brimstone and Peacock butterflies were seen along the Meadow Trail on 5th and a Small White near the visitor centre on 7th. Speckled Wood and Orange Tip were seen on 20th. A Large Red Dragonfly was seen by a volunteer on the 18th. A Water Vole pleased some visitors on the West Bank path on 14th. Another volunteer saw over 20+ Three-spined Sticklebacks in one of the ditches.
A reminder that, we're spending more time out on the reserve with habitat management so this blog will be monthly. For much more up-to-date sightings, you can see a picture of our latest board here: twitter.com/RSPBTitchwell