This week one of regular visitors manage to record 96 species on their visit to the reserve!
Car park, visitor centre, woodland
The woodlands and willow scrub have been alive with chiffchaffs and blackcaps and the odd willow warbler. A careful search has revealed pied flycatchers on a couple of occasions, plus whitethroats and reed warblers.
Blackcap, Phill Gwilliam
Reedbed
The main highlight has been 2 cattle egrets that are roosting with the cormorants on the dead trees at night and can often be seen early in the morning as they leave the roost. Two great white egrets and several young grey herons are flapping around the reedbed often looking like they can’t fly.
Bearded tits were stealing the show on Monday, showing very well on the new predator fence at the end of the Autumn Trail.
Overhead there has been feeding flocks of house martins, swallows and the odd late swift.
Cattle egret, Phill Gwilliam
Freshmarsh
On the Freshmarsh the variety of waders continue, however the hobby, peregrine and sparrowhawk are stirring things up a bit.
All week there have been curlew sandpiper, dunlin, little stint, greenshanks, common sandpiper, and spotted redshanks in varying numbers. There has also been about 70 avocet, 200+ black-tailed godwit, 40+ ruff and 500+ golden plovers.
Wintering wildfowl numbers are increasing with 28 wigeon and 6 pintails on Freshmarsh along with an increase in teal numbers.
Up to 8 spoonbills have been on the Freshmarsh with similar numbers passing overhead.
Wigeon, Phill Gwilliam
Beach and sea
On the beach there is another selection of waders to scan through, mainly sanderling and bar-tailed godwits.
Down at Thornham Point, there has been up to 4 wheatear and a couple of whinchats, and an osprey has been seen on several occasions this week, mainly on the beach.
A black tern flew east, and an Arctic tern flew west on the 6 September. Also, on the sea there have been gannets, common scoters, sandwich tern and a steady passage of wigeon and teal.
Wheatear, Cliff Gilbert
Report your sightings
You can help us record the wildlife at Titchwell by:
Using Birdtrack for bird sightings: https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/birdtrack
And iRecord for all other wildlife: irecord.co.uk