With the beginning of winter now upon us, the bird watching has continued apace with some excellent thrills and spills down at the seaward part of the reserve. Our intrepid visitors and merry little band of volunteers and staff have put in many hours in the cold and wind to record some wonderful birds that grace the sea and give us a good reason to gaze out to sea for many hours at a time. We are used to seeing the many gulls and cormorants that fly by along with the Gannets that intrigue us as they fly by at the end of their breeding season and then fold their wings before diving down to the depths for a bill full of fish. However, it is the divers and scarcer grebes that the ardent birders want to see for their year lists. This in turn inspires the more casual birdwatcher to look even harder as they grapple with their identification skills in the hope of seeing a rarer grebe, duck or diver.
At the beginning of the month, all three divers could be seen. The scarcer Black-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver could be seen with the Black-throated Diver seen on several dates. Of the two smaller grebes two Black-necked Grebes were seen in the first week and up to three Slavonian Grebes on similar dates. The Great Crested Grebe is frequently seen on the sea here, but a count of 38 on 4th of the month was quite exceptional. Velvet Scoters are looked for amongst the Common Scoters but numbers of these have been quite low in recent years, so a count of six Velvet Scoters on 29th was very pleasing for those wishing to see these scarcer sea ducks. Another sea duck that is always popular is that of the Long-tailed Duck, which was recorded on several dates this month. Three Scaup and three Goldeneye were also seen.
Of course, it is not only the birds sitting on the sea but the birds that are recorded in flight over the sea that adds to the excitement. Birds in flight out at sea this month included Great Skua, Pomarine Skua, Kittiwake and storm-blown Little Auks. Kittiwakes tend to be seen during rougher weather or following fishing vessels and after a count of 30 on 18th a member of staff topped this count of over 500 on 19th out at sea. A Merlin was noted flying along the beach whilst a member of staff noted 19 Snow Buntings and a Purple Sandpiper on a day off as she walked to Thornham Point.
Purple Sandpiper Photo Credit: Sue Bryan
Titchwell Marsh is lucky to have a real mix of habitats which is why it is such a popular reserve that can yield a real mix of species seen on a typical day at any time of year. Our trails, Fen Trail and Meadow Trail, yielded a Firecrest, Siberian Chiffchaff and an unexpected, rare Hume’s Warbler during the month with the resident Tawny Owl and the expected Woodcocks that roost in the woodland areas also putting in appearances. However we have to manage visitors expectations when they arrive and as you can see from the photograph the Tawny Owl is very difficult to see as it hides in the Ivy.
Tawny Owl hiding in the Ivy ! Photo Credit: Sue Bryan
There was great excitement when a rare Penduline Tit turned up this month, bringing in all the twitchers and year listers, gathering up the general visitors too in their eagerness to see the bird. Some were lucky enough to see a Bittern at the same time at Patsy’s Pool. This area also held a Green Sandpiper and three Goosander one day.
Bittern Photo Credit: Cliff Gilbert
Out on the Freshmarsh visitors enjoyed an escaped Black-winged Stilt that had been at Snettisham earlier in the year, but we still have no idea where it has come from, as we cannot read the ring number. Golden Plover numbers topped 1400 one day, as Curlew topped 50 on another day. Other waders that were noted included Ruff, Common Snipe and a lone Jack Snipe. However, a Long-billed Dowitcher was seen one day, possibly the bird that has been resident at Cley for a while.
Our counters were kept busy as 2000 Pink-footed geese were counted at roost early one morning before flying off to feed in the local fields for the day. Brent Geese also enjoyed the Freshmarsh with 590 noted towards the end of the month along with 3 freshly arrived Whooper Swans. Five Spoonbill were seen on 11th which is indicative of birds that would have been only summer visitors a few years ago, now staying later in the year due to climate change.
Our other pools and marshes were not to be outdone with two Spotted Redshanks that flitted between the Volunteer Marsh and Tidal Pool being joined by seven Greenshank and a Goosander.
Thornham Marsh held sightings of Hen Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Barn Owl, Bittern on several days and 29 Cattle Egrets early one morning. Not all birds settle on the reserve and we noted birds that flew over too. These included: Woodcock, Hawfinch, Crossbill, 26 Cattle Egret, White-fronted Goose, Goosander, five Barnacle Geese, Yellowhammer, three Raven, Fieldfare and a Redpoll.
Another notable sighting was that of a Ring Ouzel that was sitting in the hedge as our warden entered the reserve one day.