On Monday morning we completed our monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) and counted the following across the reserve

Reedbed / Patsy's

Coot 58, Gadwall 71, Pochard 15, Mallard 30, Little grebe 2, Teal 3. Shoveler 2, Little egret 2, cormorant 20

 Freshmarsh 

Gadwall 44, Water rail 1, Shelduck 30, Teal 60.  Mallard 34, Shoveler 3, Spotted Redshank 3, Black-tailed godwit 404, Bar-tailed godwit 11, Dunlin 45, Ruff 39, Avocet…

This week was a momentous moment for RSPB Titchwell as the eagerly anticipated Freshwater Habitats Project began. You can find out more about the project here

This spring / summer we have struggled to lower the water levels on the freshmarsh due to the ongoing wet weather so the first step was for a large pump to be installed to speed up the process of removing water from the freshmarsh. 

Image: Phill Gwilliam

Once the…

So many of you lovely visitors have been doing your best to protect these birds by being mindful of nesting birds and young chicks on the beaches at Snettisham and South Heacham, keeping a safe distance away from fenced areas and walking your dog’s responsibly on leads throughout the nesting season (April- end of August). Staff and volunteers have been working hard to give these birds the protection they so desperately…

Hello everyone,

The last week of July has resulted in a steady turnover of waders on the Freshmarsh, an arctic skua chasing the terns on the sea and amazing bittern views.

Car park / visitor centre

Overheard small groups of swallows, house martins, swifts and the odd sand martin whizz about in the air catching flies.

A great spotted woodpecker was calling from one of the dead trees on Monday 26 July and a turtle dove

Hi everyone,

Welcome to the latest installment of what is about at Titchwell Marsh.

As touched on in the previous sightings blog, autumn wader passage has begun. In a normal year we would be manipulate the water levels on a regular basis to create lots of muddy edges for the waders to feed upon. However, this year has been a challenge as we continue to suffer from high water levels because of the wet winter and spring…

Hello everyone,

As Covid restrictions ease around the country, here's an update on the visitor facilities at both Titchwell and Snettisham reserves.

At both reserves, car parks, trails and hides remain open.

At Titchwell, we continue to keep the following facilities open:

• Meet & Greet - Will continue from outside of the Welcome Hub.
• Shop - Open. Please continue to wear masks once inside and maintain distancing…

Hello everyone!

I'd like to introduce a new staff member to you all. Emily joined the team recently and will be working with us as our Reserve Assistant for the next six months to gain valuable work experience in conservation. Here's Emily to tell you a bit about what she's been up to:  

Hello! I’m Emily and I am the Reserve Assistant for RSPB Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk. Within a week of working on the reserve…

Hi everyone and welcome to our recent sightings update.

The big news from the last few weeks is that autumn is officially here (have we even had summer yet?!), with the first returning waders dropping into both Titchwell and Snettisham. It always catches me by surprise just how early the first migrants begin to arrive on the Norfolk coast – likely failed breeders or non-breeding birds. Highlights at Titchwell include…

Hello there! 

It may not feel as though we are in July at the moment but July here we are! Despite it feeling a little calmer, nesting season is far from over with many vulnerable chicks not yet able to fly, many birds still incubating their eggs and even some still gearing up to lay again. So, the beaches will be busy with nests and chicks right up until end of August after which fences, and signage will be removed for…

Welcome to this week’s edition of what has been seen at Titchwell recently. After a short spell of sunshine, we are back to the cold, grey weather that has become the norm for this year.

Car Park / Visitor Centre

On the bird feeders are the standard garden birds that you would expect to see including blue tits, great tits, goldfinch and chaffinch. Whilst in the scrub there have been young blackcaps and reed war…

 Thank you for making time to complete our short survey.

Snettisham and South Heacham beaches are home to hidden gems that make them iconic and internationally important. Their importance for wildlife across Norfolk and indeed Globally makes them popular to visit but we are losing the very thing that makes them special.

By giving a few moments of your time to tell us a little about your visit and share your views with…

There is so much talent in the RSPB North West Norfolk family...

Our gifted Ringed Plover Project Officer, Wynona, spends her days protecting and monitoring ringed plovers, supporting her wonderful team of volunteers, engaging with beach visitors, compiling reports and updates, working with our partners and funders and, if this wasn't already enough, in her spare time, she's written a remarkable piece of poetry.…

 RSPB Titchwell Marsh, is home to some of the UK’s most threatened wetland wildlife, including bitterns and avocets. Thanks to funding received from LIFE on The Edge (www.projectlote.life), an exciting project will be delivered at this diverse nature reserve this autumn to improve their fortunes.

The project aims to transform the freshwater habitats that these scarce birds are reliant upon and to enable visitors…

Welcome to the latest recent sightings blog from Titchwell Marsh. After a never-ending winter the summer sun has finally arrived bringing with it an eruption of damselflies and dragonflies and butterflies including wall browns, orange tips and painted ladies.

Car Park / Visitor Centre

The usual suspects have been around the car park and visitor centre but a couple of cetti’s warblers and a reed warbler have been…

RSPB’s Plovers in Peril project started officially in March this year, made possible by funding granted from Kings Lynn and West Norfolk borough council. With it being such a new project, we were at the beginning a little unsure of what the take up would be like when looking to recruit volunteers to support us in our work. We needn’t have worried, we’ve had an incredible response from people within the local community…

Welcome to another weekly round up of what has been seen at RSPB Titchwell. 

Car Park / Visitor Centre / Meadow Trail / Fen Trail

A pair of spotted flycatchers remain in the area around the welcome hub and meadow trail. We have seen an arrival of baby blackbirds who like to walk all over the picnic tables!

In amongst the willows you can see chiffchaffs, blackcaps, a garden warbler has occasionally been heard in the car…

Here's our Plovers in Peril Project Officer, Wynona, with an update on what's currently happening on our North West Norfolk beaches... 

Well what a whirlwind few weeks for both the nesting Ringed Plover and for our hard-working team of volunteers! We have seen challenges from tides, predation and the impacts of summer crowds on the nesting birds, often all at once on the Plovers in Peril stretch and as the crowds…

A warm hello from Wynona,

When I started my post as Ringed Plover Project Officer for the RSPB, I was under no illusion that the ringed plovers on this stretch of beach have a heart-breaking number of challenges to face in order to raise a family here.

For me, what keeps me going is the knowledge that I am part of a project that has the capability to generate real, positive change for a species that is hurtling toward…

Welcome to the latest summary of what has been around Titchwell in the past week. 

Car Park / Visitor Centre

A garden warbler has been heard singing around the back of the car park over the weekend. On Monday 24/5 two spotted flycatchers were chasing each other around the tops of the trees.

Spotted Flycatcher, Les Bunyan

Turtle doves have occasionally been seen on the reserve, but they are not spending much time here…

Breeding Bird Surveys

It is peak breeding bird season across Snettisham and Titchwell which takes up a significant proportion of our week.

Starting at Titchwell, we continue with our weekly bittern monitoring which now includes watching for female feeding flights to help us identify if and where they maybe a nest. However if the female has a good food supply near to the nest then she won’t be seen.

We have also…

Welcome to this week’s summary of what has been seen on the reserve over the past week.

Car Park / Visitor Centre

The car park area is alive with bird song including blackcap, blackbird, and song thrush whilst our nest boxes appear to be well used with a number hosting blue tit families.

Small numbers of lesser redpolls and siskins continue to flyover the trees.

A garden warbler was seen at the back of the car park…

Recent sightings

The poor weather continued last week, making conditions difficult for our breeding bird surveys to be carried out and not much has changed in terms of what you are likely too when you visit.

Car Park / Visitor Centre

Small flocks of siskins continue to linger at the tops of the trees or fly over. A couple of bullfinches can be spotted in the car park scrub, whilst the blackcaps, blackbirds and chiffc…

Hello,

Welcome back to another Behind the Scenes update from the reserve wardens.

Bird Surveys

We have completed our monthly Wetland Bird Count (WeBS) which allowed us to have a pleasant walk around the reserve, despite the low bird numbers.

The survey season is picking up pace as April ended and May arrived. The bittern is continuing to boom on a regular basis, and I was even treated to a brief glimpse of it as it flew…

Recent sightings: 26 April – 3 May 2021

The cold, northerly wind has continued to be the current theme at Titchwell and much of the Norfolk coast so spring migration is quite slow with low numbers of summer migrants to be found However you can still expect to record over 80 species before 9am.

Car Park / Visitor Centre

Arriving in the car park you will be greeted with the continued variable song of the blackcap…

Walking along Snettisham beach, it is often the vastness that captivates me and with a bitter wind biting at your cheeks its often easy to sink down into the warmth your scarf, head on to the wind, eyes to the floor! The ringed plovers often take on a similar silhouette - finding piles of washed up hornwrack to take shelter, they will hunker down, bill into the wind, head sunk down into the warmth of their dense feathers…