Hello, and welcome to another round of sightings from the weekend.

Today was our monthly wetland bird count (WeBS) which counts all the non-breeding water birds (waders, ducks, grebes, herons, terns) on the reserve.

Car Park / Fen Trail / East Trail

Over the weekend as migrant birds continue to arrive a walk around the car park, fen trail and meadow trail was worthwhile. In amongst the resident birds such as blue tits…

Hello and welcome to your weekly update from the North West Norfolk Team.

We started the week with a site visit to our second private reserve that we have management responsibilities for. Despite being in my role for 2 ½ years, this was the first time that I had visited the site. This site is a 30-hectare woodland home to marsh tits, silver-washed fritillaries and white admirals. It is a typical mixed british woodland…

The run of good birds migrating through continues this week, but more of that later.

The past few days have been characterised by monsoon style downpours causing a big increase in water levels. We are trying to get the water off the Freshmarsh but we are entering a series of spring high tides, which means water leaves the site less quickly.

Nonetheless there are still plenty of waders across the reserve. On Tuesday there…

The sea fog that rolled in continued to be present all weekend and if it wasn’t so warm you could have been mistaken for it being October!

The weather conditions did make it prime for lost seabirds and a fall of migrants on the east coast.

A Friday sea watch produced a long-tailed skua heading west plus 6 Arctic skuas and several gannets.

On Saturday morning a pied flycatcher was found at Thornham Point in the bushes…

Now that we have established safe working practices and reopened two hides and the autumn trail we have started to use some of the extension car park to slightly increase visitor capacity on site, therefore I started the week by strimming some of the encroaching vegetation to better aid parking.

Following last winters work on the apple trees, there is a great crop of apples. We therefore installed a small sign requesting…

Welcome to the latest installment of sightings from Titchwell Marsh on what has been an incredibly hot week except for today as the sun has disappeared, and the sea fog rolled in.

The highlight for many birders has been the red-backed shrike that was found on Monday evening and has remained in the bushes at Thornham Point until Wednesday evening. Despite red-backed shrikes being a fairly common migrant on the Norfolk…

Birdlife

With the wind switching around to the North East and cloud cover forecasted for Sunday there was an expectation that there would be an arrival of birds to Titchwell. Whilst waders have been migrating back from their breeding grounds since June, August sees the start of autumn migration for passerines.

Sure enough on Friday morning there was a noticeable arrival of willow warblers and an increase in blackcaps…

A round up of the reserve team's work this week...

Ringed plovers

The week started with some ringed plover monitoring work at both Titchwell and Snettisham beaches. At Titchwell we were pleased to see adults still sitting tight on the three nests on Monday and even more delighted on Wednesday to see one pair had hatched three chicks. We’re keeping a close eye to see if they fledge successfully. Over at Snettisham…

Welcome to another recent sightings installment from Titchwell Marsh.  

Birdlife 

A walk along the meadow trail towards Patsy’s screen this week has revealed a few Cetti’s warblers calling to one another.  

Once at Patsy’s screen the pool has continued to host a good number of coot and gadwall. The red-crested pochard occasionally appear as does one of the now near resident great white egrets. The house martins and swall…

As mentioned in an earlier blog post we started the week with our monthly WeBS counts at Titchwell (click here) for the sightings) followed by some pruning of the stray bramble and willow encroaching on to the paths. 

Autumn Trail preparation

As we rapidly move into August it is time for us to open the seasonal Autumn Trail during peak wader passage. This trail is only accessible for a few months of the year in between the…

It has been a steady week for sightings but packed full of variety.

Birds

Around the visitor centre goldcrests have been heard singing in the trees and some more chiffchaffs have fledged.

Along the east trail sedge warblers and reed warblers continue to raise their young. Whilst on Patsy’s there is a plethora of ducks in their various eclipse forms. A search through reveals pochards, gadwall, shovelers and a red…

Hello everyone!

Well, who knew that a global pandemic would be thrown into the mix of challenges we faced with the construction of the new hide, Knot's Landing, at RSPB Snettisham?!

We are incredibly pleased to let you know that the contractors, Walker Construction Services, were able to figure out a way to work safely through Covid-19, source the materials they needed and proceed to very nearly complete the incredible…

Hello,

Welcome to another edition of our sightings blog which this week also covers our monthly Wetland Bird Count.

East Trail and Patsy’s Screen

A walk along the hedgerow this weekend revealed lesser whitethroats, common whitethroats and sedge warblers. The subtle call of the bullfinch and the wheeze of a greenfinch can be heard. On Patsy’s there is a plethora of brown ducks, many of which are in their eclipse…

From diving board removal to ringed plover monitoring it has been another varied week for the NW Norfolk Reserves team.

Beach nesting birds

We started and ended the week with some ringed plover monitoring. It may be the end of July, but our ringed plovers are still busy trying to rear their youngsters. At Titchwell we still have 3 pairs on eggs, that are due to hatch over the next week. Down at Snettisham there is one…

We have been open a week now and it has been lovely to welcome back familiar faces and welcome many newcomers to the reserve. The feedback on our safety measures and the introduction of an entrance charge has been overwhelmingly positive which is very reassuring – so thank you.

Birds

The Freshmarsh is looking fantastic with lots of waders dropping in throughout the day including good numbers of avocet, black-tailed…

Opening weekend sightings

Since we reopened our doors on Thursdays there has been plenty seen across the reserve.

On the Freshmarsh there has been a noticeable increase in wader numbers. Dunlin numbers have increased from 30 to 320 bringing with them the first little stint of the year. Other highlights have included a greenshank, a couple of common sandpipers, a green sandpiper, three spotted redshanks, 6 little ringed…

Welcome to the return of our sightings blog. As mentioned in our previous blog, our activities on the reserve including monitoring was very limited however our livestream microphone fortunately ensured we could all remain connected with Titchwell in some way.

Spring Migration

When we closed the doors to the reserve in late March spring migration was just starting with the first of the spring migrants having arrived. This…

Following the government’s announcement for people to stay at home, along with all other RSPB nature reserves we sadly closed Titchwell Marsh and Snettisham on 24^th March to all visitors. This was not an easy decision by the RSPB as we recognise how important access to nature and open space is for people’s wellbeing. However, the health of staff, volunteers and visitors has been of paramount importance to the organisation…

Update 17/08/20: Following the new government guidelines regarding visitor attractions it is a legal requirement for all visitors, unless you are exempt or under 11, to wear face coverings in all of our hides at both Titchwell and Snettisham at the current time.

Update 05/08/20: We are very pleased to say that three swallows have fledged from Island hide and, after a thorough clean and a few repair jobs, we have opened…

 Beach nesting birds on our North Norfolk beaches have had a tough month. Large high tides in May and June combined with strong northerly winds resulted in some nests being lost to the sea. Many are now relaying so we once again wait for these nests to hatch. 

Sea Foam. Lizzie Bruce

Thankfully at RSPB Snettisham and Titchwell the ringed plovers and oystercatchers nested high up on the beaches and were not affected by the…

An open letter to the North West Norfolk volunteers during Volunteers’ Week (1 – 7 June). Thank you from all of us, for everything.  

To someone special,

At our North West Norfolk reserves we would usually celebrate Volunteers’ Week with hearty big thank yous at our morning team briefings. Together we would tell stories and reminisce about those we have come to know and love; laughing together and connecting…

Snettisham

We have opened our trails and car park at our Snettisham reserve, but our hides remain closed. Please stay local to your nearest reserves / green spaces. Anyone choosing to visit should observe all current government advice around social distancing.

For RSPB members the car park is free, please display your membership card and obtain a free ticket from the car park machine.

For non-RSPB members there is a…

Wildlife from your Window

My brain is foggy and I’m definitely finding it harder to concentrate on tasks in hand. Sitting at my impromptu desk in the spare room with the occasional sound of a car humming down the road I realise how much nature lifts and inspires me during the day. Working on a nature reserve is very different to working from home, but like millions of others around the world, I am adjusting to it.…

March, as you may have noticed, has been a very strange month.  Knowing that the reserve may have to close down made me try to identify plants purely by their leaves.  This is why species such as Great Mullein and Broad-leaved Dock found their way on to my list.  The moths were all on the walls near the security lights at the visitor centre; I was particularly pleased to identify a micro-moth as a Coastal Flat-back.   This…

Following the latest clear instructions from the Government for us all to remain at home apart from a limited number of allowed activities, we are closing our reserve to visitors until further notice.

This means we will close our car park, toilets and hides to the public. These measures are on top of the existing closure of our visitor centre, cafe and shop.  It is with great sadness that we ask people to refrain from…