Our first visit to rspb Titchwell Marsh in 7 years so it was lovely to be back on the North Norfolk coast again. Saturday was a beautifully sunny day and felt comfortably warm; as we wandered down the kilometre to the beach and then back towards the visitor centre we spotted, not only a Black-winged Stilt (thought to be an escapee) but the lesser spotted Seymouraves; description perfect ... black beanie, muck boots, tripod with orange tape ...... YES, that had to be him... TICK !! S was kind enough to put up with us for the next couple of hours as we wandered together towards fen hide, stopping off at an area where we saw a Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, eagerly keeping an eye open for any fleeting glances of a yellow-browed Warbler which sadly eluded us. We did eventually catch up with three Lesser Whitethroat later that afternoon. Always a bonus to have a birding expert on hand to ID, share valuable info and locate species so thank you S, as we stood there a flock of distant Lapwings were spooked into the air and S identified a Peregrine falcon in amongst them; thank you so much S, it was a real pleasure to finally meet you.
I probably used the bins far more than lifting the camera as I'd rather see the bird than miss it twiddling with camera settings, however, we were on the reserve for 9 hours in total and the evening light was too good not to grab the camera. So a mix of photos which I will load in batches on this one thread.
Adult male black-winged Stilt .........reported as an escapee as it was ringed, however, a very nice bird to see
One of the pools along the footpath down to the beach ....
The beach area ......... and the sky was that blue and the sun did shine :)
We could even see the house we were renting from the reserve ! one with the Velux window in roof ...... the rear garden overlooks a ploughed field and we saw pink-footed geese the first evening along with crows, jackdaws, wood pigeon....also a curlew, wild rabbits and a muntjac deer crossing the field; a Red Kite and Marsh Harrier overhead !
Lots of Lapwings on the pools and the colourful plumage was showing well in the sunshine .........
Back with more photos ... now for the Redshanks, Curlew, Bk.t.Godwit and Turnstones .... in that evening light I was telling you about !
Greylag geese sorting those feathers out !
Curlew
Bk-t-Godwit
back to Redshanks again
a few more pics to come ...... in due course !
3rd set of photos ............... starting with a Lesser Whitethroat - looked like a juvenile ?
and an adult Lesser Whitethroat
A "flying teaspoon" next. .........
Reed buntings next, female
male Reed Bunting ....
a Linnet......
_________________________________________________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Ohh, that light was lovely... super pictures, Hazel. I always thought the seldom spotted Seymouraves was a mythological beast... I guess I must re-evaluate . Keep them coming
Lovely photo's Hazy, amazing light. Very nice to have seen a stilt.
With the sky that blue I expected you to say you were there too Snappy lol
Nice pictures
I wondered who that woman was that was following me :))
Nice to put a face to name
S
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
Beautiful Photos Hazel and some lovely sightings, I have never been to Titchwell, Norfolk but it is on my list to visit and hopefully spend a few days exploring the area. The photos of the beach are glorious. How lucky you were to have on hand Seymouraves to spend some time with you for his local knowledge and ID expertise, a lot better than looking inside a bird book trying to distinguish the intricacies of each bird and I must add I am the worlds worse at Identifying birds as you probably Know by the amount of times I have asked for the Identification of a bird on here.
Fabulous photos Hazel and pleased the weather behaved itself for you.
I'll not forget my first, and only (so far) visit to Titchwell, on probably the hottest day in July that year, so things were quiet, which is a good excuse to make future visits. But I did see my first, and only (so far) bearded reedlings/tits....
What also fascinated me, was the reinforced concrete wartime structures, on the beach, on the marshland over to the west, bordering The Wash, and semi sunken pillbox in the last salt water pool just before the beach.
I look forward to the follow-up photos and thank you for sharing.
Mike
Flickr: Peak Rambler
Mike B said:and pleased the weather behaved itself for you
Rain called play off today so visited Burham Market in the pouring rain but later called in at Titchwell rspb - unusual decision for me but I decided with the very inclement weather and persistent rain, strong breeze, to leave the camera behind ................ big mistake as we went into island hide and had a magnificent female marsh harrier quartering the reed bed very close for a good 45 mins. !!! The only good thing about today was finding ourselves sitting next to Mr and Mrs Whistling Joe from Minsmere .... well, as the famous quote from Casablanca goes..... "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, they walks into mine" LOL. !! couldn't believe it after first seeing Seymouraves on Saturday and a pal from our Cheshire wildlife group at the same time and today WJ. and Mrs. WJ !! If any of you buddies on here are planning a surprise visit this week let us know in advance and we'll have the coffee's waiting for you at Titchwell cafe !!
How brilliant to meet up with people in such a fabulous way.
I've only ever driven through Burnham Market, and the small bit I was able to notice, looked fabulous.
Incidentally, did you know the reason why most traditional Norfolk buildings are covered in pebbles, rather than stone rendering that many of us know, is down to the availability of pebbles on the coastline being a very low cost and ready to use resource.
I was hoping to make a day trip to the North Norfolk coast during October, that is on hold, and after seeing the seal pups in Cornwall recently, that nicely filled the gap of watching seal pups in their natural environment from a safe distance without disturbing them.
But I still intend to return to Titchwell, probably 2025, and once the road network is sorted around here, Burton Mere.
That's really interesting to learn about the pebble rendering as the house we are renting has exactly that and a lot of new builds are following on the tradition. Shame it was pouring down for Burnham Market as nowhere looks nice in this weather when hoods and umbrellas are up and you get a small and semi-burnt toasted teacake in one of the cafes there LOL.
HAZY said:That's really interesting to learn about the pebble rendering as the house we are renting has exactly that and a lot of new builds are following on the tradition. Shame it was pouring down for Burnham Market as nowhere looks nice in this weather when hoods and umbrellas are up and you get a small and semi-burnt toasted teacake in one of the cafes there LOL.
Still just as tasty.
As for the weather, a good reason to make a return visit. Though the diary for this year is more or less full, it is still hoped to get an away day, and certainly early next year, with a confirmed booking for Cromer again next June.