Day 3 of a 3-day Early Winter Tour. A cloudier and greyer day, it was dry first thing but the rain caught up with us for an hour or so late morning. Thankfully it had mostly stopped by lunch, although it was still rather damp. We spent the day in North-West Norfolk.
Our main destination for the morning was Titchwell, but we dropped down via Docking towards Brancaster on the way. There had been lots of Pink-footed Geese feeding in one of the fields here yesterday, but there was no sign of any there this morning. Just beyond, we could see thousands dropping down into a different field further east, out of view, and there were more Pink-footed Geese in another recently harvested sugar beet field further up. Unfortunately there was nowhere for us to stop to look through them and they were already looking nervous as we paused briefly on the road.
After a quick stop to refuel, we headed on to Titchwell. It was cold and windy in the car park, so we made our way straight out onto the reserve. There had been a Hume’s Warbler in the sallows by the Dragonfly Pool the last couple of days, although it was very elusive and only heard a couple of times yesterday. People had already been looking for it this morning but one of the reserve staff kindly popped his head out of the Visitor Centre door to tell us that apparently there had been no sign yet.
We thought we would have a quick look for Woodcock first along Fen Trail. There were lots of Goldfinches feeding in the alders and a few Chaffinches too. A flock of Long-tailed Tits passed straight through without stopping. Several people were milling around on the start of Meadow Trail, probably too much disturbance for a Woodcock to be lurking here still, so we continued on past.
We didn’t have to go too much further before we found a Woodcock hiding under the sallows. It was hard to see in the tangle of moss-covered trunks and branches, but we managed to get it in the scope and most of the group managed to get onto it. Unfortunately our presence attracted the attention of others and with all the commotion the Woodcock decided it had had enough and scuttled quickly deeper in, out of view.
With the leaves mostly gone from the sallows now, it is much easier to see the Tawny Owl in its favoured roost tree at the moment. It is still trying to hide in the ivy though, and today we could see most of its body but its head was largely hidden. When the branches blew, we could see its bill.
We made our way round via Meadow Trail and out onto the main path. A quick check of the ditch failed to reveal a Water Rail – they still seem to be rather erratic here at the moment and perhaps it is not yet really cold enough to force them in.
Out of the trees, we stopped to scan. A couple of Marsh Harriers were quartering over the reeds at the back of Thornham Marsh and a Kestrel was hovering over the meadow. A female Marsh Harrier drifted over the reedbed between the bushes giving us some nice close views and we could see it was sporting a couple of wing tags. Still awaiting details back on where it has come from at the time of writing.
A Cetti’s Warbler shouted from the reeds as we walked on but otherwise the reedbed was rather quiet in the fresh breeze. A couple of Coot were in one of the reedbed channels and a Shelduck and a few Mallard on the reedbed pool.
Looking out over the saltmarsh the other side, we picked up a grey male Hen Harrier quartering low out in the middle. It flew up and down a couple of times before suddenly turning sharply and dropping. Lots of Starlings came up but the Hen Harrier didn’t reappear – perhaps it had caught something. A Rock Pipit flew up calling briefly and a Reed Bunting dropped into the reeds.
Scanning the Freshmarsh from the main bank just before Island Hide, we could see at least six Common Snipe on the flooded island in front. There were a couple of Dunlin feeding in between the ducks and a few Lapwing here too. The water level is now very high on the first compartment and all the islands are now underwater.
Further up, we could see lots of Golden Plover gathered on the further islands, which are flooded now too, so we walked up to the bund for a closer look. We got the Golden Plovers in the scope to admire their golden-spangled upperparts, even if not at their best in the rather grey and gloomy conditions today. There were more Golden Plover roosting on the main east-west bund too.
We could just see a small group of Avocets over on the far compartment from here. Most have left already, gone off to find milder weather further south, but a few always try to remain, at least unless it turns properly cold.
The ducks always appreciate the deeper water and there was a nice selection of Teal, Shoveler, Mallard and Shelduck and a few Pintail too. One drake Pintail was very close to the main path, but we we got the scope on one further back so we could see its pointed rear end as it upended. None of the drakes seemed to quite have their full pin tails yet.
The water level on the next compartment over is low but there were just a couple of Dunlin on here today, which flew off as we stopped to scan. The ringed escaped Black-winged Stilt has even moved on to the Volunteer Marsh to feed now. With some spots of rain starting, we thought about going into Parrinder Hide, but the Black-winged Stilt was showing very well in the channel just beyond the path to the hide so we walked on to look at it first.
As the rain seemed to be holding off, we decided to try to get out to the beach first and come back to the hide. There were lots of distractions on the way out though. A Common Redshank was showing very well close to the path a little further up and more Curlews and Redshanks in the wider channel at the far end of Volunteer Marsh. Two or three pipits dropped in but disappeared straight into the vegetation.
Several Little Grebes were on the Tidal Pool along the edge of the bank which we got in the scope. There had been both a Goosander and a Goldeneye on here earlier and it didn’t take long to find the Goosander. A redhead female, we watched it diving in the very shallow water around the edge of the islands before swimming out into the deeper water in the middle. There was no sign of the Goldeneye now though. A single Turnstone was feeding on the mud.
We could see darker grey clouds approaching from the south, so we hurried on to the beach and got out of the wind in the lee of the dunes. Just in time, as it started to rain. The tide was out and we could see several Bar-tailed Godwits, Sanderling and Oystercatchers down on the beach out in front of us and a couple of Grey Plovers further up.
The visibility out to sea wasn’t great at first, but we could still see a small raft of Common Scoter offshore and several Great Crested Grebes. A Red-breasted Merganser was swimming off the mussel beds and a Red-throated Diver was diving just behind the breakers. When the rain eased and the murk lifted briefly, we picked up a Slavonian Grebe offshore too.
Walking back into the wind was a bit easier now the rain had largely stopped. A quick scan of the Tidal Pool and we found that the female Goldeneye had reappeared and was now diving out in the middle.
We diverted down to Parrinder Hide now. A Scandinavian Rock Pipit was preening on the stack of bricks when we arrived but quickly flew off. A little later, two more Rock Pipits flew in and now proceeded to feed on the mud and perch on the bricks, so we could get a better look at them. A brighter, cleaner looking Meadow Pipit was feeding on the bund opposite and at one point flew out onto the mud nearby giving us a good comparison.
There were lots of ducks on the back compartment here too and we got the scopes on a Common Snipe which was preening on the front edge of one of the islands. A small flock of Dunlin whirled round from time to time. When all the birds on the Freshmarsh spooked, we looked out to see the grey male Hen Harrier flying past before disappearing over the bank towards Brancaster.
It was time for lunch and the rain had stopped spitting now, so we made our way back to the Visitor Centre. After lunch, we decided to move on and head for Thornham Harbour but as we got out onto the main road it started to rain again. We diverted inland to scan the fields first. There were plenty of Red-legged Partridges, including several which stood in the road almost until we were upon them. They are released here in huge quantities each year for shooting and are particularly tame!
We drove back round via Choseley Barns and stopped briefly to scan the fields where we had seen Yellowhammers, Chaffinches and Linnets feeding in the wild bird seed crops in recent weeks. All was quiet today – either the seed has run out already or the birds were just feeding somewhere more sheltered this afternoon. This used to be a really good area for winter buntings and finches but sadly has deteriorated significantly in recent years. The sugar beet field which was cultivated straight after the crop was lifted still shows no sign of being resown, so presumably the cultivation was just to stop the Pink-footed Geese having somewhere to feed.
The rain had stopped again to we reverted to our initial plan and headed down to Thornham Harbour. Despite the inclement weather there were a surprising number of people out walking here this afternoon. There were just a couple of Redshanks in the harbour channel behind the coal barn and as we walked down to one of the wooden quays to check further down, two Ringed Plovers appeared from below the near edge.
On our way across to the seawall, we turned to see two swans flying straight towards us over the harbour. They came right over our heads so it was hard to see their bills but they looked like Bewick’s Swans. We watched them disappearing off towards Holme, but lost sight of them behind the seawall. Our suspicions were confirmed when we got a message shortly after to say two Bewick’s Swans had been seen flying west over Titchwell just before. It is just the time when they normally arrive here for the winter and it will be interesting to see how many we get this year, with more Bewick’s Swans increasingly ‘short-stopping’ on the Continent in recent years.
From up on the seawall, we could see lots of Wigeon and a few Teal on the grazing marsh beyond. A few Brent Geese were feeding with a small group of Greylags which included a white domesticated goose and some in-between.
We walked up to the corner of the seawall to can out across the harbour. There were several Redshanks and Curlews out on the mud. Three or four Grey Plover were down in the channel along with a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, but no Bar-tailed Godwits here today. On the saltmarsh beyond we could see lots of Shelducks and a mixed roost of gulls out on the edge of the sand. A Short-eared Owl appeared in the distance over the beach mobbing a Marsh Harrier briefly.
We wanted to make one last stop this afternoon so we walked back down to the minibus. More gulls were drifting in from the fields inland and out to where the others were gathered. A Common Gull landed on one of the wooden jetty posts and we stopped to look at it, pointing out the key identification features and comparing it to a nearby Black-headed Gull.
As we were heading back east anyway, we made our way over to Wells for our last stop of the day. About a dozen Red Kites were circling over the grazing marshes north of Holkham Park as we passed. We parked in the beach car park and walked up past the new lifeboat station to scan the harbour. The tide was already coming in fast.
There were several Great Crested Grebes diving in the harbour channel and having to swim hard against the current to maintain their position. A single Red-breasted Merganser was further off in the outer harbour. There were lots of Oystercatchers on the sand opposite and Bar-tailed Godwits along the edge of the water. We got them in the scopes for a closer look. A Little Egret was feeding along the near edge in the shallow water and worked its way up and down past us, chasing small fish.
We could see a small number of Brent Geese along the edge of the channel further round and as we stood and watched, some larger flocks of Brents flew in from the saltmarsh beyond the harbour. They circled round and dropped down in front of East Hills where we could hear them chattering. A single Brent was on the edge of the water much closer to us and another six landed out in the channel and swam over to join it.
The light was starting to go now. We could already see thousands of gulls gathering to roost out on the sands at the mouth of the harbour and as we walked back up past the lifeboat station hundreds more were pouring overhead. A nice end to another winter day birding and the weekend.
If you like what you read and would like to join one of our tours, you can find what we have planned here.
