More winter birding at Titchwell

Our second full day in Norfolk began with another pre-breakfast seawatch from Hunstanton seafront, this time John joined me. It was mostly the same species as yesterday with just the addition of three Red-breasted Mergansers. After breakast we took the coastal bus the short distance to Titchwell. 

We had planned to check the feeders behind the centre where we had Brambling last year but for some reason the feeding station had been taken down. Instead we walked along the Fen Trail to where the Woodcocks were roosting. Although we'd been told they'd moved out of sight there was still a number of people looking anyway so we joined them. I managed to pick up the top half of one quite far back under the trees but it was through such a narrow window that I couldn't get anyone else on it. Another one was claimed and I could see some feathers, however when I got the scope on it I could see it was just the wing of an unidentifiable corpse.

We carried on to the main path and slowly made our way up to the beach, stopping regularly to scan. A pair of Bearded Tits popped up in front of us then quickly flew off. Out on the freshwater lagoon it was wader central: the close island was a shimmering sparkle of 1,800 Golden Plover with hundreds of Lapwing on every island. 

Golden Plover & Lapwing

In the middle was a flock of 45 Avocets and there were a few Dunlin as well. At the next marsh were a dozen Knot, and both Black-tailed and Bar-tailed Godwits.

Knot

Bar-tailed Godwit

Common Redshank

At the beach we saw more waders with Grey and Ringed Plovers and a few Sanderling scampering around chasing or being chased by the waves. The sea was a lot quieter than it had been at Holkham the day before but we did get a flock of five Long-tailed Ducks but surprisingly no Red-throated Divers.

While walking back a Short-eared Owl started flying around over the saltmarsh. This is one of my favourite birds so it was great to watch it out hunting in the middle of the day. We had lunch in the hide watching more of the same waders until a Sparrowhawk flew over flushing them all. We'd heard a Bittern had been showing well at the last pool earlier so we thought we'd look for it even though we didn't expect it to still be around. However there was quite a large group of people stood on the path and the Bittern was still on show, well sort of. It was feeding just inside the reedbed so bits of it could be seen. Every now and again it walked past a gap in the reeds and if you were in the right place you could see the whole bird. 

Bittern

Bittern

After eventually getting some good views we went back to the centre for a hot drink. We tried for the Woodcock again but didn't see it so decided to walk back along the main path towards the Bittern. It was still in the same place and we had slightly better views than earlier. Flocks of both Brent Geese and Pink-footed Geese flew over calling - one of the joys of birding in winter on the North Norfolk coast.

Brent Geese

Pink-footed Geese

Marsh Harriers were beginning to come into roost and as we'd had a good day we headed off to get the bus back to Hunstanton. Today's day list was 80 species, two more than yesterday and it'd been another great day with glorious weather. We just got back in daylight and I managed to get a photo of the sun setting over the sea - one of the few places this is possible on the eastern side of England.

Setting sun

The following morning we spent an hour on the seafront but didn't see anything new - we left that for the journey home when we added Green Woodpecker from the bus and Stock Dove from the train giving a total species count of 103 for our winter's break in Norfolk.

Winter birding in Norfolk

I usually like to have a weekend's birding break in Norfolk during winter. This year was a little different as due to hotel availability we actually did a midweek break. I met up with John & Janet at Kings Cross station at Tuesday lunchtime and we took the train up to Kings Lynn. En route we had a few Red Kites which were new for the year for me and once we were past Ely we started looking out for wild swans. We saw several flocks, some of which were close enough to identify as Bewick's - also new for the year.

Once we arrived at Kings Lynn we swapped our train for one of the local buses and headed up to Hunstanton where we would be staying for three nights. There wasn't time for any birding so we enjoyed a nice dinner at our favourite restaurant, Chives.

The following morning we hadn't planned to do any pre-breakfast birding as we didn't anticipate there would be enough time but I realised it was light enough at 7:15 so I popped over the road to the seafront for half an hour's birding. It was low tide so I wasn't expecting many seaduck but a small group of Common Scoter flew past. The main target was Fulmar which breed on the cliffs a little bit further up and I soon had one flying past and another sat on the sea. Conditions were perfect with a gentle breeze and good visibility. There were some waders around - many Oystercatchers searching for food with a few Redshank and a solitary Turnstone among them as well as a handful of Bar-tailed Godwits on the beach.

After a large breakfast we took the bus to Holkham, seeing a flock of about 200 Pink-footed Geese in a field en route. We didn't see any more as most had already headed north due to the mild winter weather. We planned to spend the whole day at Holkham so we took our time along Lady Ann's Drive looking through the assortment of wildfowl on the adjacent fields, adding Ruff and Snipe.

Shore Lark

As it was low tide we headed to the bay and walked to the roped off area where several birders were already gathered. Luckily they had pinned down a small flock of Shorelark, supposedly numbering five but we only saw four. They were fairly close for a change so it was really nice to watch them for a while. A bit further back there was a group of Snow Buntings, about 20 to start with but they were joined by some more and I eventually counted 55. We were joined by Howard Vaughan, who was taking time off from Rainham Marshes.

Snow Bunting

Over 1,000 Common Scoter. This flock also held a few Velvet Scoter

We walked over to the dunes to check the sea and initially found a small flock of Common Scoter, then realised that what looked like an oil slick was an enormous flock, exceeding 1000 birds. We scanned the flock and eventually found a few Velvet Scoter among them. Two drake Eider flew in and landed and nearby we also saw Goldeneye and a few Red-breasted Mergansers although there was no sign of any Long-tailed Ducks which had been previously reported in the area.

After lunch at The Lookout we took the track adjacent to Holkham Freshmarsh. The woods were pretty quiet but we did hear a Treecreeper. At the far hide we soon located the flock of White-fronted Geese, with at least 100 birds present. Further back we found a Great Egret, then a Barn Owl flying around. We wandered slowly back and found another Great Egret from the next hide. Back at The Lookout there was a Red Kite, then a really close Barn Owl which was flying around then landing on fence posts.

Barn Owl attempting to catch a Muntjac Deer (or maybe not)

We walked back happy with what we'd seen but had one last treat when I located a pair of Grey Partridge in the last field before the coast road. It had been another wonderful winter's day in Norfolk with many great birds seen and a total of 78 species.

Gulling at the Wetland Centre

After failing to connect with the juvenile Iceland Gull yesterday at Beckton Creekmouth I decided to try for the adult at the London Wetland Centre. It was a bit of a gamble as it’s been quite erratic in its appearances but it did show mid-morning on Saturday so it seemed worth trying for. It meant I could have a leisurely stroll rather than chasing around all over London which I did yesterday, also I didn’t need an early start to get there for opening time at 9:30.

As I headed for the South Route upon arrival my plan was to slowly wander around but I bumped into fellow Brent birder Shailesh who volunteers at LWC and he told me the Iceland Gull was showing at the WWF hide so I hot-footed it straight there. And a couple of minutes later I was watching a smart adult Iceland Gull, only the second one I’ve seen in London. It was initially on a distant spit but it decided to fly around and land at the front of the closest island so we all had superb views.

Iceland Gull

Iceland Gull with Common Gull behind

Iceland Gull

Someone mentioned a Yellow-legged Gull so I scanned through the other gulls and instead found an adult Caspian Gull. 

Caspian Gull

Caspian Gull with Herring Gull behind on left

After a while all the gulls took up and flew off towards the observatory just before a few other birders arrived including Shailesh. While they went back to look for the gull flock I carried on to the Peacock Hide. From the top deck I could see the Iceland Gull in the distance so hopefully everyone managed to catch up with it. A little later I picked it up flying our way and it landed on the grazing marsh. As I watched it again I noticed a Yellow-legged Gull a bit further back and got everyone on that. It was a very productive gull morning with seven species and only Great Black-back missing from the more common species.

Yellow-legged Gull on right with Lesser Black-backed Gull on far left and Herring Gull in centre

A Bittern was claimed but I couldn’t locate it before it disappeared back into the reedbed. The water level on the marsh was high so there was no chance of any Snipe there and the only Water Pipit was one I heard flying past. I scanned the hospital and was lucky enough to watch one of the Peregrines fly in and land.

High water levels on grazing marsh

As I rushed in I hadn’t seen many small birds so I went for a slow walk along the return route but it was fairly quiet for birds. It got busier and noisier as I approached the centre but that was from the families so I headed to the cafe for a coffee before heading over to the collection. I don’t usually spend a lot of time looking at the captive birds but the woodlands along the way often add species I haven’t seen earlier. Today it was Jay and Goldcrest and a Green Woodpecker at the Wildside Hide – my daily Yaffle.

Pair of feeding Shoveler

A pair of Shoveler were swimming round in circles stirring up food and there were plenty of Wigeon grazing. 

Wigeon

I was hoping to also add Goldeneye and Mandarin but I couldn’t track either duck down so I called a halt to proceedings and headed off back to the centre. On the way the whole Lapwing flock took up and started flying around. Can you estimate how many there are?

How many Lapwing?

It had been an excellent morning and I was especially pleased to see and photograph the Iceland Gull. And the photo below has the answer.