An early morning at Titchwell, Norfolk - October 17, 2018

We were heading back home today but I made my usual early morning visit to Titchwell before breakfast.  It was just getting light as I started to walk along the west bank and I heard a Water Rail near Thornham Pool and a Cetti’s Warbler from the reedbed.  There were four Western Marsh Harrier to the east over the reedbed and when I looked back towards the road I saw the Western Barn Owl quartering the far field.  When I looked over towards the trees beyond the reedbed initially there wasn’t any Little Egrets in the trees but a few minutes later there were twenty-one.  I continued along the path towards the beach but saw just two Eurasian Curlew on Thornham Marsh, a Grey Plover over Volunteer Marsh and three Little Grebes on the Tidal Marsh before I arrived at the beach.

I scanned the sea but all I found were three Great Crested Grebes but there were plenty of waders on the beach that included over 500 Eurasian Oystercatcher, two Grey Plover, twenty-nine Eurasian Curlew, forty-five Bar-tailed Godwit, twelve Turnstone, 150 Red Knot, a Sanderling and thirty-nine Common Redshank.  There was also twenty-five Brent Geese and a Little Egret.  Several skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over and as I made a final scan of the sea there were three female-type Red-breasted Mergansers just off shore, but they quickly flew further west and I then picked up a single Common Scoter in flight.

I scanned the Tidal Marsh as I started to walk back and found two Common Shelduck, ten Grey Plover and a single Dunlin and four Brent Geese, two Eurasian Curlew and four Common Redshank flew over Thornham Marsh.  There was a Little Egret, two more Eurasian Curlew, two Black-tailed Godwits, a Ruff and seven Common Redshank in the channel on Volunteer Marsh.

As I reached the Freshwater Marsh another Water Rail called and there were three Egyptian Geese squabbling near the centre of the marsh.  As I scanned the marsh I counted sixty-seven Common Shelduck and there were twelve Pied Avocet this morning.  Eighty-six Black-tailed Godwits were roosting, which is more than I have seen all week and I counted thirty-six Ruff and found a single Dunlin before I continued towards Island Hide.  A brief stop to look for the Jack Snipe produced just a single Common Snipe.

Another birder then said that there were two European Stonechats near Thornham Pool and so I moved further along the track.  I didn’t see the stonechats but whilst looking for them I had a Western Marsh Harrier, a Common Kestrel and two Bearded Tits.

There had been a report of a Two-barred Warbler at Holkham Pines yesterday and although my wife was happy for me to go after breakfast, I felt it would be unfair as it was only seen three times yesterday and I could have been there all day and possibly not see it and so we headed off home.

Another party of Pink-footed Geese flew over as we passed Choseley Barns, there were four Egyptian Geese near Docking and two Grey Partridge flew across the road near the Anmer cross roads.  There were two Common Buzzards as we approached the Guyhirn roundabout and a Common Kestrel just beyond, but the only other sightings of note were two Red Kites, one near Uppingham and the other over Tugby.