Titchwell

In a desperate attempt to reclaim some free time after a long week of family stuff I headed up the A11 today for a morning birding Titchwell and Stiffkey.

I arrived at Titchwell around 7am and had a probable Pied Flycatcher in the trees along the entrance track but couldn't get it in the bins and gave up waiting for better views before I'd seen it well enough to be sure.

At Island hide I was surprised to find the White-rumped Sandpiper just outside the hide feeding with a flock of Dunlin and a Juvenile Curlew Sandpiper. Of course at Twitchwell the sun is in your face in the mornings looking east but I grabbed a few shots fighting the harsh light as well as I could.

A juvenile Little-ringed Plover dropped in and there were several Ruff, Lapwing, Common Sandpipers and Avocet feeding close in. Blackwits were further out and others reported a Greenshank. I picked out a couple of Great Egrets and a Snipe before Bearded Tit and Water Rail put in an appearance. Two Spoonbill flew over towards Thornham before I moved on down to the beach.

Curlew Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

White-rumped Sandpiper

Ruff

White-rumped Sandpiper

Dunlin (White-rumped piper behind)

At the beach I scanned the sea but it was a little disappointing with a few Gannets and Terns but little else of note. On the wader front there were lots of Oystercatchers a few small flocks of Turnstone, Sanderling and Ringed Plover. Whimbrel, Curlew and Barwit made up the best of the rest. Walking back I picked up a Hobby flying over the marsh and another two Great Egrets. A Marsh Harrier flushed the gulls as I headed back to the car park. I checked all the car park areas for migrants but it was quiet bird wise.

I moved down to Stiffkey wood and gave that and good slog before heading home with a days count of 88 but just the one year tick moving my year list to 231 and just two away from my worst ever total.