October at Spurn

I arrived back from Germany late in the evening of the 8^th of October, ready to continue ringing and birding until the end of the month. My return started with a bang, as the previous evening a Red-flanked Bluetail had been found at the Potato Fields. I cycled down but the bird proved extremely elusive and only the occasional fleeting glimpses were obtained. During the afternoon I even headed down for seconds but on this occasion I did not even see the bird. On the same day I had a Shore Lark fly south over the breach, although consensus is that it was the bird that had been seen regularly in front of Chalk Bank hide.

-Red-flanked Bluetail

Now that the license to occupy has been renewed there was finally the opportunity to ring again at the Warren. During my first week back I spent most of my mornings down here, picking up such goodies as Rock Pipit, Yellow-browed Warbler and plenty of commoner birds.

Between ringing and working at the pub I had limited time available for actual birding. That being said, just being at Spurn means birds are around, and when I clocked off work on the 11^th at lunchtime, I was immediately greeted by Jonnie Fisk racing out of Kew to inform me that an Olive-backed Pipit was flying overhead. We both got onto the bird as it called and whizzed overhead. I got to enjoy nice on the deck views of this bird as well, when it set up at the north end of the canal. On the 9^th I also saw the juvenile Rose-coloured Starling that had turned up along the canal during my stay in Germany. It occasionally drifted down towards the Warren, but despite trying to use tapes we failed to catch it.

The weather turned at the end of the week, but at Hornsea Britain’s first White-rumped Swift made for an exciting turn of events. I was of course working and did not get to see the bird, and it never made an appearance at Spurn.

Ringing ticks continued to pour in over the next week; Stonechat, Grey Wagtail, Coal Tit, Yellowhammer and Barred Warbler, a bird which I myself drove into the Heligoland trap. I was of course buzzing when I pulled it out of the catching box. As I was walking the trap, the bird ahead of me, I began to wonder what on earth this bird was, but I had inkling long before I reached the end that it was indeed a Barred Warbler. Even rarer for Spurn, although not this autumn, was a Cettis Warbler that Tim caught in Corner Field. On the 20^th we caught a Willow Warbler in Kew. Not only is it an extremely late date, but the bird was enormous with a huge wing comparatively. We took some feathers for DNA but it seems unlikely that anything will come of it.

-Coal Tit

-Grey Wagtail

-Yellowhammer

-Rock Pipit

-Willow Warbler

-Cetti's Warbler

-Barred Warbler

The highlight of the autumn for some was a Great Skua that was picked up aisled on the beach and brought to Kew for some TLC. Of course, it being a great skua, the bird was violent and aggressive but easy to look after as we threw it any manner of roadkill to keep it occupied. When the day came for its release it was ringed and brought down to the Bluebell. I had the privilege of holding the bird during its transport, and in a moment of lapse concentration was reminded why these birds are so vicious, as it marked my face less than an inch from my right eye. The bastard then did not even fly off, and returned to our care for a few days before we let it loose on the Humber. Because of its temperament, I gave it the name Lucifer.

-Great Skua 'Lucifer'

Towards the end of my stay the ringing list got a real boost. A Merlin caught on the 24^th was sadly not ringed by me, but was still an absolute treat to see in the hand, a bird very rarely caught at Spurn. A Waxwing on the same day spent the afternoon around the trees at Kew but frustratingly bounced out of the net. We also finally caught the Kew Tawny Owl after nearly 12 months of trying. Our method was brutal but effective, and I had the honour of finally ringing it. Right before I headed off to Germany there was an influx of Mealy Redpolls, including some real stunners. I was able to ring around 20 birds, and among them, although not ringed by me, was a cracking Coue’s Arctic Redpoll, a solid Spurn tick. On the same day I caught a Firecrest, which was a nice bonus to what felt like a real autumn day.

-Merlin

-Tawny Owl

-Coue's Arctic Redpoll

My last days were dominated by birds on the sea. I spent very little time at the Sea-watching Hut but did enjoy a nice Pomarine Skua passage when I finally did venture down. I flew out to Germany again on the 29^th effectively ending my autumns birding at Spurn.

Species List:

Spurn Bird Observatory: Greylag Goose, Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Shelduck, Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard, Teal, Pheasant, Grey Partridge, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Gannet, Cormorant, Peregrine, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Water Rail, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Dunlin, Redshank, Greenshank, Common Snipe, Jack Snipe, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Great Skua, Pomarine Skua, Arctic Skua, Guillemot, Razorbill, Feral Pigeon, Stock Dove, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Short-eared Owl, Long-eared Owl, Tawny Owl, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Skylark, Shore Lark, Sand Martin, Swallow, House Martin, Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis Warbler, Goldcrest, Firecrest, Waxwing, Wren, Starling, Rose-coloured Starling, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Redstart, Black Redstart, Wheatear, Red-flanked Bluetail, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Dunnock, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Olive-backed Pipit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Lesser Redpoll, Mealy Redpoll, Coue’s Arctic Redpoll, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting,

Spurn Week 7

Wednesday 04^th October

Despite strong westerly winds, today was a rather enjoyable day birding. This was mainly due to an unexpected arrival of Goldcrests. Although only 450 went down in the log, in excess of 1000 was probably nearer the mark. It is nothing like what a real Goldcrest fall could be like but it was still nice to see. In the afternoon I even got a Spurn tick when the local Tawny Owl was finally found at day roost in the trees in Kew. By no means were they the greatest views I’m ever going to get of this species but it was still nice to see.

Thursday 05^th October

After a week away from it, it was nice to get back to my ringing training today. We caught a few birds, mainly Redpolls and Goldcrests. The steady trickle of birds was more suited to my level and it was useful for me. After lunch Paul and I headed up to the Gas Terminal to try and catch a control Black Redstart that had been lingering on the rocks there. Sadly it evaded capture despite our best efforts. The Wheatears present up there also frustratingly evaded capture, meaning we left with nothing for our efforts.

In the evening it seemed that the birding for the day had been wrapped up when a radio message came through that there was a Slavonian Grebe on Beacon Ponds. Slavonian Grebe was a Spurn tick so I was pretty chuffed when I got there to see the bird still present, despite the distance and fading light.

-Slavonian Grebe

Friday 06^th October

Today I had the huge pleasure of entertaining Geoff Gamble, one of our Beeeater volunteers from the summer and one of the nicest men I have ever met. I took him and his neighbour around the triangle and then up to the Kilnsea Wetlands and Beacon Ponds. We got to see a few nice bits and pieces, capped off with the Slavonian Grebe.

In the evening I set off round the triangle for a walk to Canal Scrape to see if there were any Jack Snipes on there. There were not, but two lingering coots were something of an unexpected surprise. It wasn’t the biggest surprise of the evening, as a Nightjar was found on Beacon Lane. It took a while to relocate after the initial sighting, and even then I only saw it a couple of times in flight. Still it’s a Spurn tick, and one that I have really been looking forward to. A pretty unexpected end to the day.

Saturday 07^th October

After a late night in the crown I was a little sluggish getting up for ringing. Once up though we had a good time catching Lesser Redpolls. We also had a couple of Goldcrest and a single Garden Warbler to add to the mix. Once ringing had dried up I struggled to find any birds, so spent the remainder of the day typing up log sheets and watching Lord of the Rings. A very good day in my opinion.

Sunday 08^th October

As it turns out, my birding for the morning was dictated to me as I was enlisted to lead a guided walk on behalf of the observatory. I decided to lead my small group of 7 participants around the wetlands, Holderness Field and then round the triangle. As it happened, the first major thrush arrival of the autumn occurred on the same day, despite the continued westerly winds. Still not huge numbers, but a good few Redwings and Blackbirds provided a nice backdrop to my walk. Bramblings, Little Stints and Yellow-browed Warblers were also nice, as was refinding the Slavonian Grebe on Kilnsea Wetlands and a very late Avocet on Beacon Ponds. A Caspian Gull flew past us just as the walk started a first year bird that had been tracked up the Humber from the Warren. A small flock of Crossbills flew north over us, and a group of Seven Whoopers flew the other way. My route took longer than anticipated and just before we started round the triangle we heard that an Arctic Warbler had been seen in Churchfield. As a result we headed over that way. Although we didn’t see the warbler we did get to see some Brambling and Redwing in the hand, which was more than enough.

As it happens, a little later the Arctic Warbler made its way to the end of the Heligoland trap and was caught. It was ringed and shown to a crowd of around 100 people, not ideal but decent for the obs. Once I had wrapped up the walk and had lunch I headed out on my own steam but by this point the birds seemed to have dried up, although I did kick three Jack Snipe of Clubleys, which was the standout moment. I spent the evening watching the England game, so did not bother with the OBP which was found at the bottom of Beacon Lane in fading light.

-Caspian Gull

-Brambling

-Arctic Warbler

Monday 09^th October

The relics of yesterday’s birds remained all around. The morning plan was to help Sarah try and catch some of the bearded tits that had been present in the canal for a few days. Despite the set up looking a little bleak we were able to catch two birds, a male and a female. I ringed the female, whilst Sarah ringed the smashing looking male. Really, what a bird! By the time that we had done everything there it was midday.

After lunch I headed round the triangle, but again with little to show for it. A showy Lapland Bunting on the deck was the best of it, but unfortunately it had to be shared with a crowd of around 30 other birders, so I soon moved off. In the afternoon I headed to Churchfield to ring with Paul. We caught a few Redwings, a couple of Brambling and a few Tree Sparrows, all of which were great fun. Then Adam caught the Cettis Warbler that had been found along the canal in the morning, but which had eluded my attempts to connect with. The bird was brought back to Churchfield, and I was given the privilege of processing and ringing it. This is only the second to be rung at Spurn, and was a Spurn tick for me.

-Bearded Tit

-Cettis Warbler

Tuesday 10^th October

My morning was spent ringing, as per usual, with the afternoon then spent typing up logs, also as is usual. We caught a handful of thrushes in the morning, as well as quite a few Lesser Redpolls, which seem to be one of the few species having a good autumn in terms of numbers. 

Species List:

Spurn Bird Obs: Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, Pintail, Pink-footed Goose, Brent Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Mute Swan, Red-throated Diver, Gannet, Cormorant, Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Merlin, Common Buzzard, Moorhen, Coot, Little Grebe, Slavonian Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Turnstone, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Curlew, Greenshank. Common Redshank, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Caspian Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Little Gull, Woodpigeon, Collard Dove, Feral Pigeon, Short-eared Owl, Ring-necked Parakeet, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, White Wagtail, Whinchat, Stonechat, Robin, Redstart, Black Redstart, Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Red-breasted Flycatcher, Wren, Dunnock, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Cettis Warbler, Arctic Warbler, Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Bearded Tit, Starling, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Rook, House Sparrow, Tree Sparrow, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Brambling, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, 

Norfolk Day 5

Since today was the last day Norfolk we had the caravan on the back and that restricted where we could go. Our decision was to go to Titchwell as we had done it before. The weather was really nice and crucially the wind had dropped.

As soon as I arrived on site I got more cracking views of the Bramblings that I only got fleeting views of last time. A really nice start to the day. My only year-tick of the day followed shortly after. I could see a crowd of people looking at something but did not need to ask what as the pinging call alerted me to Bearded Tits being the area. Scanning the reeds eventually produced a nice male, and then a female before they flew across the channel. This pattern was the pattern for the whole time I watched them, as they were not overly shy or difficult to get a good look at.

-Bearded Tit

Not much further up the path I finally got a decent view of a Cettis Warbler this year, including getting to see its explosive song. It sat up for all of five mins before it dived back into the shrubbery. This was just after it had gone bezerk chasing a wren. Anyway, who can fathom the mind of a bird.

-Cettis Warbler

The rest of the walk passed with nothing new, though plenty of nice species. There were abundant White Wagtails on the meadow and out at sea there remained a large flock of Common Scoter. Knot and Bar-tailed Godwit were on the beach too along with the usual Turnstone and Grey Plover. All in all it made for a very pleasant last day.

On the way back to the car before heading home I managed to grab a few shots of the Brambling on the bird table. Sadly they were in a dark area of shade so only a couple of shots came out and sadly none of the rather handsome male that was about. Still, an excellent way to end an excellent week. 

-Brambling

And that was that. We called in at Hunstanton on the way home but nothing much there, and we did drive past the Wolferton Triangle but the pheasant was not showing in our brief passing.

Species List:

Titchwell RSPB: Woodpigeon, Chaffinch, Wren, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Blue Tit, Robin, Magpie, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Blackbird, Brambling, Marsh Harrier, Avocet, Redshank, Little-ringed Plover, Black-headed Gull, Teal, Pied Wagtail, White Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Bearded Tit, Coot, Red-crested Pochard, Brent Goose, Moorhen, Tufted Duck, Kestrel, Curlew, Meadow Pipit, Cettis Warbler, Oystercatcher, Little Egret, Shoveler, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Herring Gull, Grey Plover, Black-tailed Godwit, Linnet, Red-breasted Merganser, Dunlin, Great-crested Grebe, Sanderling, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Gull, Sandwich Tern, Turnstone, Knot, Little Grebe, Canada Goose, Chiff-chaff, Coal Tit,

Attenborough Nature Reserve - Finally reaching BOU 250!!!!!

Having had a calamity on Saturday and with no sign of the Hudwit re-appearing I was left at something of a loss with my birding. The heron on Scilly was tempting but it decided to set off on another island hop again, and as a result I considered not worth the risk.

However, another heron, not a mega but certainly a stunning bird had turned up near Nottingham on Sunday, though I was busy then. When it was re-found today I decided to head off after lectures to try and get a look, since it was not going to cost the earth (Less than a trip to Swilly) and would mean checking out another site and hopefully seeing some smashing species. 

The train was right next to the reserve, so I was on the site within 90 mins of setting. As is usual for a twitch, I powered on to where the heron would be. However, I was distracted as soon as I entered the reserve by a couple of ducks on the water as I marched past. I checked myself and went through the bushes for a closer look. They were indeed what I thought they were, Red Crested Pochard males. As is customary with this species, its difficult to know if the individuals you are looking at are tickable or not. However, there was not an excess of toilet ducks, as you would maybe expect. They never showed their legs for rings, but they were very tame. However, they seem pretty legit so I have them down on my yearlist as my 149th species of the year. I also saw them again on the way back when I was able to get some shots of them preening. It was an ideal start to the afternoon.

-Red Crested Pochards

Through the woods there were ample Blackcaps singing as well as a host of other, commoner species. Walking along the path directly to where the heron was I heard a bizarre call, almost like a squawking response to a predator. I was shocked when I found a male blackcap with its feathers all splayed out, it all became clear when a female appeared from the foliage a few seconds later. Its the first time I have seen blackcaps displaying and it was certainly something to behold. I was directly below them, and could have stayed to get some photos, but did not want to disturb them so took a couple of quick shots and left them to it.

-Blackcap

And just round the corner from them was the bird of the moment. The heron in question? Black Crowned Night. I remember seeing them in zoos and being surprised by how small they were. Now, in the field I was surprised by how big it was compared to how I remembered it.

It was badly obscured by the leaves but it was not inactive and moved its head enough so you could see all its features. Its eye was captivating through the scope, so deep and orange. The small crest behind its head was also a pretty funky feature, especially as it was being constantly buffered by the wind. Despite the cover I did get to see the complete bird, just not all at the same time. It was not close but not distant, sat on an island in the middle of the lakes. I got some good shots of it through the scope, showing all the features and what a superb bird it is.

-Black-Crowned Night Heron

After 15 mins of watching and enjoying the bird it suddenly took off and flew round out of sight. I was a bit gutted it had gone, but more that I had not got any photos of it in flight. Either way, it had gone, possibly due to there being more cloud cover making it think it was closer to evening than it was? I dunno.

I mentioned to a couple of guys there that I needed gropper and they gave me some directions to where they knew of some. It was no problem, as around 400 meters further down the path I heard one reeling away. Possibility of my second lifer and biggest bogey bird. I could see a few guys further down the path looking for it but I could tell they were as frustrated as me by the fact it was remaining very skulky.

Then I noticed a heron flying towards me. I dunno why I did not call it immediately as it was clearly too small to be a Grey or a Bittern but needed to check through the bins first and as a result wasted time checking that I could have been using to take photos. It was, of course, the bird of the hour, the Night Heron. I called the guys down the path, as it was going over their heads, before it flew over the trees. We raced round but it had gone over the next line as well, as the hide we needed had been conveniently locked just when it was most required. I did get one shot away, and its not bad.

-Black-Crowned Night Heron

We then returned to the gropper as it started reeling again. We saw its movement but nothing of it, and my quite clearly exceptional record with this species continues...

With the afternoon drawing on there had been an outburst of flying insects. I am not talking about a few midges or anything, these were swarms of bugs all down the paths. It was a little unpleasant so headed to an area of open space nearer the visitor center. On the way I checked the lakes and picked out a couple of Little Ringed Plover and plenty of Common Terns.

At the visitor center there was little resbite from the flies that had got much worse as I had moved. Despite the heron, I think here was where my favourite part of the afternoon occured. There had been Cetti's Warblers singing all day at the reserve but as per I could not get close. However, just off from the center, one was singing adjacent to the path, and I decided to try and track it down. It did not take long, as I soon picked up the bird skulking through the brambles. It was the clearest view of this species I have ever had.

And then, it decided to stop skulking and start to go up a tree feeding all the way. I could not believe it and was trying desperatly to get shots of this bird that was showing itself so well. Then, out in the open off on a branch, I got to see it sing. Its the first time I have ever been able to see the species clearly and singing. The way it chest bubbles as the song explodes out was probably the best thing I saw all day. I did manage some shots, though not of the song, but clearly of the bird, a real beauty.

-Cetti's Warbler

The bird then dropped again. I had decided, before the bird started showing properly, that the flies had reach an unbearable point and that I would go for the next train, which was not long until. As a result I decided to leave the cetti's and head off to the station.

So thats how the afternoon concluded, as fantastically as it had started, putting my on 151 for the year and 250 life list with the addition of Night Heron. A superb bird, with a fantastic supporting cast and a great day out. Pretty sweet all in all.

Species List:
Attenborough NR: Mallard, Canada Goose, Graylag Goose, Gadwall, Pochard, Red Crested Pochard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Grey Heron, Black-Crowned Night Heron, Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, Chaffinch, Great Tit, Dunnock, Black-Headed Gull, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Common Tern, Coot, Moorhen, Blue Tit, Woodpigeon, Feral Pigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Lapwing, Cormorant, Reed Bunting,

Norfolk Holiday Day 4

And so on the last full day in Norfolk I decided to return to Titchwell since it had given so much more than Cley had yesterday. Once more it took me the best part of the morning to get to the site, but once there the weather was lovely and hopefully there would be plenty of morning reports for me to go for. 

I arrived at the site and checked the list. Both the mornings oddities were at Patsy's Reedbed; Pink Footed Goose and Lesser Whitethroat, the latter would be a lifer for me. I therefore headed straight to there. I wandered up to the view point over the pool and immediately spotted the PFG, which was resting among the graylags on the near side of the pool. I watched it for about 10 mins before deciding it would be time to try and locate the Lesser Whitethroat. 

-Pink-Footed Goose

So having picked up a great tick in the PFG, and got my best ever photos of the species I headed on to where the whitethroat was. It had been reported in the hedge behind the the pool, not showing well but calling frequently. As I had been asking for info about the bird at the center one of the birders wandered by who had seen it. He asked if I knew what one sounded like, and said that it sounded like a yellowhammer but without the 'cheese' when I replied no.

And so I stood next to the hedge listening for a yellowhammer with no cheese. And after about a minuet I heard it. I followed its call for some time before I saw it shadowy figure moving through the hedge. That was the pattern for a good 20 mins, following the skulky bird through the hedge without getting a real good view, but frequently hearing its call. 

After the 20mins it had a quiet spell, before having a very loud spell and then deciding to up-sticks and head away from that hedge and a different one away on the far side of the field. I tried to get a record shot as it flew off, but I struggled and my only effort is shown below, the bird being near the bottom right corner. You can see the dark cap if you blow up the photo enough, but photos are not everything, and my record shot is enough, as it pretty much sums up my view of the bird, skulky and difficult to see.

But see it I did, making it my 4th lifer of the holidays, and that was exciting enough when I had only just started the mornings birding.

-Lesser Whitethroat

Since the whitethroat had left I turned to find that the PFG had left to my disappointment. As a result I decided to head off, and just as I was leaving I turned again and what should drop out of the reeds but a Bittern. I could not believe it, as it landed right on the edge of the reeds on the edge of the pool, allowing me a great view of the bird. 

It stayed at the edge for a little while before merging itself into the back of the reeds. I managed a few photos but struggle to find it through the scope. The bins were enough, though they were not necessarily needed for a great view.

-Bittern

As I waited to see if the bittern would come back out the PFG returned with a small group of Graylag's, and landed on the pool. It took a little while but it returned to the bank soon enough and I was able to pick up a few more photos with the light with me this time. So that's 3 pretty awesome bird species and I had not even been onto the main part of the reserve.

-Pink-Footed Goose

I began my walk up the Western Bank to the Parrinder Hides. On the way up along the edge of the woods where the reeds are I heard a very familiar call that I have been hearing all week. It was the stunning and shocking call of a Cettis Warbler. As I turned to see if I could find the source of the call I spotted a small reddish warbler fly out of the reeds and land lower down. I then got to follow the bird as it skulked through the bottom of the reeds before it flew off into the woodland. So that was my second Cettis Warbler of the Holiday, and only my 4th ever.

The hides were quite quiet by the high standards set last time, though there were still great numbers of wildfowl and waders. There were a few Little-Ringed Plover and Avocets, as well the usual suspects. I decided to head up to the coast and see what was around up that end. 

On the way up to the beach I was able to watch some lovely birds along the edge of Volunteer Marsh and Tidal Marsh. There were good numbers of Grey Plover and Brent Geese, but the highlights was a small group of Avocets over the tidal marsh which did a few Loop-de-Loops over the marsh before coming back down and landing on the island. Because they were in flight you can really appreciate the beauty and elegance of these birds.

-Avocet

Up on the coast I arrived just in time to see a flock of scoters with white wings come and land on the ocean quite near the shore. I had a look through the scope, and possibly because the sea was calm, or perhaps because they were closer I was actually able to fully appreciate the birds and even see the yellow on their bills and the white on the wing.

I still could not really count the number of each species in the flock, but I knew there were a large majority Velvet due to the number of white wings that I had seen when they landed. I grabbed some better record shots, which show that quite a few of the birds do indeed have white wings, but that some don't, a mixture flock.

-Common and Velvet Scoters

I was able to watch them for quite a while, though the started to drift out to sea, and then drift towards the western part of the beach until they ended up some was away. At that point I began to look around, see what else was about. Someone had decided to wander right down to the edge of the water, not a birder, someone on the beach, but in doing so they had sent up all the birds from the shoreline, Sanderlings, Dunlin and Bar-Tailed Godwit. The numbers of them can be difficult to tell if they are on the shoreline feeding, but when they were all in the air you can see the number of Sanderlings, far more than I had thought initially.

-Sanderling, Bar-Tailed Godwit and Dunlin

Also the near the waters edge was a small group of Common Scoter, 2 males and 2 females. The males however drifted off while the waders were up, but the females stuck around very close to the shore. I wanted to get close to the bird, since it was so close to the shore, but I decided against it in case I incurred the wrath of any other sea-watchers, though they would probably be watching the larger but drifting flock of other scoters. So in the end the photos were not what they could have been, but I did manage to get some decent photos of it.

-Female Common Scoter

Since the scoters had drifted away I decided to head down to the South Parrinder Hide to see if anything else had shown up through the day while I had not been there. I went in and began to scout around to see what was about. There was the usual stuff, until I took my eye away from the scope and spotted, on the bank right in front of the hide, the Spotted Redshank.

I'm always dubious in calling birds like this in case I am wrong, but exclaimed it more in surprise since I had been looking all over and here it was right in front of me. I got some great views and took plenty of photos, allowing me to fully appreciate the subtly beauty of the bird, as well as get to grips with all the key features: Spots, dark bill and the slight droop on the end of the bill.

Like I said, I got many photos, and who wouldn't with such an usual bird right in front of me looking so fine in the sunshine. Unlike last time, the sun was with me this time so all the spots on the birds back show up well in the photos, clearly showing the bird in all its glory.

-Spotted Redshank

Between my Spotted Shank watching a small family of Mallards swam across the front of the hide. You could tell the dude birders in that moment, as they became infatuated with the ducklings, while the other birders remained watching the Spotted Shank in front of the hide. I took a few quick photos of the Ducklings simply because its the first family I have seen this year, though of course there was the duckling on fly flatts, sadly though that one was dead. 

-Mallard Ducklings

-Spotted Redshank

After a while I decided to return to see if the scoters had come closer to the shore. They had not, the only birds of note being Sandwich Terns that drifted past the shore. However, on the way up I was able to get great views of a stunning Black-Tailed Godwit in summer plumage, on the small strip of water along the edge of the Volunteer Marsh. 

-Black-Tailed Godwit

After that short trip I called in again at the South Hide to see if the Spot shank was still there, but it had left, probably insulted by the number of 'birders' that seemed more keen on the ducklings that the shank. Time was running out for me so I decided to go and see if the Whitethroat had turned up. On the way there I stopped by to grab a few more photos of the Avocets, who even knows when I will next see one...

-Avocet

On the way I passed the Reedbed Pool, and on there was a pair of Red-Crested Pochard. The male and female were drifted from each other, the male drifted behind the reeds as I approached, but the female was sat quite close to the path. I managed a few photos of the bird, another record shot of this species. 

-Red Crested Pochard Female

I checked where the Whitethroat had been but it was not there, and neither was the PFG. In fact, the only thing that made that bit of the walk interesting was the fact that I stumbled across my first damselfly of the year, a fleeting glimpse of a Large Red Damselfly as it flew across the path. 

All in all, a great day, all four lifers of the holiday in one day, if that there was one addition today. And that will probably be the last birding action of the day. The only thing left to do is to give a full breakdown of all the species seen today...

Species List:

Titchwell Marsh: Pied Wagtail, Lesser Whitethroat, Pink-Footed Goose, Graylag Goose, Tufted Duck, Black-Headed Gull, Willow Warbler, Shelduck, Wren, Gadwall, Oystercatcher, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Woodpigeon, Robin, Cettis Warbler, Shoveler, Pochard, Teal, Avocet, Grey Plover, Redshank, Brent Goose, Herring Gull, Dunlin, Bar-Tailed Godwit, Ruff, Little Ringed Plover, Canada Goose, Lapwing, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Little Egret, Common Scoter, Velvet Scoter, Turnstone, Sandwich Tern, Sanderling, Jackdaw, Common Crow, Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Red-Crested Pochard, Chaffinch, Blackbird, Pheasant, Long-Tailed Tit, Swallow, Red-Legged Partridge, Large Red Damselfly, Speckled Wood, Large White, Peacock, Small Tortoiseshell,