Snettisham - 22/10/2018

For a couple of days this week I went for a quick holiday over in North-West Norfolk, specifically to birdwatch the Wash, the UK's largest and busiest estuary. The principle area I was focussing on was two reserves in Lincolnshire (see the next posts), an area I hadn't been to before, which I was to visit on the 23rd.
Having travelled up in the morning I still had half a day left for birding, and with Snettisham being only ten minutes away from where I was staying, and with favourable high tide times, it was worth a visit.

The main reason for going to Snettisham was to see the big WADER flocks, as the Wash, the estuary here, had the largest number of birds of any kind in the UK. The birds were principally waders and ducks, which fed on the estuary's fertile mud. These birds inhabit huge flocks, some thousands strong, which rise and swirl through the air as the tide comes in.

It was a short walk from the car park to the shore, and fairly uneventful. On reaching the sea wall the tide was way out leaving a vast expanse of mud. On the mud were large numbers of WADERS all strung out and in single figures, no large flocks yet. Also present was a large flock of PINTAIL resting on the mud waiting for the tide to  come in.
From the sea wall I got views of the fields behind, and in one of them there was a flock of seven WHOOPER SWANS, no doubt new in to the country and a nice find away from their main wintering areas.
Snettisham has a series of gravel pits, just behind the sea wall, excavated for something long forgotten. Most of the pits were quiet except for the furthest one, which were full of DUCKS. By focussing on the pits they held my attention long enough to while away the time before the tide came in bringing the WADERS with it. The main species on the furthest pit was WIGEON in large numbers, with small numbers of TEAL,GADWALL and PINTAIL.

There were huge numbers of GEESE on the pits, thousands of GREYLAG and CANADA. However, of the genuinely wild PINK FOOTED GEESE there was only a small skein of around forty seen, with several singles dotted about.
One time a motorised hang glider came over the mud flats putting huge numbers of birds in to the air giving an indication of what was to come.

The tides today were only medium tides, so large area of  mud was still exposed at high tide with the birds being seen distantly on the water's edge. However the huge numbers of birds present meant I could appreciate the experience even from where I was standing. And an experience it was, great swirling flocks of birds, giant murmarations, thousands of birds moving together as one. This is why I go bird watching, this is pure spectacle.

So it was a great trip over to Snettisham, a reserve I don't go to regularly, but one that repays any visit I have had. For anyone with any interest in the wild side of this country you have to come here on a high tide to experience one of the country's greatest wildlife  spectacles. It is amazing things like this can still survive in a country as industrialised and anti-nature as England, thriving despite our best intentions to destroy.