Titchwell - 18/2/2020

The plan was to travel Welney to see the Swans Awake event, arriving at the Ouse Washes at dawn to witness the swans leaving their roost sites. However with storms Cliara and Dennis blustering their way through, the reserve was flooded and accesss to the swan's habitat was unreachable, so in the end the event was called off. This was a bit of a downer, but led to an interesting day in Norfolk, instead.
Having booked a hotel near to Welney in Ely, and not being able to get rid of it, I spent the day before in North West Norfolk, and then seeing the city of Ely the next day. I targeted two sites in the area, Titchwell and Holme, both good reserves, to somewhat compensate for missing out at Welney.
On the way up I saw several RED KITES, a bird I look forward to seeing in my local area sometime as they finally spread into East Anglia. However in Suffolk its still a scarce bird.

Male and two female TEAL

 



Titchwell
What was unexpected from my visit today was how little there was to report from Titchwell. This must have been the quietest I have ever seen the reserve, the birds mainly small numbers of DUCKS and shoreline WADERS. Water levels were high, as you would expect, with TEAL in the largest number with several hundred present, mainly on Freshwater Marsh. SHOVELLER were present on Freshwater Marsh, and GADWALL and POCHARD were in the deeper reedbed pools, although numbers weren't high, numbering 40-50 for each species. There were small numbers of BRENT GEESE around on various pools and a pair of PINTAIL on Volunteer Marsh (the tidal area). Its anecdotal I know, but it seems to be that the really mild weather is having a serious impact on wintering ducks this year. I have noticed lower numbers than usual at a lot of places, and maybe the warm weather is allowing ducks to stay longer on the continent instead of being forced into the warmer climes over here. Who knows, but by the time we have all the information it may already be too late to do anything about it. These are scary times.

BRENT GEESE

 



It was good to be able to compare BAR & BLACK TAILED GODWITS together as indivduals of this species were nearly side by side. Although they might appear to look the same, once you get your eye in you can see the subtle differences in plumage and shape of the bird and really appreciate their understated beauty. There were plenty of KNOT, GREY PLOVER CURLEW, TURNSTONE etc. on the beach and tidal areas of the reserve, often flying around in small flocks.
On the freshwater Marsh AVOCETS have started to return, with around thirty birds present today. As the days get longer and warmer the birds will get pumped up for the breeding season in a bid to raise as many avocet chicks as possible. Titchwell has a large colony, with them mainly nesting on the islands in Freshwater Marsh.

AVOCETS

 



Usually the sea is the best place to see birds at Titchwell in the depths of winter, its a good bet for a diver or sea duck, but today it was unusually quiet. The sea was quite choppy which had some impact with birds harder to see on the undulating water, but doesn't really account for so few birds.

REDSHANK

 



I heard BEARDED TITS in the reedbeds, but there was just one CETTI'S WARBLER singing, which is unusual. A WATER RAIL was proving particularly showy on Volunteer's Marsh, out in the open by the bank, always good to see such a tricky species, a wary bird away from cover.

 

 

 

This WATER RAIL proved to be very obliging out in the open.

 

 

You can never predict what's going to happen when you go bird watching, but Titchwell is usually a safe bet when looking for birds. Its one of the most famous reserves in the country, but today just didn't deliver. Is climate change to blame yet, or is this just a blip, just an unusually warm winter, something not to worry about, who knows.
Things would get better as I head west to another big bird reserve, Holme Dunes (see next blog).