Birdwatching in North Norfolk
This inquisitive Black-headed Gull got closer and closer as I stopped for lunch at the shores of Titchwell, until I managed to take this highly detailed image. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 100.
Birdwatching is a hobby I’ve neglected in recent years. Growing up as a kid I would go out on a semi-regular basis to different nature reserves, peering at birds big and small through a small pair of binoculars. It was really this that gave the earliest inspiration for my photography, I wanted to capture the birds I was seeing in crisp detail like in the books I was reading. My first proper camera however was an inexpensive Fuji bridge camera and it’s safe to say I wasn’t going to be selling any prints of these. Many years later I do have the gear but as life has taken over, and I’ve branched into many other types of photography, I just haven’t found the time I used to have to do it.
My first viewing of a Great White Egret in the UK and one of the first things I saw at RSPB Titchwell. This large heron-sized white bird is unmistakable. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.
Godwits in Flight. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.
The main modern bird hide at RSPB Titchwell gives good views out across the marsh. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.
An Avocet comes into land. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.
Which is what made my summer camping trip to North Norfolk (which I talked about more generally in last week’s blog) the perfect opportunity to get out and do it. In this part of the country sits two RSPB nature reserves, Titchwell & Snettisham, that I had long wanted to go to but had yet to do so. Being up on the coast around The Wash they are famed for their large numbers of waders, Snettisham in particular for its Wader Spectaculars that are one of the countries great natural wonders. The highest spring tides force the waders to crowd into the lagoons behind the shore until it recedes far enough out to reveal their feeding grounds. Then they erupt into the air in swirling flocks of tens of thousands, a simply staggering sight. Unfortunately, I had missed this by a few days but I still got to see large flocks by any other measurement.
My most exciting sight of the week: seeing British Spoonbills for the first time. This species continues its rebound across Britain with help from conservationists. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 200.
Spoonbills in flight. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 160.
This lapwing standing in a receding pool of water surrounded by dried-up mud highlights how extreme the drought was across the UK this summer. However as I got back to the car park the heavens opened and a thunderstorm ensued. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 320.
I spotted this crab crawling along the muddy bottom of one pool. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 320.
My first day of birdwatching was actually at Holkham but I hadn’t taken my big lens and camera with me as my intention was just to enjoy a walk and a day at the beach. This was a shame as I saw a landed pair of Marsh Harriers side by side out of one of the hides. Sometimes though you just have to appreciate what you’ve seen, rather than worry about capturing it in an image.
A Reed Bunting sits stop a golden sea. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 200.
The view that greeted me as I arrived on the beach at Titchwell. High levels of heat haze obscured the view. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 100.
Out to sea I spotted my favourite seabird - the Gannet. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 100.
A lapwing walks across the soft mud leaving easily identifiable prints. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 250.
I spotted this dried out newt crawling around in the undergrowth, another victim of the drought. It was too close to get a good shot in focus with my 300mm lens. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 2000.
My trip to RSPB Titchwell the following day started off on an interesting footing where I was convinced by an enthusiastic, and aptly named, man called Robin to sign up for RSPB membership. I’d really have no excuse now to go out and do a bit more birdwatching. Titchwell itself is a well-equipped site with a decent car park and visitor centre, where you can pick up a hot cup of tea and piece of cake before you make a move, as well as try out a new pair of binoculars. There’s a second shorter path that takes you out on one side of the marshes, but otherwise one long main path leads you all the way through the reserve and down onto the beach through the sand dunes. My highlight of the day, and perhaps the week, was seeing Spoonbills in the UK for the first time. These were largely extinct except for a small number of passing birds, but a colony re-established itself from the continent at Holkam in 2010 and they have thrived and spread since then with Norfolk remaining their stronghold.
At the shores of Snettisham a ring Ringed Plover gets caught in the surf. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
It shakes itself off as another wave draws nearer. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
A Wheatear lands on a very photogenic bush. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
Turnstones are a common sight on the UK’s shores. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
Visiting RSPB Snettisham was a very different experience. Parking up at the designated RSPB car park, there’s no facilities like there is at Titchwell. Instead, you follow a path that takes you through a series of fishing lakes and then past the Snettisham Beach Sailing Club to the shore. From there you follow a long path that takes you in between the sea on one side and the lagoons, that shelter the many waders at high tide, on the other. Whilst the hides are right down the far end there is plenty to see on the way down. I’d never seen such numbers of Ringed Plovers in one place in my life and they were joined in large numbers by Little Terns. Other waders and passerines were present, but perhaps the oddest thing I saw was an albino Oystercatcher.
A gathering of Little Terns on the beach cordoned off from walkers at Snettisham. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
A juvenile Little Tern in flight. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
Something spooked this group of Ringed Plovers and Dunlins that caused them to fly along the shoreline. 1/1000s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
As I approached the hides at the far end of RSPB Snettisham I could see large flocks of waders flying onto the expansive mudflats. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 800.
As the tide was retreating at that time of day I did see large flocks of waders swooping down as I walked along the shore but it was nowhere near the scale of a spectacular. I thought however I might still be in luck as there were many Godwits and other waders sheltering in the lagoon, waiting for the right moment. There were two banks of birds and it looked promising when the one furthest away erupted in one great sudden movement, a few birds taking to the air which triggered the rest. Now I just had to wait for the one in front of me. Sadly, it never came. The birds did fly off but in dribs and drabs that steadily thinned out their numbers until any chance of the same effect was gone. One to come back to for a proper Spectacular.
The strange and unusual albino Oystercatcher. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1600.
A Ringed Plover calling. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1000.
A large flock of Oystercatchers feeding and resting on the mud flats. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1000.
Bar-tailed Godwits are one of the most common birds at RSPB Snettisham. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1000.
I’d love to say that since then with my new RSPB membership I’d spent large parts of the Autumn sitting in bird hides peering through by binoculars. But apart from a couple of trips to RSPB Fowlmere’s car park for photoshoots I’ve not been out. Life once again getting in the way, it’s easy to happen when you don’t make it a priority. Though perhaps with time off over Christmas it’s a good time to make it back around Fowlmere or Rye Meads, another reserve local to me. If I do get anything good, rest assured you will see them here.
This photo shows off the very high density of waders that sit in the lagoon, waiting for low tide. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1000.
Moorhens are well known for their aggression and this one was keen to bully the more passive waders. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1250.
The group of waders furthest from me in the hide suddenly burst into the air in numbers. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1250.
A closer look at the waders as they take off. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1250.
This Common Tern hunkers down as the weather deteriorates. 1/1250s 300mm F2.8 ISO 1000.
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