.......and now on to Titchwell

8th April 2015

Having had a great morning with the Fulmars at Hunstanton Cliffs despite the poor light, we are now off to see what Titchwell has to offer. The water level on the fresh-marsh is still surprisingly high for this time of year bearing in mind that the first Avocet egg is usually around the 15th April, just a week away. However, I was reliably informed that the water levels were "absolutely perfect".

However because of the high water levels there were no waders on this section, just a sprinkling of duck including Teal, Shoveler, Shelduck and Pintail. What I like about Pintail is that you can still identify them even when they are up-ending.

The new arrival at Titchwell is the Red-crested Pochard. Just a couple of years ago they were seldom seen, but now not only are they resident, but numbers are building up and it is possible to see them on every visit.

And of course there were the Brent Geese which are present for most of the year but depart for just a couple of months in the summer. Numbers are already beginning to reduce and the remaining birds are presumably non-breeders.

Now on to the tidal second lagoon which because of the high water levels on the fresh-marsh is where most of the action is. One of the best bird photography sites is the channel which runs adjacent to and parallel to the path as, for some reason, the birds that feed here are very tame and have no fear of humans. Today's candidates were Black-headed Gull, Redshank, winter-plumaged Black-tailed Godwit and Avocet.

But a quick visit to the Parrinder Hide also produced summer-plumaged Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew in what can only be described as beautiful light.

But the most memorable bird today was this female Marsh Harrier which wafted across the path providing an ideal opportunity for a flight shot. Another fantastic day at this mecca of bird photography.