An Afternoon at Titchwell Marsh

21st October 2018

A lovely sunny day and the freshmarsh looked superb with acres of mud and shallow pools. Unfortunately, the vast majority of the waders were concentrated in the centre of the scrape, a long way from the path and hides. In fact at the Island Hide the only birds in front of the hide were some dabbling Teal which put on a good display. It was noticeable that there was only one male present, so likely that the others were still in eclipse plumage.

The footpath to the beach was also very quiet with only single Little Egret and Redshank, although both posed beautifully in the afternoon sun.

At the Parinder Hide there was what appeared to be a pair of Greylag Geese, although closer inspection revaled that one was the long-staying Pink-footed Goose with a damaged wing. A juvenile Shelduck was dabbling right in front of the hide, whilst the newly arrived Wigeon were grazing.

On the beach the tide was on the way in and had already covered the mud so very quiet on the wader front. In fact there were no waders on the beach at all for 300 yards in both directions apart from a handful of Sanderlings and just two Turnstones. Luckily Turnstones are very approachable allowing several shots to be taken.

Sanderlings are also very trusting and if you just stand and wait will run right past you down to just eight yards. Why can't all birds be like that?

But the star of the show today was the Spotted Redshank which swam very briefly across the pool on Volunteer Marsh and hauled itself out on to the bank for a better view. How well-timed was that?

Well, even on a quiet day by Titchwell standards there were still plenty of photo opportunities and I am sure I will be back before the end of the year.