It has been a few years since I have been to RSPB Snettisham
to witness the spectacle of the high tide wader machinations out on the
flats. Last time we crunched our way
down the beach in the freshly fallen snow with Snow Buntings and Shorelarks at
our feet but this year has seen these species hard to come by and we had to
make do with a glorious sunrise that cast a pink glow across the still exposed
mud and highlighted the undersides of the Pinkfeet and Black-headed Gulls that
were coming in from their night time roost out in the Wash.
I did not think
that a 6.30 meet was too odious and the calm, still conditions and almost
cloudless sky boded well for the first few hours of the day.
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| Greylags at dawn - Barry Jackson |
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| Pink-feet coming in off the Wash |
Waders were already streaming past with Knot, Dunlin,
Bar-tailed Godwits and Oystercatchers in the majority and we soon made it to an
appropriate spot with a rather large crowd of expectant onlookers.
Things started well with thousands of birds massing on the
mud with groups zooming in over our heads to settle down early on the gravel
pits. Turnstones were the first in along with a few Redshank and a couple of
Ruff and Golden Plover but it did not take long for the Knot to start to move.
The light came and went and then returned at the critical moment when the
Peregrine came in for his second attack on the flocks sending them into a cacophonous,
snaking, fluid conglomeration of silver, gold and white.
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| Fishballs - Barry Jackson |
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| Barry Jackson |
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| Barry Jackson |
It was a birding experience not about the individual; it was
about the collective – the flock as a single amorphous being that was simply
BIRD. It was mesmerising and moving and made the hairs stand up on the back of
your neck and we were lucky enough to have a windless, well lit stage on which
the performance could take place.
Avocets, Grey and Ringed Plovers and Curlews were also to be
seen and small parties of gleaming Sanderlings arrived late and headed for the
beaches rather than muddy spaces. Shelduck, Mallard, Teal and Wigeon bobbed
around in the shallows and there were even Pintail and Shoveler out there. Brent Geese grumbled on the saltmarsh to the
south and Pinkfeet continued to arrive overhead.
I managed some short videos of the pulsing mass of birds - simply mesmerising...
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| Oystercatchers heading for the pits |
Inland, behind us there were large flocks of Lapwing and
Golden Plover wheeling around and a Marsh Harrier quartered the fields. Skylarks, Rock Pipits and a few Linnets made
up the passerines and Goldeneye and Little Grebes were the sparse highlights on
the pits.
We walked back in high spirits and Barry found two drake
Scaup out on the flat see where even the green sheen to their domed heads could
be seen and the Oystercatchers were entertaining as they jammed themselves onto
a shingle point.
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| Oiks on the point - Barry Jackson |
We headed straight off to RSPB Titchwell to make use of the
facilities and have a cuppa while watching three Bullfinches feeding on Damson
buds in the car park.
A swift bit of car amalgamation and we made our way east a
little to find the harbour at Brancaster Staithe where a Red-necked Grebe had
been present faithfully for some weeks. Strangely, I had had never been there
before despite spending lots of time in Deepdale and we had this dapper, dusky
necked grebe in sight almost before leaving the car.
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| Denis wonders where his camera has gone... |
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| Denis, the Grebe & Sam |
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| Red-necked Grebe - Barry Jackson |
Over the next thirty
minutes it got seriously papped by everyone as it energetically hunted in the
channel just a few yards off shore. Low
tide helped us see it even better and we all loved watching it leap clear of
the water as a prelude to a fishing sortie.
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| What a wonderful bird... |
Three dour, sad eyed Grey Plover stop-start fed on the mud
bank and there were singles of both godwits species and a solitary female
Merganser fishing further up channel. Turnstones came to see if we had any
scraps and a Rock Pipit called from the hull of a yellow dingy.
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| Rockit - Denis Tuck |
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| Bar-tailed Godwit - Barry Jackson |
With the grebe safely in the bag we headed straight back to
RSPB Titchwell for ‘lunch with finches’.
A short walk down to the feeders gave everyone superb views of at least
two Bramblings and a dozen Siskins as they came to visit the station. The male
Brambling was especially smart with much of the summer blackness wearing
through and a single Marsh Tit added a touch of something different.
The water Rail showed incredibly well in the adjacent ditch
and was happily unearthing worms and inverts with scarcely a glance up at the
throng looking back.
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| Water Rail - post worm chomping |
I decided against
heading out onto the reserve proper and so lunch was spent with even more
finches, with the Bullfinches from earlier being replaced in the same Damsons
with three pinky Lesser Redpolls. Some
rather rotund but very pretty Woodpigeons feed in the same trees and ogled us
with their slightly odd shaped pupils! There are a seriously under rated bird.
The lure of Rough-legged Buzzards dragged us away and across
the road to Choseley where we played a game of ‘how many cars can we jam into a
field entrance and soft verge?. The answer was nine but the car 'twister' was worth
the effort as not only did we see a Rough-leg and at least ten Common Buzzards
but I suspect that most of the crew were more impressed with the luminous
Yellowhammer and beautifully marked Grey Partridges that were dotted across the
fields along with some of their French cousins while the boxing Brown Hares
were similarly popular.
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| Lovely Grey Partridges |
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| Proper boxing Brown Hares - Denis Tuck |
We could probably have spent a little longer here but with
time pushing on I opted to head south towards Docking, Flitcham and then Roydon
Common to give us a chance of connecting with the mobile but long staying
Pallid Harrier. The nine cars precluded a stop at Abbey Farm but we did pass a
large flock of Egyptian Geese on route to the common.
Following Alan Davies directions, we headed off through the
trees before wending our way up onto the heath so that we could look down onto
the bog below. This was another new Norfolk site for me and obviously
undergoing some pretty full on conservation work with huge piles of spoil and
new looking open water boggy areas.
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| A cracking Mistle Thrush just as we left the cars - Barry Jackson |
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| Golden sunlit Roydon Common |
We all settled in for a wait while
Stonechats fed around us and Meadow Pipits started to arrive for the evening.
The Pallid had been coming in at about 4pm so we knew that we had a wait on our
hands but the time was well spent relaxing and soaking up the peace and
tranquillity of the vista in the low evening light. The crowd slowly grew and
by just gone four there were over 70 people present which surprised me but
there was still no sign of even the Hen Harriers and we only had some Buzzards
and a Marsh Harrier to watch.
Then suddenly two ringtail Hen Harriers appeared from quite
high up and drifted down to the heather. I was expecting a good fly round and
perhaps some pipit hunting before bed but both birds glided straight to their
regular spot and ditched in the vegetation out of view.
The wait went on and the temperature dropped and then
technically the sun had gone down and the light began to fade but still no one
left. Another Hen came in and then two more and it was as we were watching this
duo that Barry picked up the juvenile male Pallid trying to sneak past us under
our noses. I called it but only a few people saw it and I feared that it had
gone straight down to roost somewhere. Two minutes later I refound it and
managed to get everyone on the right spot as it delicately quartered the bog on
long narrow wings. The underparts were a
rich orange buff and the contrasts on the head with pale boa, dark
collar, face and cap made it a striking beast. It perched up on a distant post
and looked tiny compared to the two ringtail Hens that were still out hunting
and after one last sortie out to try for a last minute Mipit it too dived in to the
heather and did not return. Mr Jackson certainly earned his 'Spotters Badge' today...
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| Pat 'resting his feet' and the now 'Not So Quiet' Dave resting everything... |
The crowd murmured its approval at this last gasp
performance and started to disperse back to the cars in the gloom. The air was
chill and still as we ambled back but there were smiles all round as we packed
up to head for home but not before the obligatory Woodcock had found its way
onto the list!
As Sam’s wife would say... ‘We ripped the arse out of
another day....!’
Brilliant Howard. Love the photo bombing pigeon.
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