The trip I will be talking about today, is the last of the proper trips I had before going to that most amazing continent, Australia! This trip was bittersweet, because I knew that this was my last chance to tick off as many winter birds as possible, so it was all hands on deck for this one!
RSPB Titchwell Marsh 25/01/25
Situated on the wild and beautiful North Norfolk Coast National Landscape, is the well-run, very famous nature reserve of Titchwell Marsh. This site is what is known as a to-the-point nature reserve, with one main 1km-long path directly through the reserve, leading all the way to Titchwell Beach, and only two other paths, which aren’t that long at all and either lead back to the main path or just have a dead end.
This layout may seem rather dull, but, not only does it give you a great view of the birds in the lagoons (the path is raised on a bank), but also it makes birding more simple and accessible to those not as hardy as some. The habitats consist of saltmarsh, freshwater marsh, reedbed, beach, sea, dunes, and wet woodland.
Here is the list of year birds I saw there, in taxonomic order:
Brent Goose
Egyptian Goose
Common Scoter
Common Pheasant
Water Rail
Pied Avocet
Eurasian Oystercatcher
Common Ringed Plover
Eurasian Curlew
Bar-tailed Godwit
Black-tailed Godwit
Red Knot
Ruff
Sanderling
Dunlin
Little Egret
Western Marsh Harrier
Hen Harrier
Tawny Owl
Common Chiffchaff
House Sparrow
Eurasian Tree Sparrow
European Greenfinch
Common Linnet
On that day, I picked up a surprising 24 year birds! However, there’s more to come. In the days preceding to my Australia Trip, I didn’t go on any birding trips, but that doesn’t I didn’t pick up any Year Birds! When travelling down to Bedfordshire for business I picked up,
Eurasian Jay
Goldcrest
And, on a shopping trip to Rushden Lakes, situated beside a very large wetland reserve, Nene Wetlands, Northamptonshire, I heard a stunning,
Song Thrush.
The best two Year birds I got on the list before Australia, however, were on the way to Norfolk, where I was heading for business. The A47, the A-road connecting Norfolk with the rest of the world, may be uncomfortable and enduring, but it is great for in-car casual birdwatching. While driving along the straight, flat fens of North Cambridgeshire, I notice three very large stork-looking birds fly over the road. They were
Common Crane.
However, it didn’t stop there, as only around twenty minutes afterward, a white ghostly figure shimmered across the road:
Western Barn Owl.
With these two great birds ticked off, and, once more, just prior to my trip down under, I was ready to tackle anything across the world!
Stay tuned for the Road to 240 (4)!