I
originally posted this on Sunday 13th but due to the vagaries of blogger it
appears that some of you were not able to ' see it' on your reading list! I
have no idea why so I'll just blame Blogger!
To
all of you who 'saw it' the first time around, and left your kind comments, I'm
sorry for inflicting it onto you once again. Your comments were very much appreciated,
thank you.
I just hope that Blogger gets it right this time...[;o)
Part Two of a day out with Keith where we visited RSPB Framton Marsh in Lincolnshire and RSPB Titchwell in Norfolk.
After an
excellent three hours or so at Frampton, and the obligatory cup of coffee, it
was time to move on to our next destination...the magnificent RSPB
reserve at Titchwell.
Thanks to
excellent chauffeuring by Keith, 53 miles and 1 3/4 hours later we
arrived in the rather busy (it usually is!) Titchwell car park.
A short
walk to the visitor centre shop to check the sightings board to see what was
about and as is normal when you're in a crowded area I kept hearing
snippets of conversations and the two words that kept being mentioned were Barn
Owl! Anyway, on through the shop and back outside to check to see what
birds were coming to the feeding station (not many as it happens!) and there it
was again!... someone mentioned Barn Owl "just there, sitting
on a fence post" No! it couldn't be, it's one o'clock in the
afternoon Barn Owls don't come out at this time of day?... Oh yes they do!...a
quick walk, of the twenty or so yards, in the direction of the pointing fingers
and we were just in time to see a beautiful Barn Owl lift off from the fence
post and give us a short fly by before disappearing behind the trees and out of
sight!...a truly wonderful few minutes, and just to add to the moment, a guy
standing close by then called out Stonechat! and, sure enough, we were all soon
watching a (distant) pair of Stonechats as they kept flitting from the ground
up into some bramble bushes...and in the far distance a Hen Harrier was hunting
over the reed beds.... the day just got a whole lot better!
|
Barn Owl |
We
decided to forgo visiting the hides for the time being and instead to make our
way along the main path that leads to the beach.
|
As always, the path was rather busy. |
There
were lots of other birds and waterfowl around and we were soon able to see,
amongst the usual candidates Shelduck, Avocet, Shoveler, a single
Greenshank and lots of Curlew and Redshank.
|
Curlew |
The next big
surprise was seeing the large flock of Golden Plover (circa 4000 according to
the sightings board!) resting on the islands in front of the main hide and what
a beautiful sight as they intermittently took to the air and sparkled and
glittered in the sunlight just like golden confetti.
|
Just a small
fraction of the Golden Plover in front of the Parrinder Hide
|
On
past the hide and onto the next lagoon where a group of Teal were busy dabling on the shallow water.
|
Teal (male) |
And further along, another big surprise.. a
beautiful pair of Pintail were 'showing' right up close
to the path seemingly unconcerned by the amount of people passing by just a few
feet away!
|
A stunning
male Pintail
|
|
And a Black
Headed Gull saying "I may not be as beautiful as a Pintail but look, I can
jump on water"
|
Out onto the
beach now and for once the wind wasn't blowing a gale, and we weren't getting
sandblasted, as is normally the case here!
|
The
clubhouse for the Royal West Norfolk Golf Club across the water at Brancaster
|
Here we
saw Oystercatcher, Turnstone and Sanderling 'working' the strand line looking
for something nice to eat.
|
Oystercatcher |
|
Turnstone | | | | | |
|
This
'friendly' Black Headed Gull followed us along the beach and was never more
than a couple of yards away. |
On the
way back to the hides we had a fleeting glimpse of a Water Rail as it quickly
disapeared back into the undergrowth and eagle eyed Keith did it again
and spotted a couple of Snipe on the edge of a distant island ( he's got a
knack when it comes to spotting Snipe!!)
|
Even I could
see this one as it posed right in front of the hide window!
|
Keith
also located a flock of Twite as they flew across the water to a far bank.
We were
into the late afternoon now and the sun was beginning to set and it was time to
make our way back to the car for a final cup of coffee and the long journey
home.
It was a
very successful and enjoyable day with 41 different species seen here, making a
grand total of 57 different species for the day with 25 of them being new
year ticks, and one a life tick (the Twite), and also add onto that sightings of Rabbit, Brown Hare and Muntjac Deer and it was truly...A Mega Day Out.