The Second Half

For the second part of my nature spotting today (the19th) my brother David, Shozzer and I headed over to Norfolk for our annual Nightjar spotting session. We allowed a bit of time before hand to give us a chance to take a look at Titchwell.

Great White Egret and Spoonbill.

Titchwell didn't let us down and we enjoyed a decent couple of hours birding. First bird of note was a Great White Egret though it wasn't the only tall and leggy white bird on site as there were ten Spoonbills as well. The Spoonbills stayed true to their nature as most were enjoying a sleep apart from the odd preening bird or the occasional departee. We heard the pinging of several Bearded Tits but didn't manage to catch a glimpse of one.

Knots and Black-tailed Godwits.

Given the large number of waders on the reserve it was evident the tide was in as a mass of Knots joined a decent sized flock of Bar-tailed Godwits. Plenty of Black-tailed Godwits too and Dunlins while the usual mass of Avocets were also noted. Apart from these and the usual waders we found an adult Yellow-legged Gull and at least four and probably five Mediterranean Gulls.

Titchwell selection.

With the sun beginning to dip towards the horizon we set off to look for those Nightjars where we all had a spell of midge swatting as we waited. Birds began to churr at about quarter to ten and we began to see them soon after. While it wasn't their best showing it was still an enjoyable session (midges not withstanding!). As dusk gradually gave way to night we bid the Nightjars au revoir and headed back towards home.

Let the churring begin!