Feb 13th Titchwell

 

Oystercatcher

A very blustery day out at Titchwell this morning with winds reaching speeds of 40mph. At times it felt like I was battling a wind tunnel, especially when walking back from the beach. The blasts of freezing cold air sucks the warmth completely out of you in seconds as my hands become numb in an instant as I tried my best to operate and hold the camera still. Not like there was much to see in the first place. Most of the waders and wildfowl were distant to photograph and looked rather windswept. Only the brave would continue as normal on a day like this. That said, I still managed to see plenty, though it was more quality than quantity.

Avocets

My species list today included: avocets, marsh harriers, redshanks, oystercatchers, turnstones, sanderlings, teal, wigeon, pintail, black and bar-tailed godwits, shelducks, curlews, brent geese, moorhens, dunlin, meadow pipits and a little grebe.

Dunlin

Shelduck

Wigeon

Bar-tailed Godwit

Sanderling

Curlew

Little Grebe

Brent Geese



Redshanks



Brambling

The feeders around the visitor centre were attracting hundreds of small birds, such as goldfinches, greenfinches, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits, long-tailed tits and robins as well as blackbirds, pigeons, pheasants and moorhens. The noise from the surrounding trees was deafening from the mass of birdsong mixed in the howls of the wind. If you could brave the cold biting at your flesh long enough while watching these feeders, then you will eventually be rewarded with the sight of a brambling or two as I did. A beautiful little finch in the colours of a fire's burning embers. These northern cousins of the chaffinch never fail to disappoint and always warms your heart on a chilly day like today.

Greenfinch with male Brambling

Chaffinch

Greenfinch

Robin