RSPB Titchwell

The second venue on our RPS Nature Group weekend was Titchwell, one of my favourite reserves for its wide variety of habitats from the Mussel beds that are uncovered at low tide giving feeding opportunities for Black-tailed Godwits, Oyster Catchers and Knot, lagoons with Ruff and Avocets and the ponds and scrubland with a variety of insect life.

Stars of RSPB Blacktoft Sands

The RPS Nature Group outing to Blacktoft Sands RSPB reserve near Goole produced some great close views of commoner waders (including Blacktailed Godwit),ducks etc plus one star species, White-winged Lapwing (last image - an accidental from Iran), at a distance. It was very cold and icy there and 4 of the 6 hides produced no birds at all but was compensated by these great views (all quickly converted from Raw files - will process fully when home and replace)

 

Welney Wildfowl Trust - A Day of Contrasts

We visited Welney yesterday on a highly changeable day weather wise with bright clear sunshine alternating with heavy black clouds, rain and a beautiful sunset to finish the visit. The flood waters have come earlier and are much deeper than normal for this time of year. Here a few landscapes with some of the birds. In the first, the large flocks of Black-tailed godwits plus Lapwings and Oystercatchers plus swans and ducks, fill the remaining spits of land.

Birds Return As the Tide Recedes

We left it a bit too long after the hide tide to take a walk along The Walls at Manningtree so most of the birds were a fair distance away except for this Black-tailed Godwit collecting small animals on the shingle close to us. The camouflage is so good it was hard to see without going in close with the lens. The Turnstones and Jackdaws were much more confiding and Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and Redshank also showed.

Back at Welney Wildfowl Trust

Welney Wildfowl Trust are open for prebooked visits including the hides and summer walk (the cafe remains closed). We enjoyed a visit there on Thursday on a less than ideal cloudy and windy morning but great to see lots of species that we have been missing during lockdown Avocets, House Martins, Little Egret (seen off by Moorhen) and Black-Tailed Godwits. The house Martins and Swallows were busy catching insects etc from the water surface.