Titchwell RSPB Reserve
08th January 2009
The last few weeks have been very cold, and the last week being particularly unseasonal. It’s understandable then, if you’ve not bothered to venture to the north Norfolk coast during that time. However, for some creatures it’s home for the winter months although perhaps some of them wish they’d stayed in Scandinavia.
I’m thinking of the flock of snow buntings flitting up and down the sandy beach and into the RSPB reserve at Titchwell. A trip there at different times of the year is always good as you never know what might turn up. It was good to see three of the egrets and a curlew, albeit too far off to get a picture. One guy told me he’d seen some snow buntings flying over the beach and asked if I’d seen them too. No, unfortunately. Pity, as these are winter migrants to Britain and nest well inside the Arctic Circle. I resigned myself to the fact that if I did see a small group of indeterminate small birds a long way off then it might be them.
However, I eventually made my way to the beach, counted the wind turbines in the far distance and studied the brave windsurfers further down the coast (good conditions for them despite the temperature).
Then the snow buntings arrived, searching along the sand and in the grassy dunes. I just waited and got some pictures of them as they came near. A sanderling also came trotting along, another bird I’d not seen before. That even beat the rather unusual sight (for me at least) of an oystercatcher probing the grass verge right at the side of the A149 on the way to the reserve, seemingly oblivious of the traffic.
Then there was the curlew. I have to admit I didn’t see this episode, but the curlew was chased by a sparrowhawk and ended up crash landing by the visitor centre. That’s perhaps the best place to crash land in the circumstances. A member of staff identified that there was some wing damage, (which the bird may have already hence the pursuit) and took the bird away to safety and to live another day.
Titchwell is a place to keep an eye on, not just for the bird species, but also because it’s where a bold scheme will be taking place in the near future. That scheme is to allow some of the land to be reclaimed by the tide to create salt marshes (which will benefit some birds) and to reduce the severity of flooding as sea levels and climate changes. The marsh area will act as a natural buffer to the sea, so it’s worth sacrificing a few hectares here to save the wider area.
The annoying part was that it was sunny almost all the way there, with cloud just extending a few miles inland from the coast.
But it was worth the trip.
