Birding in Norfolk with The Biggest Twitch - Day 3
With news of a White-rumped Sandpiper at RSPB Snettisham, there really only was one place we would be going at dawn on Day 3, and sure enough, there it was! Wow, this weekend was really coming up trumps for great birds. Snettisham at high tide is about quantity as well as quality and there were tens of thousands of waders all around us. Another fantastic start to a birding day!
Clouds of birds in the sky
Some birds were closer than others!
After a well-earned fry up breakfast, we returned to RSPB Titchwell, by now in bright sunshine.
A seawatching session gave us Arctic Skua, Gannet, terns, Guillemot, Eider, Scaup at sea and Yellow-legged Gull on the beach, amongst many other species
A Black-headed Gull came up to our feet looking hopefully for food, far more polite than the aggressive Herring Gulls we're used to at home!
We watched this young Great Crested Grebe being fed an enormous fish, and then still begging for more
A juvenile Yellow Wagtail came close to the Parrinder Hide
Bathtime for Yellow Wagtail and Meadow Pipit
We called in at RSPB Lakenheath on our way home, and enjoyed another good birding spectacle with Hobby, Red Kite, 2 Bitterns and more Bearded Tits.
Scanning the reeds for Bitterns
The butterflies were pretty stunning too, with fresh Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals about.
Beautiful Red Admiral
All in all, it was a fantastic birding weekend, with well over 130 species on the list. Too many to list here but just some of the highlights were:
* Spoonbill
* Egyptian Goose
* Montagu's Harrier
* Red Kite
* Hobby
* White-rumped Sandpiper
* Avocet
* Bittern
* Stone Curlew (22 birds!)
* Little Ringed Plover
* Ruff
* Spotted Redshank
* Green Sandpiper
* Curlew Sandpiper
* Little Stint
* Arctic Skua
* Yellow-legged Gull
* Mediterranean Gull
* White-winged Black Tern
* Little Tern
* Turtle Dove
* Nightjar
* Yellow Wagtail
* Cetti's Warbler
* Dartford Warbler
* Bearded Tit
* Corn Bunting
Many thanks to Sonia, Roger and Mike for making this such an enjoyable weekend, and we hope you enjoyed the fabulous birding as much as we did.
If we've tempted you with the tales of our birding weekends in Norfolk and you'd like to experience the best of Norfolk birding with The Biggest Twitch for yourself, why not join us for one of our autumn trips? Please email us on
info@thebiggesttwitch.com for more information and to book your place. We look forward to sharing great birds with you!