Photo above: Brent Geese Branta bernicla (All photos © Joan Hughes)

On a beautiful, dry and sunny day I set off along the Norfolk coast road travelling northwards to RSPB Titchwell Marsh, once described to me as a twitchers’ paradise.  With 20mph speed limits in force, I was happy to be able to take in views of pretty villages and panoramic wetland scenes along the way.

Parking at the reserve was easy and the visitor’s centre provided ample facilities for shopping, refreshments and those all-important accessible toilets.  I was however very anxious to make the most of the outdoors, so quickly found the route to the nearest bird hide.  The small woodland area bordering the path gave me my first sighting of the day.  I and several other enthusiasts watched as a goldcrest skipped from twig to twig above our heads.  The bird remained visible for some time and many photographs were taken.  I had not had such a good view of this bird before and was surprised by the brightness of its colouring when seen in good light. Previous sightings had always been of darting shadows rapidly disappearing behind thick conifer boughs.

Walking on a little further, I was distracted again by two peacock butterflies dancing giddily around a blackthorn bush in bloom.  Finally making it to the first hide I sat down to wait quietly.  My sight was quickly directed towards a nearby snipe, perfectly camouflaged by low growing reeds.  It was my first close up view of this bird and I was mesmerised as I watched it probing the mud time after time with its long, sensitive bill.

Snipe Gallinago Gallinago

As I later retraced my steps, I was curious to see what other nearby birders were observing and was generously loaned the use of a scope.  I was able then to view the vibrant feathers of a tawny owl and had to agree with my companion that the back end of a distant tawny owl was better than no tawny owl at all.

Taking the path to the main hides, I came across a pair of woodpigeons enjoying each other’s company and not at all dismayed by my close, almost eye-level observation.  Then, with several lakes to my right, I caught sight of my first avocet of the day and spent some time trying to take the ‘perfect’ shot – it never materialised.  Ambling slowly on, my next sighting was of a gathering of brent geese preening themselves on the water.  As I watched, another small flock flew in to join them.  Then, suddenly, a second group rose up from the water as one and made a dramatic aerial exit.

Further on, lapwings were wading in the shallows and a number of black-headed gulls in summer plumage also became visible.  As I reached the principal hides, I looked back along the path and caught sight of a pied wagtail.

There were two main views from the hides: one looked out towards the coast (no birds visible); the other showed the far end of the lakes with some small islands and mud flats.  A scope would have been useful here as the majority of the bird population was quite far out.

As I made my way back, I caught sight of a redshank in the shallows as well as noting teal, shovelers, widgeon, shelduck, mallards and (a first for me) several black-tailed godwits.  A reed bunting also flew up to my left.

Black-tailed godwit Limosa limosa

With a good part of the afternoon remaining, I demolished my packed lunch and decided to travel on to RSPB Snettisham.  Here there were no facilities except for a compostable toilet.  Disabled parking was free, but the uneven path to the beach and bird hide was 1.4 km long with several flights of steps to negotiate.  After my morning at Titchwell, I found this trek rather gruelling and reluctantly had to cut my visit short.  I did, however, cover a portion of the route and on the lakes to my right caught sight of black-headed gulls, greylag geese, mallards and redshank.  The bushes at the side of the path revealed a robin and a wren and, on my way back, I sighted on the hill opposite greylag geese and a ring-necked pheasant.  Plodding the final stretch to my car I was unbelievably lucky to have an excellent view of a barn owl flying a few metres above the rough grassland searching for prey (quartering).  As if this wasn’t sufficient reward for my efforts, a short distance further on I caught sight of a male marsh harrier, also scouring the ground for prey.  I was happy to be able to share this last amazing experience with a fellow birder approaching from the opposite direction.  I might otherwise have concluded I was dreaming!

Joan Hughes
April 2026