Titchwell RSPB Reserve, Norfolk

Titchwell RSPB reserve is similar to nearby Cley reserve. Freshwater lagoons give way to brackish and salt lagoons closer to the sea but unlike Cley it also has a woodland area.

A male blackbird in the woodland area

The rarer birds were represented by three little gull on the brackish lagoon and single eider duck and common scoter a short distance offshore. The eider was a (very) belated addition to my world list.

A Cetti's warbler was singing from the reed bed but refused to show and the sun brought out a wall brown butterfly behind one of the hides.

Avocet also breed at Titchwell in reasonable numbers and generally the species present on the marshes were similar to those at Cley apart from a red knot and a pair of red-crested pochard.

Nesting avocets

A red knot with a mallard on the brackish lagoon

The shore at Titchwell is rockier than the beach at Cley and held a few more waders feeding on the abundant shellfish and molluscs. A couple of bar-tailed godwit, several turnstone, oystercatcher and sanderling were present.

Bar-tailed godwit

Oystercatcher

Here's the full list of birds seen and heard.

1. Greylag Goose
2. Canada Goose
3. Mute Swan
4. Common Shelduck
5. Gadwall
6. Mallard
7. Northern Shoveler
8. Red-crested Pochard
9. Common Pochard
10. Tufted Duck
11. Common Eider
12. Common Scoter
13. Common Pheasant
14. Little Grebe
15. Great Crested Grebe
16. Great Cormorant
17. Grey Heron
18. Little Egret
19. Eurasian Marsh-Harrier
20. Common Moorhen
21. Eurasian Coot
22. Northern Lapwing
23. Grey Plover
24. European Golden-Plover
25. Common Ringed Plover
26. Eurasian Oystercatcher
27. Pied Avocet
28. Common Redshank
29. Bar-tailed Godwit
30. Ruddy Turnstone
31. Red Knot
32. Sanderling
33. Black-headed Gull
34. Little Gull
35. Herring Gull
36. Lesser Black-backed Gull
37. Little Tern
38. Sandwich Tern
39. Common Wood-Pigeon
40. Common Swift 
41. Common Kestrel
42. Common Magpie
43. Eurasian Jackdaw
44. Barn Swallow
45. Cetti's Warbler (Heard)
46. Common Chiffchaff (Heard)
47. Sedge Warbler
48. European Robin
49. Eurasian Blackbird
50. Song Thrush
51. European Starling
52. Pied Wagtail
53. Meadow Pipit
54. Reed Bunting
55. Common Chaffinch
56. European Goldfinch
57. House Sparrow