Great Knot MEGA twitch to Titchwell

Great Knot

A not so Great Knot hiding

The flock take flight

Twitchers delight

Hard to estimate the number of birders who have connected

Flock close up

Black-tailed Godwits

Avocet

Stone Curlew

        

As Wednesdays go, last week was very much as normal until I pressed my RBA app to see the alert reading GREAT KNOT TITCHWELL ! I was only reading the monthy copy of Bird Watching magazine the previous night where they had predicted this bird.

I wouldn't like to estimate how many texts and phone calls were made around the country all saying the same. Have you seen news ? are we going ? if so when ? I'm certainly not a fan of first day twitches so I held fire until Friday as I also wanted to avoid the Saturday twitchers. 

Our tactics were to wait for early morning news and then GO GO GO. Postive news emerged at 6.15am so I was quickly out and on the way to pick up the Warwick Mayor Roland and we made great progress to Norfolk as traffic was very kind. 

As soon as we landed, at a very full Titchell car park, we were marching towards the beach to see a captive auidance focused on a flock of around 200 Knot. There in front of us feeding was Britains fifth Great Knot. A trully mega bird in terms of its rarity but perhaps not in it's beauty.

This north-east Siberian breeder appeared slightly bigger than regular Knots on show, but it was quite distinctive in it's summer plumage. The plummage was in fact similar to a Turstone.  There were many very happy birders and listers coming to and from the reserve unfortnuatley a few did miss out in the afternoon as the flock flew east towards Scolt Head Island.

The reserve was fairly quiet in the morning but we needed stop in to see the regular species of Red-crest Pochard, Black-tailed Godwits, Teal, Avocet and Marsh Harrier. We did get some nice views of a Bar-tailed Godwit in the sea when on the beach. As is now customary we bought a Norfolk pasty that we munched outside the very busy cafe.

On the return jouney we called in at Weeting Heath to see the Stone Curlews with young and a Woodlark wrapped up a cracking day out. 

“Something about?”