#english birds

Whitethroat beside the Norfolk Coast Path by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
The common whitethroat is a common and widespread typical warbler which breeds throughout Europe and across much of temperate western Asia. This small passerine bird is strongly migratory, and winters in tropical Africa

Feeding Avocets @ Titchwell Norfolk by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Norfolk, United Kingdom More information: Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills (giving their scientific name Recurvirostra) which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. The plumage is pied, sometimes also with some red. Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures. They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In estuarine settings they may feed on exposed bay muds or mudflats. The Pied Avocet is the emblem of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

River Burn Norfolk Coast by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
The chalk-fed River Burn..flows through a low-lying catchment for 12.1 km before discharging into the salt marshes of Holkham National Nature Reserve (NNR). Its source is close to the village of South Creake, and from here it travels through North Creake and Burnham Thorpe, before widening a little and reaching two watermills – Union Mill and Lower Mill – at Burnham Overy. From here, the Burn widens further and enters Overy saltmarshes, where it eventually flows out to sea.

RSPB Titchwell North Norfolk Coast AONB by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Godwits & Greylag Geese at the nature reserve ..The godwits are a group of large, long-billed, long-legged and strongly migratory waders of the bird genus Limosa. Their long bills allow them to probe deeply in the sand for aquatic worms and molluscs. In their winter range, they flock together where food is plentiful.. the greylag is the largest and bulkiest of the wild geese native to the UK and Europe. In many parts of the UK it has been re-established by releasing birds in suitable areas

Sanderling @ Titchwell RSPB Norfolk Coast.. by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Migration is not random. There is a pattern to the arrival of different species. First to arrive in Norfolk, in March, come the chiffchaffs, sand martins and wheatears. In April the floodgates open! Blackcaps and willow warblers arriving in huge numbers at the start of the month; followed in mid-April by swallows, house martins, whitethroats, garden warblers and cuckoos. The end of April sees reed and sedge warblers adding their voices to the dawn chorus. This is a good time Common tern carrying fish, by Trevor Round to spot them when, at areas such as NWT Cley Marshes amongst the still winter-brown reedbeds, newly arrived male warblers sing persistently and prominently throughout the day in their urgency to find mates. Our Norfolk coast is one of the best places to observe migration. By late April a full set of terns – common, Sandwich and little – will add their raucous calls to those of resident black-headed and herring gulls. On coastal wetlands, such as at NWT Holme Dunes, April is a brilliant time to observe passage wading birds. Birds such as godwits, knot, curlew, sandpiper and little stint have moulted from their much duller winter greys to take on brighter chestnut browns

Sanderling on Titchwell Beach Norfolk by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Titchwell is generally known for the RSPB nature reserve which comprises the large swathe of saltwater marshland and freshwater lagoon. This important habitat is a twitchers paradise with its reedbeds and marshes home to avocets, bearded tits and marsh harriers. But Titchwell is also home to an oft overlooked sandy beach. Backed by low sand dunes and the reserve beyond Titchwell is home a wonderful expanse of pristine beach. At low tide, what is already a quiet spot can feel pretty much deserted as the sand extends for what seems like miles in every direction..

Northern shoveler Norfolk by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
The northern shoveler, known simply in Britain as the shoveler, is a common and widespread duck. It breeds in northern areas of Europe and across the Palearctic and across most of North America, wintering in southern Europe Living up to its name, the shoveler has a large and distinctive shovel-like bill which it uses to feed at the surface of the water. It breeds in small numbers in the UK, but is widespread in winter.

Avocets @ Titchwell RSPB Norfolk Coast by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Avocets have long legs and long, thin, upcurved bills (giving their scientific name Recurvirostra) which they sweep from side to side when feeding in the brackish or saline wetlands they prefer. The plumage is pied, sometimes also with some red. Members of this genus have webbed feet and readily swim. Their diet consists of aquatic insects and other small creatures. They nest on the ground in loose colonies. In estuarine settings they may feed on exposed bay muds or mudflats.

Streptopelia decaocto…Collared Dove by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
The Collared Dove is smaller than a Woodpigeon and more delicate in shape and structure. Collared Doves are a creamy grey-buff in colour. When seen at close range, a black half collar on the back of the neck is clearly visible (in adults) he spread of Collared Doves across the United Kingdom has been very rapid. From the first breeding report (in Norfolk in 1955) the species was subsequently reported breeding in Kent and Lincolnshire in 1957, with birds seen as far north as Scotland at this stage. Two years later, Ireland was colonised and by 1970, there may have been as many as 25,000 pairs in Britain and Ireland. The BTO Common Birds Census revealed a five-fold increase in their population between 1972 and 1996

Sedge Warbler West Norfolk (riverbank) by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
My focus on the sedge warbler is for two reasons. One is simply as it’s a new arrival from sub-Saharan Africa, a reminder of the miracle of migration. The second links, I think, with keen birdwatchers’ constant search for the new or different. Yes, they’re back – like seeing an old friend after many months of absence. I haven’t heard a sedge warbler for ages..Walking along the Nar Riverbank so tranquil and beautiful to hear and see in spring

Local Doves @ Hunstanton.. by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Beautiful park on the coast @ Hunstanton..

Meadow Pipit by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Meadow pipits can be difficult to spot as their plumage often blends into surrounding vegetation. They have olive-brown upperparts, with broad black streaks on the head, mantle and back. The upperwing is darker with pale edges. Meadow pipits’ tails are dark brown with a green fringe, they have paler underparts, and the underwing is whitish. They have slender bills which are dark brown with a pale base. Eyes are dark brown, and their legs and feet are yellow-brown with a long hind claw. Male and female meadow pipits look similar while juveniles are browner with paler underparts. Their streaks are also not as dark

“Bird on a Wire”…Norfolk by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Meadow pipit..The meadow pipit is a common nesting bird of moorland, heathland and rough grassland. In the autumn and winter, it moves out of upland areas to lowlands where it gathers in small flocks and can be found on farmland and saltmarshes. In the spring, it performs a fluttering, ‘parachute’ display flight. There are 2 million breeding territories in the UK

Resting on the Cliffs @ Hunstanton by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Hunstanton Fulmars..on the beautiful coastal cliffs

Cattle & Swallows @ Thornham NT Reserve. by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
With more than 6,000 acres of nature reserve across Norfolk, our grazing sheep, cattle, and ponies are essential to conservation

Norfolk Mallard.. by Adam Swaine
Via Flickr:
Avery old looking Mallard in the coastal park @ Hunstanton