Gregarious, graceful and grumpy!..The Avocet. by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: With their distinctive black and white pattern, sweeping up-turned bills, and long blue legs, these unusual-looking, but beautiful birds, are fascinating to watch. They provide a spectacular show …
Mallard Family @ Titchwell RSPB Norfolk by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: RSPB Titchwell Marsh..Located on the north coast of Norfolk, between the villages of Titchwell and Thornham, Titchwell Marsh is blessed with diverse habitats that include reedbeds, saltmarsh and freshwater lagoons where avocets, bearded tits and marsh harriers nest. There’s also a wide sandy beach here, which offers extensive views across The Wash
Sanderling Scientific name: Calidris alba by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: Typically associated with sandy beaches, but also mudflats and coastal pools. Usually seen in its rather smart grey, black and white winter plumage, often showing distinctive black ‘shoulder’ markings. On beaches, has characteristic feeding habit of running back and forth with the surf…The Sanderling scampers about the waves looking for marine crustaceans, fish and even jellyfish to eat. It visits the UK in winter from its Arctic breeding grounds, but can also be seen as it passes through on migration during spring and autumn
Sanderling Coastal @ Titchwell RSPB Norfolk by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: The sanderling is the sandpiper most often encountered near where the waves crash. To make a safe identification of an adult sanderling outside of spring, note what the sanderling does not have: streaks, spots, or brown markings. Adults are smooth and silvery above and clear white below. Often, a blackish shoulder patch is visible
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.
Black-headed gull by Adam Swaine Via Flickr: Not really a black-headed bird, more chocolate-brown - in fact, for much of the year, it has a white head. It is most definitely not a ‘seagull’ and is found commonly almost anywhere inland. Black-headed gulls are sociable, quarrelsome, noisy birds, usually seen in small groups or flocks, often gathering into larger parties where there is plenty of food, or when they are roosting