Royston Wildlife Blog: UK Wildlife Sightings, April 2026

After a hiatus of three weeks, during which my bird watching was restricted to the local area, I visited the Norfolk coast on the 4th. I started at RSPB Titchwell Marsh, adding two summer visitors (a single Swallow and around 300 [!] Sandwich Terns) to my year list. Mediterranean Gulls were, surprisingly, the dominant gull species - it was interesting to see them mixing with the Sandwich Terns at the edge of the freshmarsh. A couple of Spoonbills made regular visits to the marshland between Titchwell Marsh and Thornham Harbour - I guess that they may be nesting further to the west at the Ken Hill rewilding estate? Two Red-breasted Mergansers were on the tidal marsh before flying off, whilst the long-staying female Scaup was still present there.

Sandwich Terns and Mediterranean Gulls, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 4 April

Spoonbill in marshland between RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Thornham Harbour, 4 April

I moved a little west to Thornham Harbour - always a good spot for photographing wading birds - and was lucky to find my first Greenshank of the year in one of the channels. I suspect that this was an over-wintering bird, because the main spring passage of Greenshanks through the country doesn't start until late April. I know that a Greenshank over-wintered here in 2024-25, although most Greenshanks over-winter in Africa before returning to their breeding sites in Northern Europe (a few nest in the north of Scotland, but none nest in England).

Greenshank, Thornham Harbour, 4 April

Curlew having a Wash, Thornham Harbour, 4 April

My final destination was Old Hunstanton golf course, where a Great Grey Shrike (an increasingly rare winter visitor to the UK) had been showing for a few days beforehand. Unfortunately for me, it didn't show during my visit, although it had been seen an hour beforehand - such is life.

London's parks are of some interest for the bird photographer, because the wild birds there become quite tame and allow a closer approach than do those (say) in the Royston area. For this reason I took a photographic trip in to central London on the 9th to visit Regents Park and Hyde Park / Kensington Gardens, concentrating on the water birds on and around the lakes there. Regents Park was a little disappointing, with far more people (it was the school Easter holidays) than birds, although I did hear my first Reed Warbler of the year there. However, a couple of circuits of The Serpentine were more productive, with almost point blank close-ups of Cormorants and Gadwall, allowing me to photograph their plumage in good detail and also a bit of action out on the lakes. However, for an old man the walking involved on what was, at least initially, a very warm day, led to exhaustion by the end of the day.