After more than one failure I finally saw my first smew of the year (a male), when I visited Eyebrook Reservoir (Leicestershire) on the 2nd. A Slavonian grebe was also present near the Stoke Dry parking area. On the 7th I went on an organised Royal Photographic Society Nature Group trip to RSPB Titchwell Marsh. I arrived well before the arranged meeting date, to look for birds on or over the sea, at high tide. There was nothing doing here, but on the way back to the visitor centre I saw a water rail. The rest of the day (I stayed for over six hours) was spent photographing birds. I ended up with over 300 images, a few of which are shown below. My favourite (if not the best) was the capture of a first winter Caspian gull in flight (below). Bar-tailed godwits are becoming one of my favourite photographic subjects and several birds posed for me here.
Bar-tailed Godwit, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 7 March
First Winter Caspian Gull, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 7 March
Grey Plover, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 7 March
Young Male Marsh Harrier, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 7 March
Oystercatcher, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 7 March
The White-tailed Lapwing, a mega-rarity that I saw last year at RSPB Blacktoft Sands, in East Yorkshire, arrived at another RSPB reserve (Frampton Marsh) on the 9th, within range for me to have a second look on the 11th. However, although I saw the bird it was distant (too far away for photography) and often hidden from view - a far cry from the great views that so many of us had of this 'mega' rarity at Blacktoft. High pressure for once brought sunshine and warm weather during most of the rest of March. Sunny late mornings in March are ideal for watching displaying goshawks, and so it proved on the 15th when I visited Cockley Cley. At least four goshawks were seen, including a pair that spent several minutes together. A woodlark was singing near the watchpoint and both red deer and roe deer were seen.
On the 18th I visited St. Albans, walking round the Verulamium Lake a couple of times and then visiting the small and delightful Watersmeet reserve on the east of the city. This is an excellent place to see siskins and redpolls in winter and both species were present, visiting feeders. A male blackcap was also visiting a feeder, but perhaps my best sighting was of a pair of bullfinches - my first of the year!
Grey Wagtail, Verulamium Park, St. Albans, 18 March
Male Blackcap, Watersmeet NR, St. Albans, 18 March
Lesser Redpoll, Watersmeet NR, St. Albans, 18 March
Male Siskin, Watersmeet NR, St. Albans, 18 March
On the 23rd it was back to the seaside! Firstly I parked in Wells, walking along the beach towards Holkham where, at my third attempt this year, I caught up with the four wintering shorelarks that had been present since last autumn. The shorelarks were in a roped-off area and, whilst I was watching them, a female wheatear briefly landed nearby. I moved on to RSPB Titchwell, where a little ringed plover was present on the freshmarsh, as were several Mediterranean gulls. Red-breasted mergansers and common scoters were on the sea. I had hoped to get more practice at photographing waders in flight from the beach, but at low tide most of them had shifted up to Thornham Point, about a mile away, and they were also silhouetted against a still strong sun, so I failed in that respect. Nevertheless, I recorded 81 species on the day and, as always on my trips to the Norfolk coast, had a lot of fun.
Shorelarks, Holkham Beach, 23 March
Female Bearded Tit, RSPB Titchwell Marsh, 23 March
Dunlin, Titchwell Beach, 23 March
Male Teal in Breeding Plumage, RSPB Titchwell Marsh (Freshmarsh), 23 March
Much cooler, dull weather returned towards the end of the month. Despite this I made an afternoon visit to the Tring reservoirs on the afternoon of the 29th, hoping to see my first hirundines of the year (none present). However, I did manage to get a brief glimpse of my first Hertfordshire green-winged teal at Wilstone and saw a curlew (a Hertfordshire rarity) fly over Marsworth reservoir. A pair of mandarin ducks were at Startops End.
Male Mandarin Duck, Startops End, 29 March
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