Titchwell in September - part 1
 

I still have loads of images to process from Florida, and I will continue to post them regularly. But I have taken lots of other photos this year too (plus have some from last year as well). So I have decided to mix things up a bit and post some more recent photos in between the older ones.
 

Having had a very successful trip to Norfolk back in May, I was looking forward to an opportunity to visit again. Whilst there a number of sites I like to visit, my favourite is Titchwell, because of the variety of birds within photographable range, particularly now I have the 150-600mm lens. I used to visit every September, to celebrate my birthday, but work committments have recently got in the way. But an opportunity came up this year, for a full Sunday of photography, coinciding with some very high tides. So I decided to visit Titchwell to see what I could find.
 

The weather had been very mixed indeed. On the preceding Friday I spent a few hours sat in a hide at Rutland Water in torrential rain, admiring the tenacity of a Grey Heron, but getting very little in the way of decent photos. The forecast for the Sunday was much better, so I travelled early, timing my arrival to coincide with the early morning high tide.
 

High spring tides along the Norfolk coast are quite spectacular. At Titchwell the beach completely disappears, and half the reserve (the saltwater half, on the seaward side of the flood defence wall) floods with seawater. In some respects this makes photography quite tricky, as it pushes a lot of birds to the middle of the lagoons, well out of reach of a camera. But it has its benefits as the tide goes out.
 

In the meantime I took a few images from one of the hides, and from along the raised path that takes you straight through the reserve to the beach. Unfortunately, the light at this time was quite dull, but it was very still indeed.
 

This male Gadwall was one of a small group sat outside the Island Hide.
 

Male GadwallTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

As I walked along the main path I spotted this Snipe skulking amongst the undergrowth.
 

SnipeTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

SnipeTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

SnipeTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

Further along the main path, one of the lagoons had almost completely filled with saltwater, leaving just one small patch of vegetation, not far from the path. At first, I didn't see anything, but fortunately I then saw movement - a beautiful Black Tailed Godwit.
 

Black Tailed GodwitTitchwell, Norfolk, UK     
 

Black Tailed GodwitTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

Black Tailed GodwitTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

Black Tailed GodwitTitchwell, Norfolk, UK
 

It was still early in the day, and it was still quite dull, but I was quite pleased with the images so far. So I headed for the beach to see what I could find.