NEWS FROM SNETTISHAM  Jim Scott

The breeding season was still in full swing for common terns and ringed plovers in the last edition, so I can now report on their respective fortunes: a total of 73 pairs of common terns nested and managed to fledge 69 young (which is a large increase on recent years. although why they have done so much better this year remains a mystery), while ringed plovers did reasonably well in the end, with 16 pairs managing to fledge 22 young.

The annual work to remove vegetation from the main Roost bank took place in August. With the author conveniently on annual leave, the work was completed by staff and volunteers from Titchwell — a big thank you from me! As is normal, variable numbers of knot have used the pits to roost in through the August to mid-October period, but by the spring tides of late October up to 30,000 knot were flying in to sit out the high tides. Some events were run through the late summer/autumn period with staff and volunteers on site to show the spectacle to visitors. Two of these events attracted over 300 people, with 350 people on October 30.

Bird counts

July.
Autumn migration got under way with maximum wader counts, including 425 avocet, 1,339 oystercatcher, 32 ringed plover, 60 grey plover, 105 lapwing, 5,005 knot, 281 sanderling, 1,860 dunlin, four curlew sandpipers, two ruffs, 590 bar-tailed godwit, 1,000 black-tailed godwit, 260 curlew, two whimbrels, 687 redshank, 31 spotted redshank, 26 greenshank, two green sandpipers and 68 turnstone. Additional sightings included 12 little egret, a single spoonbill, up to seven marsh harriers, single peregrine, hobby, quail, little ringed plover, pectoral sandpiper, little stint and common sandpipers; ten Mediterranean gulls, five yellow-legged gulls, 420 Sandwich tern, 150 common tern, two roseate terns, three little terns, up to four wheatears, and single grasshopper warbler.

August.
Peak counts included 42 gannet, 128 cormorant, 19 little egret, 232 shelduck, three scaup, 85 avocet, 5,803 oystercatcher, 845 ringed plover, 600 golden plover, 640 grey plover, 23,926 knot, 1,977 sanderling, 3,160 dunlin, five curlew sandpipers, five little stints, 1,500 bar-tailed godwit, 3,200 black-tailed godwit, 775 curlew, 697 redshank, 18 spotted redshank, 30 greenshank, 14 common sandpiper, 146 turnstone, and 36 Sandwich terns. Additionally, there were up to six marsh harriers, up to two peregrines, single little ringed plover, white-rumped sandpiper (from the 3rd till at least the 17th), ruff, whimbrel, and green sandpipers, three Arctic skuas, and a single yellow-legged gull.

September.
Maximum counts were as follows: 162 cormorant, nine little egret, 80 pink-footed geese, 285 shelduck, 325 mallard, 17 pintail, 27 teal, 6,170 oystercatcher, 263 ringed plover, 850 golden plover, 770 grey plover, 65 lapwing, 30,426 knot, 1,100 sanderling, 10,180 dunlin, 11 curlew sandpiper, 1,350 bar-tailed godwit, 490 black-tailed godwit, 710 curlew, 1,766 redshank, 43 spotted redshank, 14 greenshank, and 77 turnstone. Additional records included up to three marsh harriers, single peregrine, hobby, avocet, little ringed plover, little stint, ruff, snipe, green sandpiper, and common sandpipers, regular barn owls, occasional kingfishers and wheatears, and 11 siskin.

October.
The highlight of the month was a brief visit by a sandhill crane on the 1st —unfortunately, as far as I’m aware, not seen by any birders, but identified from a photograph brought into the office the following Monday. Pink-footed goose numbers started to increase, with a maximum of 6,500. Other peak counts included 120 cormorant, 15 little egret, 410 brent geese, 1,084 shelduck, 1,118 mallard, 2,021 wigeon, 350 teal, 106 pintail, 4,760 oystercatcher, 1,500 golden plover, 1,570 grey plover, 30,000 knot, 9,000 dunlin, three curlew sandpipers, 2,371 bar-tailed godwit, 250 black-tailed godwit, 1,700 curlew, 790 redshank, 21 spotted redshank, six greenshanks, and two green sandpipers. Other interesting sightings included a single spoonbill, up to two scaups, regular marsh harriers, a single hen harrier on a number of dates, single merlin, little stint, and great grey shrikes, regular kingfisher, and regular wheatears up to the 20th.