Friday 28 March
Recces on Friday produced no catching options on the Norfolk side, and so the best option seemed to be to set on Horseshoe Lagoon. The usual group of Oystercatchers was using the site over high tide, although in reduced numbers compared to the last trip. However, it was hoped that the higher tide predicted on Saturday would bring over Knot in fair numbers.
No mist netting was planned for Friday night. The team all managed to arrive throughout the evening, despite various mechanical issues, and enjoyed a dinner of baked potatoes. A briefing was then held to plan Saturday morning’s activities, which were to be a mix of net-setting and resighting.
Saturday 29 March
Richard, Rob P and Lizzie were up early for a final recce of the Horseshoe on the morning tide. Carole and Bernard were also up for the morning tide at Snettisham Pits, where they were able to resight Knot from WWRG (three), the northwest (one), Scotland (two) and the Netherlands (two) out of 1,000+ birds. On the falling tide, Liam, Katharine and Louis joined them in Sailing Club Bay. Combined, 10 Black-tailed Godwit, one Redshank, and four Bar-tailed Godwit were resighted on the falling tide.
Hilary, Harriet and Meg were also resighting around Snettisham. In the fields approaching the site, a flock of 30 Curlew was present containing three flagged birds. At Heacham south, David, Dav and Tanya read another dozen Curlew flags while at Heacham north Ed and Shannon resighted 20 Curlew and two Turnstone.
The team recceing the Horseshoe had the same group of c. 500 Oystercatcher come onto the lagoon on the morning tide, alongside a small number of Knot. However, a large number of Knot were seen flying outside the seawall. The afternoon tide was expected to be higher, and so the hope was that these birds may move onto the lagoon then. After the tide, this team visited Frampton where three colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwits were resighted, including an Icelandic-marked bird.
After resighting, those on the Norfolk side gathered back at the Base House for a quick breakfast (sausage sarnies – yum). A smaller setting team headed to the Horseshoe for 13:30 hrs. Two nets were set using the existing walls on the lagoon’s spit. On the outer wall, a three-cannon small-mesh net was set; this was to be the primary net for the hoped-for Knot. On the inner wall, a four-cannon large-mesh net was set as a backup, which was more likely to be useful for Oystercatcher. During the set, an Osprey drifted north over Louis and Katharine’s heads, enjoyed by most of the team except those closest to the bird who were busy reeling out cables…
The rest of the team arrived at the site at 15:00 hrs for a lovely dinner of quiche, pasta salad and other cold foods. We then had a practice lift, to demonstrate lifting small-mesh nets for those team members will less experience. Everyone was then in position by 16:00 hrs for the 18:18 hrs tide. Nigel, Lizzie and Guy were in the hide, while most of the team was under a tarp a short distance from the nets.
As the tide rose, the normal Oystercatcher flock arrived as usual, far out from the net to begin with. As the water level rose, they moved towards the nets; however, it seemed almost as if they were aware of the net’s position, remaining consistently just outside of the catching area. A strong wind from the southwest caused the tide to cut, and no Knot came onto the lagoon. Around 30 minutes after tide it was clear that the Oystercatchers were not getting any closer to the net despite being shuffled around various times by multiple Marsh Harriers. The team decided it was best to pack up after gently flushing the Oystercatchers off the lagoon; it was decided that efforts the next morning were best spent on resighting rather than making another attempt at catching.
Sunday 30 March
Having given up on the catch at the Horseshoe, the team was free to have a relative lie-in (compared to the pre-4 am start which would have been required for a catch on the morning tide!). Then, it was back out to resight along the Norfolk side. Rob P had c. 75 Curlew in a field by the golf course, but no other Curlew in fields despite checking the usual places. Rob R found three flocks each of c. 200 Oystercatcher roosting on Heacham S beach. Carole and Bernard were once again at the pits, where c. 10,000 Knot were present, but conditions made ring-reading difficult. Despite the weather, a WWRG flag was read alongside a Mediterranean Gull ring, a Curlew flag, and an Avocet combination. An odd white Oystercatcher was also present.
Guy’s car (Guy, Dav, Tanya, Lucy, James) went to Snettisham. A flock of 17 Curlew were in a field south of beach road with three flagged (two yellow, one white), two birds with white colour rings but no flags, and 12 unmarked. They then went to Snettisham Beach and met David / Skye’s car, and together the group worked from Sailing Club Bay up to the dam as the tide went out. A few flags (19 Curlew, two Bar-tailed Godwit) were read through the falling tide, but wind and distance made flag-reading challenging. It was also noted that the proportion of flagged birds seemed lower than usual.
Ed, Shannon and Meg went to a rather windy Heacham North North. The tide was being held by the wind, so concentration shifted to Turnstone and nine combinations were read, representing all of the marked birds seen. There were about 25 birds in total, some roosting on the beach then later feeding amongst the groynes. As the tide wasn’t playing ball, the group decided to walk North for more Turnstone, accidentally finding themselves at the cafe and indulging in hot drinks, which included Meg getting a hot chocolate that was more whipped cream than liquid! By the time birds were present on the mud it was time to head back for lunch…
At Hunstanton, Liam and Cathy were also focusing on Turnstone but numbers here were lower; only two birds were present, of which one was marked and read. On her way home, Meg stopped off at Frampton and read some Black-tailed Godwit combinations.
Monday 31 March
Some of the team remained an extra night at the Base House for some additional resighting on Monday morning. Lys and Hilary visited Sailing Club Bay, where they found a flock of 550 Sanderling roosting in three almost contiguous flocks at the northern edge the bay. The birds were just north of the flagpost / picnic bench beside the sailing club.
Notable resightings
Mediterranean Gull:
- White 3V3P seen by Cathy at Snettisham Pits. Ringed as an adult in Flanders, Belgium in May 2023. Seen once previously at Burnham Market, July 2024.
- Two further individuals from the same scheme seen by Carole and Bernard.
Knot:
- Iceland x1. Ringed in 2023, seen again in SW Iceland in May 2024 and also seen at
Snettisham in August 2023 and September 2024. - NIOZ (Netherlands) x3. One of these has been well documented with sightings along the flyway; ringed in Griend in November 2021 and seen again there in October 2022 (where it presumably moults), in SW Iceland in May 2023 and 2024 (staging on migration) and at Snettisham in March 2024 and 2025 (presumably wintering).
Avocet:
- One individual seen by Carole and Bernard at Snettisham Pits on Sunday. This bird has been seen regularly at Snettisham since 2020. It was ringed in June 2007 at Loix in France. It seems that it used to breed in France and winter in Portugal but has now shifted north, probably breeding in Norfolk and wintering in NW France.
Oystercatcher:
- One at Frieston on Thursday seen by Hilary. Ringed in Klepp, Rogaland, Norway as a pullus and seen several times at Frieston.
Trip resighting totals
| Species | Sightings | Individuals | WWRG | Non-WWRG |
| Knot | 20 | 19 | 5 (5) | 15 (14) |
| Curlew | 50 | 37 | 48 (35) | 2 (2) |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 10 | 7 | 0 | 10 (7) |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | 7 | 7 | 7 (7) | 0 |
| Mediterranean Gull | 3 | 3 | 3 (3) | |
| Avocet | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Turnstone | 30 | 10 | 30 (10) | 0 |
| Oystercatcher | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 (1) |
| Totals | 122 | 85 | 90 (57) | 32 (28) |
Thanks to Louis Driver for writing this report. Cover photo by Lucy Yates.