A Sunset and an Arrival

How many of you have watched the winter or summer wading birds arriving in the UK? I am sharing my personal experience here in a video and writing, so this may help anyone willing to watch it in the future.

The timing for my visit to Snettisham, UK to see the winter bird migration was wrong, last year. I would say that I did not appropriately plan my visit last year. There are tens of thousands of wading birds at the Snettisham every year. The birds are pushed by the high tides off the mudflats. Such a phenomenon is known as the "whirling wader spectacle." Such an event does not occur every day. The winter migratory birds arrive in Snettisham in October and the whirling bird spectacle happens only on certain days. The RSPB website will give the approximate time of their arrival and the high tide timings. Last year, I did not check with Snettisham Spectaculars Dates and Times Guide. If I had checked with Snettisham Spectaculars Dates, I would have understood the timing and dates properly. The birds can be seen flying in massive groups during the high tide time. The high tide time will be very early in the morning before dawn or very late in the afternoon after the dusk. For instance, in the month of October, Friday 8th at 6:15 am, Saturday 9th at 6:15 am, Sunday 10th at 7:30 am, and Saturday 23rd at 6:45 am would be the right timing for whirling waders. Also, we have to remember that October is a month full of rain, wind, and shorter daylight time. All these reasons made me do a wrong calculation last year of the timing of this spectacle, and I traveled so far and reached there at the wrong time. I couldn't witness anything, and another 3.5 hrs return on the same day to reach home made me very tired.

This year, I was very desperate to calculate the time properly and make a successful trip to Snettisham. I observed the tide timings and decided which day would suit me to travel and reach back home on the same day. The day that was most suitable for me was a 7.00 pm high tide on a weekday in October. This was the first day of the bird's arrival. I would say that I was blessed with the October weather that day.

I packed all my camera accessories in my backpack, along with a torchlight and a folding chair. I started driving after dropping kids at school. I was excited to travel to Snettisham and I was hoping for a successful day to watch the wading birds.

When I arrived in Snettisham, I was able to see many other photographers like me walking along the beach. I moved around with my camera accessories to ensure that I captured different moments. I did not want anything to disturb me throughout my stay in the area. However, I felt that the RSPB needs to allocate enough staff to navigate people who visit to see this spectacular event, and the navigators should be highly trained to offer guidance to the visitors at Snettisham during these special days. I observed that there were fewer navigators at Snettisham on that evening (and nil navigators during day time). As I have visited this place before, I was able to find a suitable place for myself to set up my camera. The chair I took helped me a lot to wait for the birds.

The high tide started occurring about 15 minutes before 7.00 pm. The birds slowly started flying in a very far distance in groups. The more the tides started to reach the coast, the birds too started moving towards the coast along with the tides. The mud beds of the marshes started to quickly fill with seawater. The birds swirled up and down and left to right and right to left and started to come closer to the coast where I was standing. It was the most magnificent scene I have ever seen in my life. By the time the tide reached a few feet in front of me, the Sun completely set down, and the whole place became dark.

The full beauty of this bird migration could not be caught in my camera as there was little light with a setting sun. Zooming in and taking close-up photos was impossible too due to the birds flying between the setting Sun and me, and also the birds were moving very fast, but the overall experience gave goosebumps to me. My mind internally kept on saying, 'Welcome to England, dear wading birds.'

The evening trip to get back home on the same day was considered terrible, because the navigator was tired. It is noted that during the day, the navigator and I are fresh, which is more likely to have an enjoyable trip. Getting lost in the dark along the countryside roads without anyone next to me was very challenging for a woman like me on that day.