Salthouse beach
Salthouse Turnstones
Looking back towards village
Cley
Cley marshes
Holme
Seal out at sea
Red-throated Diver
Stonechat
Ruff
Dunlin
Cley Marshes
Short-eared Owl
Paul on Owl watching duty
Brent Geese
With a hearty breakfast inside us we were off early to Salthouse. The local Turnstones were showing well within a few feet of us as we started an hours sea watching. We managed to get some great views of Red-throated Divers and there were Gannets heading mostly south showing various plumages. We were a bit disappointed there were no Snow Buntings about and we also missed a Little Auk by 15 minutes. On the plus side two very late Swallows past over heading south.
Around at Cley there were a number of Stonechats blowing around in the wind whilst the marsh had a nice selection of birds including Ruff, Dunlin, Lapwing, Teal, Wigeon and Little Egret. Nothing really exciting but on occasions all the waders took flight as a Pergerine came over.
We then decided to try Choseley Barns where we picked up a male Black Redstart at the back of a barn. It must have been feeding around the farm equipment on the concrete pad as the bird disappeared so we decided to move on to Holme.
I love Holme for many reasons and it was the first place I went birding in Norfolk. At Norfolk’s northwest corner, where The Wash meets the North Sea, Holme Dunes is superbly located to attract migrating birds. It also holds a variety of important habitats which support numerous other wildlife species including natterjack toads, butterflies and dragonflies, as well as a large number of interesting plants.
Various military remains from WWII can be glimpsed around the reserve, including the remains of a target-railway used to train artillery. Much earlier remains have also been discovered including Roman pottery and in 1998, a well-preserved Bronze Age timber circle, which became known as ‘Seahenge’. The circle was uncovered by strong tides, having been hidden for some 4,000 years (no longer at Holme, the structure was removed for preservation purposes by archaeologists). The boardwalk path give you the ability to view the marsh’s and fields at the same time. From the moment we were out of the car we were watching a Short-eared Owl straight in front of us. As that Owl hunted east another Shortie emerged from the marsh so we had Owls in front and behind us at the same time. By now the sea had retreated so the waders on the coastline were a considerable distance away. As the sun dropped we headed back to Midlands delighted with a great weekend birding.
Various military remains from WWII can be glimpsed around the reserve, including the remains of a target-railway used to train artillery. Much earlier remains have also been discovered including Roman pottery and in 1998, a well-preserved Bronze Age timber circle, which became known as ‘Seahenge’. The circle was uncovered by strong tides, having been hidden for some 4,000 years (no longer at Holme, the structure was removed for preservation purposes by archaeologists). The boardwalk path give you the ability to view the marsh’s and fields at the same time. From the moment we were out of the car we were watching a Short-eared Owl straight in front of us. As that Owl hunted east another Shortie emerged from the marsh so we had Owls in front and behind us at the same time. By now the sea had retreated so the waders on the coastline were a considerable distance away. As the sun dropped we headed back to Midlands delighted with a great weekend birding.
Many thanks to Pete Walkden for use of file images.
