Thornham
I went out for a bit of a walk around 8am but the weather, even though it was bit brighter than earlier in the week, was still cold and windy and there wasn’t much bird life apart from the gulls. I did, however, get a Great Black-backed Gull – a first for the holiday.
Hoping for better weather, we returned to the NWT reserve at Holme Dune where we were an hour or so early for opening so we parked up at the golf course and walked towards the sea. We heard lots of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits and saw a few as well.
Holmes Dunes
We drove up to the reserve gate, still a bit early, so we looked for Turtle Doves in the trees visible from the coastal path. We didn’t hear or see any but we did get a Lesser Whitethroat – a year tick! We got back in the car and drove up to the reception car park where we joined the usual crowd looking at the Red-breasted Flycatcher which was again showing well and this time I managed to get a few photos of it.
After that we went to the paddock and the hides. There was nothing much from the hides and in the paddock there was nothing but Wheatear – at least six of them, possibly more.
We then walked up to the dunes and took the path away from Thornham but apart from a nice group of one Grey Plover, One Bar-tailed Godwit, a Redshank and two Oystercatchers there was nothing much to be seen.
We walked a bit along there but decided to return to the reception area. The day was gloomy, now, and windy and we decided to call it a day there.
Year tick Lesser Whitethroat
Chosely Drying Barns
Next we drove up to Chosely Drying Barns where we had had such success last year. This year was different however and we mainly got Chaffinch and Red-legged Partridge. The bit was a brief glimpse of a Yellowhammer perching on top of a hedge. A woman we met said that she had had Grey Partridge and Yellow Wagtail but we didn’t see it.
Year tick Yellowhammer
Bird Sightings : Thornham
| Black-headed Gull | 30 |
| Great Black-backed Gull | 1 |
| Common Chiffchaff | 2 |
Bird Sightings : Holme Dunes NWT
| Greylag Goose | 30 |
| Mute Swan | 1 |
| Common Shelduck | 6 |
| Mallard | 6 |
| Common Pheasant | 2 |
| Great Cormorant | 30 |
| Little Egret | 1 |
| Common Moorhen | 2 |
| Common Coot | 2 |
| Pied Avocet | 10 |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | 2 |
| Grey Plover | 1 |
| Northern Lapwing | 8 |
| Common Redshank | 1 |
| Bar-tailed Godwit | 1 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 10 |
| Common Swift | 4 |
| Eurasian Magpie | 4 |
| Eurasian Jackdaw | 12 |
| Carrion Crow | 8 |
| Sky Lark | 10 |
| Barn Swallow | 3 |
| Great Tit | 2 |
| Eurasian Blue Tit | 4 |
| Common Chiffchaff | 2 |
| Lesser Whitethroat | 1 |
| Red-breasted Flycatcher | 1 |
| Northern Wheatear | 6 |
| Eurasian Blackbird | 4 |
| Dunnock | 2 |
| Meadow Pipit | 6 |
| Common Chaffinch | 10 |
| European Goldfinch | 4 |
| Common Linnet | 8 |
Bird Sightings : Chosely Drying Barns
| Red-legged Partridge | 4 |
| Yellowhammer | 1 |
| Common Chaffinch | 6 |