Holmes Dunes NWT 13th May 2012

Holmes Dunes NWT 13th May 2012

We still wanted to do some birding after Titchwell Marsh but it had just been too frantic and full of people there so Holmes Dunes seemed like a quieter place. For a start it is a long drive down an incredibly potholed track to get there and there is no cafe or anything there so unlikely to attract the masses. The reserve is situated on the North Norfolk coast where The Wash meets the North Sea. Behind the dunes are areas of saltmarsh, freshwater marsh and reed beds. They have three hides overlooking Holme Marsh and there is a walk through sand dunes and scrubland with a return walk along the beach as well as a woodland walk.
We started at the hides where we saw Shelduck, Little Egret, Avocets, Greylag and Canada Geese, Oystercatchers and a great number of Black-headed Gulls. We also saw a Hare on the marsh and we could hear a Cuckoo in the distance.We then went for a walk along the dunes which supposedly had lots of Stonechats; however we only managed to see Whinchats. It was quite a pleasant spot and certainly nice for a walk. Again, however, the wind did us no favours and eventually we called it a day before we had done the woodland walk. Just as we arrived we saw some dog walkers going up the hill there with some big dogs and that rather put us off. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust seems to tolerate dogs much more than other nature reserves we have been to but, frankly, it puts us off. A couple told us that they had been in the woods trying to see a Turtle Dove that was apparently in there somewhere but they hadn’t had any joy.

Bird Sightings : Holmes Dunes NWT