Another good day's birding!
After a few hours sleep got up at some bizzare time and
arrived Holme at 6.55am
Dull and rainy - started off at the horse paddock half way down Beach Road and had
8 redwings - then parked at toilet block by main beach. I wasn't going to stop here, but when I realised that because of the rain I had beaten all the dog walkers, I thought it was definately worth a quick walk round the block! I walked straight out to the sea, scanning the golf course on left, not alot here, few bits on the beach including what looked like a
great crested grebe distantly. Walked back and followed path east through suada bushes and had
4 linnets sitting on bushes and
8 very pretty reed buntings, both male and female and also a very exciting dodgy one!!! All I can tell you is that it had a massive splodge of very dark brown, almost black all around the eye and almost down the neck side! very weird, had white outer tail feathers as a reed bunting has....... Anyway continued back round through public carpark hearing a green woodpecker on route and then drove half way down Firs road and parked by 5-bar gate.
4 stonechats in the forestry area, couple of redshanks and 2 little egrets in pool near
Gore Point. Brents on the tideline along with black headed gulls, oystercatchers etc. Also 1 great crested grebe swimming by water's edge and in front of this
2 ringed plovers ran along the sand.
Big movement of starlings this morning, I had batches of 50 and counted about 250+ in the end. Scanned over Holme marsh and saw a male
marsh harrier and 6 carrion crows and
THEN a
Great White Egret (8.05am) suddenly came into view and landed with a flop near 2 little egrets!!!! What's funny is, this did not excite me in the slightest, might have had something to do with yesterday
!!! It went into a ditch and I saw the neck and head for a while then it disappeared from view. I sent a text message to Birdline but I don't think it went on - probably because nobody probably believes anyone any more! But there is definately one out there as it dwarfed the 'little's'! Walked up to observatory and Jed, Sophie and I watched a
massive passage of thousands of starlings going east over Holme church! I then joined Sophie for a seawatch with '
The Thursday Gang' as they call themselves. Being as I had no scope I didn't see everything but did see
2 red breasted mergansers,
2 golden eyes, a nice drake
Eider, several cormorants, at least
5 great crested grebes, 5 common scooter AND
20 Long Tailed Duck! 27 brent geese flew west, and
2 fulmar also west. A great northern diver was seen distantly and also a med gull, but I didn't see either of these. The med gull was distantly on the beach and got flushed by guess what, yes dogs, so I decided to walk over to Thornham channel to see if I could find it. Sun was out now and for the rest of the day, it was like summer time!
Could not find the med gull, but there were tons of gulls, brents etc etc over the other side of the channel - needed a scope for all these really to ID correctly. Saw
2 more ringed plover here and also lots of shelduck. Walked right round to the furthest point you can walk and then made my way back through the gorse and suada bushes - there were
4 stunning stonechats here perched on the bushes, also a female reed bunting and
2 snipe flew across the marsh, seveal meadow pipits and a wren. Walked back along Thornham bank and it really was a stunning, sunny afternoon - several tufted duck and shovelars on the broad water and 6 reed buntings flew across the marsh.
As I was walking along top path with the broad water on your left I could hear dreadful noises of dogs yelping, it was really scary, then I had what sounded like someone running, I could see a lady ahead, so I started to run as it sounded like someone was being attacked by a dog. The scene before me was horrific - to my right at the end of the path at the bottom of the steps was what only can be described as a ball of dogs entwined, I couldn't work out what was going on! Then a man appeared with bins from the obs path and he walked towards them. Another lady passerby asked if they were his and he said yes. He then hit the collie dog to disperse the fight to reveal 3 dogs on leads all tied to the post!! The collie headed directly for me, which scared the sh*t of me!, then veered off left. Cutting a very long story short he made out the collie was his as well. But my guess is the collie was a beach run away from an irrisponsible owner and had come up to his 3 dogs and they basically were ripping into him. He inspected the collie who had blood streaming down his neck, but seemed to be ok, although a little shaken! Now I am not a dog lover, I admit, but I felt really sorry for that collie dog, for the crap owners who had not been keeping an eye on it and also this man should have never left his dogs tied to a post on a coast footpath while 'he went to see what was about'!!!!!! I told him that they should never have been left and he looked sheepish and did not reply. The amount of young children that run along there - it could have been so much worse! Anyway back to birding!
At the observatory it was now
12.30pm and a
barn owl hunted over the marsh, as it did for the rest of the afternoon. A
brambling was on the top of the scycamore tree, couple of robins, blue tits and great tits were flitting about in the buddleia and
2 goldcrests in the pines. It was almost boiling hot outside the obs. and I was here on my own now and decided to have a snooze on the bench, bliss!!!
Dragged myself up and went and sat in the hide by the bank and heard a
Tawny owl calling in the pines!
(1.30pm). Walked up to NOA carpark and went round the
NWT Wader Pools. Not too much there apart from lots of noisy black headed gulls, 20 curlew, teal, wigeon, brents on the marsh etc,
2 more stonechats on approach path.
Walked back through Forestry - on route I had
6 more stonchats all in one bush! just left of the path that runs opposite NOA carpark. Few meadow pipits in the forestry, chaffinches and blackbirds, 4 long tailed tits and a
sparrowhawk went over the marsh. Also flushed a
barn owl in the buckthorn! Quick cup of tea back at car and then went and had a look at
Redwell marsh - 2 mute swans and a mallard in the river and from the hide, a little egret, coots, moorhens, teal, mallard, rooks, shovelar. In the horse paddock at end of road there was a redwing.
Holme Marsh Reserve - 4.10pm - Walked down public footpath and followed the ditch to 5-bar gate in hope of a bluethroat:-O, saw a
goldcrest, 1 grey heron, 3 blackbirds, 1 kestrel in tall trees, 2 egyptian geese and canada geese and wigeon on marsh. Walked back round and onto reserve.
2 barn owls hunting across the marsh, tufted duck on pool, along with teal, mallard, coots and moorhens, 2 long tailed tits, linnets, chaffinches and a
water rail squealed! Walked back to car and a big flock of finches flew over the silouhetted bushes in the sunset near Holme church
Phew!
Connor, could you did the bit I didn't do - The golf course up to chalets and beach huts where there maybe a black redstart or something better???!!!!! and then text me asap as I am going elsewhere tomorrow - have a good day at Holme!!!!!!!
Best Wishes Penny:girl: