Thornley Woods (1 Viewer)

Stephen-Brooks · Jan 9, 2012

Good morning all,

Is anyone planning on a visit to Thornley Woods this weekend? The only reason I ask is that I have only recently obtained a key to the hide and would like to know if anyone else was planning a trip there at the weekend. I hope someone is planning a trip so I can obtain so tips and advice from more experianced birders.

Kind regards as always.

Stephen

One Man and His Dog · Jan 9, 2012

Stephen-Brooks said:
Good morning all,

Is anyone planning on a visit to Thornley Woods this weekend? The only reason I ask is that I have only recently obtained a key to the hide and would like to know if anyone else was planning a trip there at the weekend. I hope someone is planning a trip so I can obtain so tips and advice from more experianced birders.

Kind regards as always.

Stephen

hi stephen
heres a tip for you?go to clara vale as the thornley woodland centre is closed and they dont put food out for the birds anymore! you should meet some kind folk in clara willing to tell you what species of bird you are looking at.
cheers
steve :t:

Adam W · Jan 9, 2012

I had a quick visit to thornley woods last week and was very dissapointed to see hardly any birds and no food out for them but there were signs explaining that they were only feeding four days a week is this still the case or has it stopped altogether?
Oddly enough the hide was full of people but not doing much other than talking about the lack of birds.

One Man and His Dog · Jan 9, 2012

Adam W said:
I had a quick visit to thornley woods last week and was very dissapointed to see hardly any birds and no food out for them but there were signs explaining that they were only feeding four days a week is this still the case or has it stopped altogether?
Oddly enough the hide was full of people but not doing much other than talking about the lack of birds.

hi adam
unfortunatley the centre is closed until further notice and they havent been putting any food out, even on the days that they said they would. i couldt say if it will even start again?
cheers
steve :t:

Adam W · Jan 9, 2012

One Man and His Dog said:
hi adam
unfortunatley the centre is closed until further notice and they havent been putting any food out, even on the days that they said they would. i couldt say if it will even start again?
cheers
steve :t:

Thanks Steve, thats a shame i dont think i'll bother going back there in a hurry i've never been to clara vale so i must have a trip there sometime.

Stephen-Brooks · Jan 9, 2012

Where abouts is the hide in Clara Vale, I am a new driver having only had my driving licence for 6 months is it hard to get to?

regards stephen

Mouldy · Jan 9, 2012

Yip, as Steve says it's a sad demise for Thornley Woods feeding station, until recent years one of the best (if not THE best) in the northeast. Council cutbacks left them no budget for food so they've been relying on donations for the past couple of years hence only feeding a few times a week. At the moment the centre is closed for refurbishment, though a pretty pointless exercise as before long the Countryside Team who run it will be disbanded in the latest round of Council cutbacks, probably the beginning of the end for Gateshead's managed nature sites unless there's a rethink.

So Stephen, either try Clara Vale or even Shibdon Pond (for gulls waders and wildfowl), both hides are usually populated with birders or photographers at weekends and most are a friendly lot. A list of sites with directions is on www.gatesheadbirders.co.uk

Cheers

dannyboy · Mar 9, 2012

Stephen Visitor centre is now open but there still appears to be a lack of food. People have been taking their own food. I was there today there and there was little food and even less birds. As has been said it's a shame because it used to be a cracking site. Clara Vale is easy to find and has some really friendly helpful guys in on a regular basis. A current benefit is also the a reasonably friendly Kingfisher -crap at giving ID advice but great at giving some fantastic views. Also when in the area try and get to Shibdon Pond you never know what will be there, some great views of 2 Ruff today. Also get to Far Pasture which has recently been tidied up so will hopefully attract some decent Birds this year. Depending on time also try and look in at Lamsley hide and Lamsley Reed beds from next month. They will be well worth a visit

Michael A · Mar 9, 2012

Stephen-Brooks said:
Where abouts is the hide in Clara Vale, I am a new driver having only had my driving licence for 6 months is it hard to get to?

regards stephen

Hi Stephen, the hide at Clara (there is two one in the reserve) is accessed by parking at the cricket club walk through gate the privet hedge will be on your right walk about 30 metres there will be a gap in hedge and you will see the wooden hide, you will often find a few bird watchers/photographers there, the vast majority are a friendly and helpful bunch.:t:

starseven · Feb 10, 2013

Hi all, just noticed this thread and comments re: thornley woods. I went down about 3 weeks ago when I was between jobs as I was going crazy sitting in the house! Had a nice wander around the woods and then down to the Derwent valley and over the viaduct. Saw plenty of red kites down there, which was great. Never been to Clara Vale, but it sounds promising.

Anyway, the centre is still open, and there are signs in the hide saying they fill up the feeding stations on Saturdays, Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. I went on a Thursday and there were a good number of birds - just the usual but still enjoyable.

There was nobody else there as it was a weekday but plenty of notes in the book from people moaning about the lack of food and saying the key wasn't worth a fiver. It absolutely is if you don't have a garden, like i didnt when i got it. If youre lucky enough to have one then why not feed the birds in it rather than moan about the council cutbacks?!

barnstormer · Mar 16, 2014

Thornley woods is a shadow of the hide I visited a few years ago. The area outside the hide doesn't seem to be maintained very well and the feed situation is very poor. In my opinion this needs handing over to a local dedicated group to look after similar to Clara vale as this seems to work much better. This unfortunately won't happen so it may well die a death with the council cutting costs which is understandable in the current financial climate.

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