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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rob_S" data-source="post: 3552695" data-attributes="member: 140558">Gros Banc and Orne dunesWe visited the Gros Banc reserve during the week, to the east of the River Orne between Sallenelles and Merville-Franceville on the D514. See attached photo of the info board at the reserve, which is taken looking NE rather than North.The info on the reserve implies there's a circular walk around the site, but this is misleading. The eastern side (the red and yellow lines in the picture) is a cycle/foot path with very restricted views of the reserve through trees. The western part of the circle is mostly along the sand at the edge of the estuary and cut off at high tide.There's a tower hide at the southern end, close to the D514 and visible from the road. This had good views but the highest level was locked out of use and the whole structure was in need of some maintenance. A second smaller hide can be found at the northern edge, with more restricted views.We didn't spend much time here, but we did see Avocet, Greenshank, Little Egret amongst others.The car park marked on the left of the picture leads to a maze of footpaths through the dunes to the sea. The area on the upper left of the picture held two Cuckoos, and leads to a number of sandbars which emerge from the sea as the tide recedes. Here, we found a sizeable group of small waders, the highlight being 10+ Kentish Plover as well as Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin and Ringed Plover.A longer spit heads out towards the ferry terminal. This appear to be a restricted area for breeding birds, and I didn't go any further than the fence. Further out, a young woman with a scope appeared to be conducting a bird survey.</blockquote>

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