Holt Lowes supports some interesting breeding birds, includings Woodcock, Nightjar and Wood Lark. These all nest on the ground, and visitors are asked to keep dogs on a short lead during the breeding season from March through to August.
We now also know that we have wintering birds such as woodcock and snipe which can be found in any of the areas of the Lowes, so we also ask you to keep dogs under close control at all times.
Below is a list and notes on the key specicies which are special to the Lowes
Woodlark This lark has a distinctive eye stripes which join up on its nape. It also has a distinctive short tail. This species made something of a comeback in Norfolk over the last 30 years or so. In North Norfolk it is found almost exclusively on Heaths. They nest on the ground and are quite early nesters. They can be heard singing their beautiful song in March and April. In past years there was a maximum of 3 pairs but we don’t know their recent status. Please report any sitings to davidth@holtlowes.org
Nightjar Probably the most iconic bird of the Lowes. A summer visitor arriving in May. The picture shows a nest site with the typical 2 eggs, then a chick and finally asuperbly camouflaged female with 2 almost fully grown young . Photos by Bernard Dawson,
Nightjars are nocturnal, aerially huntiong for moths using their enormous mouths. The males sing to attract a mate and mark their territory by churring from a song post. Watch the video below and listen out for the distinctive wing claps when the bird flies off.
4-5 pairs nest on the lowes each year and as ground nesters are very vulnerable to disturbance especially by dogs.
Then there is this amazing piece of footage by Richard Ives, taken fairly early in the breeding season just before nightfall!
Woodcock are residents on the Lowes but they probably are winter visitors too. They are active mostly at night and very well camouflaged so are not easy to find. The best chance of seeing them is at dusk when they carry out their roding flights to mark their territory. You can see this in the video below.
Like their relatives the snipes, they probe for worms and other invetebrates with that long bill
Stonechat
This species breeds on other North Norfolk heaths and we have sightings of it on the Lowes. It would be great to know if it does breed! (contact davidth@holtlowes.org ) This is a male, females lack the black mask and head. They are usually easy to find as they sit up on bushes where they can look down for their insect prey.
They are called Stonechats because their call is a ‘chack’, like two flints being hit together
Whitethroat are fairly common summer visitors and and are found around gorse and bramble scrub on the Lowes. They have a dsitinctive scratchy 6 part song! Listen to and watch the video below
Garden Warbler – a relative of the whitethroat but there are fewer of these on the Lowes, maybe 2-3 pairs. They are strong singers and take up territory in dense scrub, usually alongside the wetland areas near the Glaven
Chiffchaffs are one of our commonest summer migrants. Climate change has meant that they do not all have to migrate to their traditional wintering area – the Meditteranean and some even winter here. As a result they arrive earlier in the spring than they used to. Their song – a repeated chiff-chaff chiff-chaff is the reason for their name
Yellow Hammers are common heathland residents, although not as abundant as they used to be. Principally they are seed eaters but they do feed their young on more nutritious insects. Hence on intensive farmland these may be in short supply but there are plenty on the Lowes. Their song is the classic 7 syllable ‘Little bit of bread and no che-ese2 which you can hear in the video below.
Both the above species of woodpecker are present on the Lowes, probably no more than a couple of pairs of each.
These two species of predator are doing well on the Lowes. Kestrel eat a wide variety of small mammals, lizards, some birds, large insects and eathworms!
Buzzards may kill larger prey like rabbits but also are significant scavengers. Usually you know they are about because you hear the plaintive but loud pee-you!