BLAKENEY POINT
A unique site with a superb record of rarities
Blakeney Point is an amazing spit branching out into the North Sea. It is a National Trust reserve as well as protected by a National Nature Reserve and Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). With Norfolk’s reputation for gathering rare birds, especially from across the North Sea, this site is a must for visiting at several times of the year. It is not just spring and autumn migrants that are found here, but the area is important for its breeding birds, with Sandwich and Little Terns and the odd Common and Arctic to look for. The fact that few of the millions of visitors to Norfolk actually walk that shingle makes this such an important, safe, undisturbed breeding site. There are also many breeding Black-headed Gulls helping to protect the terns from the big gulls, with several pairs of Mediterranean Gulls nesting among them. There are also good populations of waders breeding here, with Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher and Redshank. The list of rarities is endless, with many firsts for Norfolk, including Greenish, Asian Desert, Moltoni’s and Western Subalpine Warblers, Short-toed Lark, Red-flanked Bluetail, Bluethroat, Red-throated Pipit, Snowy Owl, Ross’s Gull, Lesser Crested Tern, Pallid Harrier and Great Spotted Cuckoo. The Americans come in the shape of Alder Flycatcher, Northern Harrier, and Western Sandpiper. Falls of commoner birds like Pied Flycatcher and Redstart are yearly along with Yellow-browed Warbler and Tree Pipits. This shingle habitat has a wide variety of plants such as Biting Stonecrop, Sea Campion and Sea Beet.