Holme Norfolk Sept 2008.

My dad and sarah joined me on a morning trip to the coast. I was only staying till midday but hoped for some variety in the photographs. The tide was still coming in on arrival and the terns were feeding close to the shore. Huge flocks of waders could be seen further up the coast but we were unable to get closer, so we moved towards thornham. Keeping close to the water i took advantage of birds flying past.

The terns were feeding well and it wasnt long before the skuas started to turn up with a few individuals showing. At times they would approach close by as they made a direct route to the sandwich tern it spied catching fish. From hundreds of metres away they locked onto their target and skimmed the sea till the ensuing dogfight.

It was a marvel to watch as they twisted and turned before triumphantly retrieving the dropped catch. This action continued throughtout our stay there with all arctics showing and a possible pom flying past.

There were a few groups of wader stiil around on the few sandbanks left above water. Mostly knot with some grey plover and a few sanderling,ringed plover,dunlin. A solitary wheatear made an inquisitive visit and even came closer as if to check us out. After just four hours it was time to make a move but it was a great morning especially for watching the skuas.