Whistle stop highlights this week as I've been chasing water around making sure our Lapwing and Redshank have the best breeding habitat possible on the grassland (not too wet, not too dry) while dropping water levels on south scrape, raising them on middle scrape and keeping them the same on the reedbed. Spinning plates is a doddle compared to this :)
So firstly first, the Great White Egret, did it stay or did it go? Well a bit of both really. It was present from the 4th to the 6th, popped off on the 7th, returned for two days then hasn't been seen since.
Reports it was kidnapped by a Hare on the afternoon of the 9th are yet to be fully investigated.
Great White Egret - Ian Ellis
Best looking bird(s) of the week go to the pair of super stunning Black-necked Grebes that spent the day in front of the Reedbed Hide on the 7th. These are rare breeders in the UK and careful consideration must be given to releasing news of these and other Schedule 1 species. This is the first time a pair have been seen at Frampton in the spring and unfortunately we don't have the right habitat requirements for breeding so didn't expect them to hang around which is why we released the news. As predicted they didn't linger and weren't seen the next day. For more information and guidance on what to report and to whom, please take the time to read through this article prepared by the Rare Breeding Birds Panel.
Black-necked Grebes - Toby Collett
While we don't expect baby grebes any time soon we are hopeful of seeing wee ones of Mediterranean Gulls in the not too distant future. 2 pairs were seen on the islands on the 5th with a single pair off and on all week. A black winged tipped 3rd year bird was dominantly chasing off as many Black-headed Gulls as it could find throughout the week. Youthful exuberance or the real deal?
Mediterranean Gulls - Ian Ellis
3 Whooper Swans on the 9th must be the last roll of the dice for this species for the winter of 2013/14 but plenty of Brent Geese remain with over 1,000 out and about on the saltmarsh. We've not had any reports of Black Brant this week so have they moved on or just playing hard to get? If only they were as easy to pin down as the Pale-bellied Brent Goose that spent the week on the Marsh Farm wet grassland.
Pale-bellied Brent Goose - Toby Collett
Despite the mild conditions our upland raptors remain with Hen Harriers seen all week over the saltmarsh, including two cracking males on the morning of the 8th, and the female Merlin, frequently seen dashing from one side of the reserve to the other. On warm sunny it's always worth looking up as well as out. Several sky dancing Marsh Harriers were seen over the saltmarsh towards the end of the week and Buzzards were reported moving overhead on the 5th, 6th and 9th.
We're getting record numbers of Black-tailed Godwit as we draw the water down in south scrape. Many of the 400+ are warming into their summer finery and look absolutely splendid.
There does seem to be a bit of jealousy shown by those still in their winter greys though...
Black-tailed Godwit - Jill Hall
Little Ringed Plover and Ruff (40+) are also out and about with the former being very vocal as it displays over the scrapes and the latter starting to colour up in preparation for lekking in June. Other goodies on the scrapes this week include 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Grey Plover, up to 8 Ringed Plover and a lone Snipe.
Little Ringed Plover - Ian Ellis
As I mentioned at the top of the post, I've been trying to get the water levels right for breeding Lapwing and Redshank and an early start on the 9th saw Dan, Beth and I in the seabank car park scanning for nesting birds in our newly flooded area. What a result! From the car park only we counted 12 sitting birds and it's still early doors. Excellent start to the season.
If you're not sure what a sitting Lapwing looks like, have a look at the pic below and keep your eyes out next time you visit and see how many you can find.
Lapwing - Toby Collett
And so to summer arrivals. The 8th saw a flurry of Sand Martin and Swallow over the reedbed and an eagle eyed visitor picked out a white rump! Our first House Martin of the year to complete the set.
A sharp whistle caught the ears on the afternoon of the 4th and a look up revealed the years first Yellow Wagtail and it was pricked ears that got our final new arrival of the week on the 10th when a Sedge Warbler was heard singing next to the pond dipping platform.
Skylarks still remain king of the singers and the obliging bird at the gate leading onto the reedbed remains a firm favourite, as much for his posing as for his fine voice.
Skylark - Jill Hall
Our three buntings have also been bursting into song, the most numerous being Reed Bunting which seem to be everywhere.
Reed Bunting - Toby Collett
Yellowhammers take second place for abundance with several still seen around the feeders as well as singing 'little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheese' from the hedgerows.
Yellowhammer - Jill Hall
And finally the most elusive of them all the Corn Bunting (so elusive I don't have a photo of any this week to share with you) which has been seen and heard a couple of times at the north west end of the reedbed. These birds have suffered massive declines over the years so it's good to see them clinging on here.
And we'll finish this week with news of some fisticuffs outside the Visitor Centre. A young chap was getting a bit too close to his female companion and she wasn't having any of it!
Hares - Ian Ellis
It's survey season for the warden team so we'll be out and about in the early mornings and evenings over the next few months so if you are an early bird or night owl and see us with maps, come and have a chat and we'll try and point you in the right direction of any hare activity.
We have a few high tides coming up next week so do make the effort to come that little bit earlier or stay that little bit later as there may well be some extra numbers out on the scrapes and grassland for you to sift through.
I should be in and around the VC this weekend so if you do come down and see us please pop in and say hello.
Enjoy your weekend and good birding.
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