And I thought last week was murky, crumbs! This week was very heavy indeed with morning visits nearly a write off for viewing due to thick fog. Fortunately we have an avian choral arrangement that would put a combined duo of Aled Jones and Charlotte Church to shame. Golden plover, lapwing, brent geese, wigeon, redshank, teal, curlew and many more all contribute to the Frampton soundtrack that accompanies your walk round. The foggy mornings and vespertide are the best times to appreciate and enjoy the grassland harmonies, which will occasionally be interspersed with whooper swan and pink-footed geese passing overhead in the half light. So don't despair and abandon your visit if visibility is poor, there is a whole new side to Frampton that your ears can discover and enjoy.
Golden plover - Toby Collett
Images will be a bit light on the ground this week but will pop a few in to keep it interesting. We'll dive into our highlights this week which have numbered quite a few. The rough-legged buzzard has been seen on and off along the roads to and from the reserve. A couple visiting this morning ventured down Sandholme Lane and had excellent views. The attached map has been tweaked and show the best places to look for this Scandinavian raptor.
First places to scan are the hedgerows highlighted in green above. If no luck then head along the three coloured roads scanning as you go with fingers crossed. If you do come across your frosted headed quarry then please let us know in the Visitor Centre and we can spread the word.
The reserves habitats must be coming along nicely as following hot on the heels of our first Cetti's warbler was our 3rd bittern on the morning of the 27th. Seen sitting in the hedgerow behind the car park at first light it dropped into the paddock and unfortunately wasn't picked up again. This does seem to a be favourite spot for bittern with two out of the three records turning up here. A patient stakeout over the next week could well prove fruitful. The Cetti's warbler, or another...., was found by John once more just near the track to Marsh Farm on the 25th, though not subsequently. Wether the bird has moved on or whether the weather prevented anyone looking for it remains to be seen.
The glossy ibis is now unique being the ONLY one of its kind in the country. With less than a month to Christmas will it ho-ho-hover winter? A black brant type was among the hordes in the field next to the car park shortly after the bittern was found. While the colour tone was spot on (dark mantle and belly) the incomplete neck collar and streaks in the flank patch allude to a muddling of the genes somewhere down the line.
Black brant hybrid - Toby Collett
Black brant hybrid (showing incomplete collar and ground colour comparison with dark-bellied brents) - Toby Collett
Black brant hybrid (showing ground colour comparison with dark-bellied brents) - Toby Collett
Keeping with the car park field, that in itself has been somewhat of a highlight. At peak times there must be in the region of 4,000 birds spread across the grassland, the large numbers making them incredibly approachable. The usually pusillanimous wigeon and twitchy teal must feel very comfortable in such numbers and only flight when something sharp taloned and speedy takes to the skies.
It's getting very hard to pick peregrines out among the masses, but if raptors are your thing then the sea bank is still the place to be. Ringtail hen harriers and a grey ghost male have been seen daily along with at least two merlin. Barn owls continue to prowl the ditches and tall grass around dusk and this is fast becoming the best time of day to visit.
Sparrowhawk - Toby Collett
A saltmarsh survey on the 27th resulted in a couple of twite flocks and snow bunting among the many skylarks and pipits. As enjoyable as this was, it was the final half hour of light that made the day. Three big skeins of pink-footed geese totalling about 1700 headed over and out towards Tabb's Head.
Pink-footed Geese (visually not great but fantastic to listen to) - Toby Collett
A kingfisher whistled from the bottom of the sea bank steps as two whooper swans, 6 the evening before, cruised in to roost on south scrape. Unfortunately words doesn't quite do the evening justice so all I can do is ask that if you can stay till dark then please do.
Other niceties this week include an adult winter Mediterranean gull flying out to The Wash on the 25th, jack snipe on the middle scrape on the 25th and marsh farm wet grassland on the 26th and both lapland and snow bunting on the sea bank during the week. Duck numbers hold steady but hopefully a permanent addition is the male goldeneye that has been outside the reedbed hide.
Teal - Toby Collett
Pintail - Toby Collett
Golden plover and lapwing - Toby Collett
And here's what to look for if you're coming to see us at the weekend or next week.
1. Just the most amount of birds and you don't even have to get out of the car to enjoy them. Good numbers of ruff are around the pools while wigeon, teal, golden plover and lapwing form the bulk of those on the grassland.
2. As it's now the only one in the country it would be rude not to track down our glossy ibis, that and it's blummin' gorgeous.
3. Lapland and snow buntings are best looked for feeding on the strand line on the seaward side of the sea bank.
4. Up to nine whooper swans are now roosting on the scrapes but you'll need to stay beyond sundown to see them.
5. Golden plover numbers are rising and over 2,000 are now regularly seen on and above the reserve, looking and sounding incredible.
6. Like the swans the best time to see hen harriers is the last hour before dusk as they quarter for their last meal of the day.
7. The barn owl has now been seen every evening for over three weeks now and I don't think we're running out of voles anytime soon.
8. Knowing the call of Cetti's warbler, as mentioned last week, is the best way to pick this secretive species up but these are the best places to start listening and looking.
9. Although not seen since initially found there's a good chance the bittern is still deep in the reeds so if you find then you'll be extremely popular this weekend.
If you want a few more detailed maps then I've been trialing them on a daily basis and they're here for the 25th, 26th, 27th and 28th.
That's all from me this week. Enjoy your weekend everyone, and if you can't wait 7 days to know what's going on here, keep your finger on the Lincolnshire Wash Reserves pulse by following us on Twitter and giving us a ‘like’ on Facebook. Alternatively if you like taking pictures and have a Flickr account then please join our group and share your images with everyone.
The more you're out the more you see - https://twitter.com/BoyWonderBirder