Quite a good weekend for rarer birds. Though they didn't behave quite as well as we'd have liked.
The excitment on Saturday was a black-necked grebe. In nicer summer breeding plummage too. A smart little bird, it did behave well, staying close to the path that runs around the reedbed, and allowing some very nice views.
Of course, we released the news on the birdwatchers news services. So typically, on Sunday it had disappeared. Instead we had three garganey. These are the one duck that is also a summer migrant. Most migratory ducks come to us in winter, escaping harsher conditions further north. but garganey visit us to breed. We had two smart males and a female. It looked like a pair and a spare male, playing gooseberry. Indeed, it was the female that sometimes chased away the extra male. The new wife getting rid of her husband's batchelor mate? :)
Also on Sunday, an early morning walk showed a short-eared owl. And a curlew sandpiper was feeding on the freshwater scrapes.
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.