Right, here we go. It's been a pretty exciting week at both reserves. Right time of year and some near ideal weather patterns have come together nicely and given us plenty of good birds to see, and on several occasions not see, and talk about, so lets get started.
Following on from last weeks reserve first, our keen eyed assistant warden Simon picked out another new addition on the 14th. A pretty miserable day of heavy downpours was brightened by a 'very large pied wagtail' flying onto the reedbed. A quick scope later and Simon's brief glimpse turned into great views of a cracking great grey shrike. There had been several reported up and down the coast throughout the day but it was still a surprise due us being tucked right into the corner of The Wash. With records of barred warbler, firecrest and yellow-browed warbler this Autumn, maybe we aren't quite at the disadvantage we thought we were.....
Great grey shrike - Toby Collett
The conditions on the day also dropped in several ring ouzel, redwing and the first goldeneye of the year with a nice male on Marsh Farm reservoir. A fieldfare the following morning was also the Autumn's first. Hawthorn berries are weighing down branches along all our hedgerows so we could be in for quite a spectacle should some of these thrushes decide to stay around.
A few blogs back I put out a plea for participants on our last 'Wash cruise' of the year on the 16th. If you took up my advice and joined the cruise then all I can say is, you are very welcome! We had reports back of a fantastic outing with a rough-legged buzzard fly-by, three super close grey phalaropes, red-throated diver and plenty more. Unfortunately that's the last trip this year but make sure you book a seat in 2015.
Common seal - Steve Keightly
Red-throated diver - Steve Keightly
Grey phalarope - Steve Keightly
Grey phalarope (this is the bird on the Freiston reservoir on the 12th) - Toby Collett
It wasn't just the cruise that hit gold on the 16th. A work party trip to Freiston was also very rewarding with a couple around 40 Whooper Swans flying south mid-morning then returning north early afternoon, several large (200+) skeins of pink-footed geese moving through, the years first brambling powering south, kingfisher on the reservoir, over a thousand each of knot and golden plover just outside the realignment and a yellow-browed warbler in the small copse near the Butterwick car park.
Back at Frampton, Chris was trying to relocate the rough-legged buzzard but, although a distant probable candidate was spotted, couldn't confirm that the bird seen on the cruise was still in Frampton airspace. What we did find however was double figures of common buzzards including a kettle of 7 together over Marsh Farm.
Common buzzard - Toby Collett
More regular than the migrants above has been a barn owl patrolling the reserve after 5pm. It's route runs along the northern boundary of the reedbed and onto/around the scrapes before heading back towards the hedgerow, usually with some unfortunate rodent as company.
Barn owl - Toby Collett
Unfortunately the 2 whooper swans seen together on the 12th, like the groups on the 16th, didn't hang around but we'll keep our fingers crossed for a repeat of last winter when we had over 100 roosting on the reservoir for several weeks.
Whooper swan - Neil Smith
The high tide wader spectacle at Freiston is really starting to deliver with over 3,000 black-tailed godwit on the reservoir and a thousand more oystercatcher on the saline lagoon. With numbers like that it can be hard to know where to look but I'd recommend a peek at the reservoir first and then a good walk round the lagoon as knot, dunlin, turnstone and redshank can all hide round corners. To get the best of both worlds head up to the junction where all habitats meet each other (on top of the sea wall) as the tide is falling and enjoy the swirling mass of birds leaving over your head to go and feed. Make sure you head down to our seed mixes at the south end too. Big numbers of finches and buntings are loving the wild bird cover crop and the bushes are could well hold a fair few thrushes.
Black-tailed godwit - Toby Collett
Redshank, dunlin, turnstone and knot - Toby Collett
Here is your weeks sightings map.
1. The northern end of Roads Farm is looking excellent for waders. A short sward and shallow water has combined to provide ideal conditions to mixed bag of over 100 waders. The majority of these are dunlin and ringed plover but little stint and curlew sandpiper are also there to be found.
2. The glossy ibis is being very confiding once again and can regularly be seen from the Sea Bank Viewpoint.
3. Brent geese numbers have smashed through 4 figures and their burbling call is now the soundtrack to your visit.
4. Pintail numbers continue to grow and the males are starting to look splendid.
5. We are re-wetting middle and south scrape and a bit off vegetation management have provided perfect conditions for these long billed lovelies. The jack snipe seen on the 16th was on the west bank of South Scrape.
6. If a rough-legged buzzard does decide to stick around then this is the place to look for one. Still no hen harrier reports yet but plenty of marsh harriers seen fro the watchpoint this week.
7. Like the brent geese wigeon numbers are now into four figures and are a marvelous sight when they flight together.
8. With winds switching away from the east we may not be in for large falls but there are still plenty of birds around and the cover and food available on the cross bank and public footpath could attract anything.
One of regulars received an e-mail back this week regarding a colour ringed black-headed gull seen a few months ago. It was ringed as a chick in Lithuania and this is the first time it has been seen in the UK, 11 years after it was ringed. As we start to see more birds arriving to spend the winter, we may see a few more marked birds so do keep your eyes out and let us know if you see one.
Black-headed gull P856 ringing details - courtesy of Lithuanian Bird Ringing Centre
We've had several sightings of weasel throughout the week. A mild end of year looks to have helped the local rodent population so plenty are around to be snacked on, see shrike video and owl pic above. Weasels are best seen bounding along the path edges before darting into the adjacent undergrowth. The road running through the reserve is best as it provides a continuous view but we get reports from all over the reserve so just be as observant as you can and keep your fingers crossed.
Weasel - Neil Smith
And weasels aren't the only things you might find running along our paths..... Devils coach horse beetle - Neil Smith
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