BUMPER BLOG ALERT!!! Hope you're all settle down as you've got two weeks worth of sightings to get through. Apologies to those expecting my blog last week. I was at home with my bambinos for Easter and I live in the middle of nowhere and don't have internet access so was unable to compile and submit anything, sorry. Hopefully I can make it up to you this week and that little blip will soon be forgotten :)
Right, where to start...?
Best birds of the fortnight have been a fly over Serin that followed the Frampton sea bank south on the 13th, a stunning adult Spoonbill, present on the scrapes at Frampton on the 16th and morning of the 18th before going missing and turning up at Freiston on the 24th, and finally the Great White Egret was seen at the start of the fortnight on the 11th and then again on the 16th but we've had no reports since then.
Spoonbill - Anthony Walton
Spoonbill - Ian Ellis
Great White Egret - Neil Smith
As this blog covers quite a timescale there have been a significant amount of new arrivals. Plenty of warblers are now in with Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat singing in the hedgerow behind the car park, Sedge Warbler scratching and whistling away in the hedgerows around the reedbed (and pretty much everywhere), Willow Warbler on the cross bank and a Grasshopper Warbler was a one day wonder reeling near our Turtle Dove mix north of the reedbed on the 23rd. This was a nice coincidence as we had actually had our first Turtle Dove for the year the evening before so fingers crossed the mix we sowed provides them with ample summer food and we have another great year from them. Some of you may remember the mention of DoveStep a few weeks back. Well the boys completed their walk and raised a whopping £2,200 which is going directly into creating 70,000 square metres of Turtle Dove habitat!! What an incredible effort. As significant as this sum is, the walk was as much about raising awareness of the decline of Turtle Doves (we have lost 95% of the UK population) and getting people to look out for them and be aware that this may be the tip of the iceberg... To refresh yourself of their cause and journey, have a read here.
Turtle Dove - Dan Newton
Whitethroat - Ian Ellis
Sedge Warbler - Jill Hall
So that's your starter, now for a main course.
Brent Geese are still very much evident with a good group of 800+ still feeding on the saltmarsh and dropping in for a bathe and drink on middle and north scrape. Our old friend BP= is still in the mix and if you want to remind yourself of the destination this particular goose will probably head for, have a look here. Heading the other way will be the three Whooper Swans that were with us on the 16th. If conditions have been favourable they should be in Iceland by now.
It has been our first blank week for Hen Harriers. Over wintering birds will now be heading back to the uplands to breed, well some uplands at least. They were prevented from breeding in the whole of England last year. If you're free in August and want to be part of something to show how much we care about Hen Harriers then take a look at Mark Avery's blog. Like Hen Harriers, the Merlin is also an upland nester, though they haven't all headed away yet. Birds were seen on the 14th, 19th and 23rd. Definitely getting scarcer but still to be seen if you're lucky. Marsh Harriers were seen skydancing over the saltmarsh on several of the very warm days we've had. A few have passed over the grassland too and we hope we may well have them breeding on the reserve in the next 5 years.
Following on from the nest shot of our Lapwing in the last sightings blog, we can now happily say that she is no longer on eggs but feeding chicks :) If you head down to the far car park and look left as you walk to wards the sea wall you should see them. If not don't worry. There are loads of Lapwing around so there's a very good chance of seeing some chicks somewhere over the next few weeks.
Lapwing display flight - Neil Smith
While not nesting just yet, both Little Ringed Plover and Avocet have been going through the motions with the plovers display flighting around the reedbed and scrapes and Avocets making nests on every island they can find. Our Black-tailed Godwit numbers go from strength to strength (we have over 500 spread across the reserve) and feeding with them are lots and lots of Ruff. While out doing a Lapwing survey we had a distant glimpse of about 20 all together chasing and running around in a very small area. Could this be an early lek developing? Unfortunately we were too far away to see exactly what was going on but with enough birds and some great habitat we could well see some prancing and dancing by one of the most incredible looking waders in the world.
Black-tailed Godwit - Neil Smith
Our first Whimbrel of the year were on the wet grassland on the 12th and since then numbers have steadily risen to 17. At one point they all dropped in to the reedbed in a nice bunch but alas I only had my phone and reserve scope to hand but just managed to grab a pic before they moved on.
Whimbrel - Toby Collett
Other waders present over the last few weeks include Grey and Golden Plover. Greenshank, Dunlin, Ringed Plover and a lone Bar-tailed Godwit in with the black-taileds.
A single Spotted Redshank is as striking as it is secretive and is fleetingly seen feeding among the vegetation on the west bank of south scrape, though it does occasionally venture into the open.
Spotted Redshank - Ian Ellis
Not to be confused with a spotty Redshank - Russ Telfer
On the reedbed our Black-headed Gull colony looks to have settled down with several birds now sitting on nests. The lone second year Mediterranean Gull is still regularly seen parading around his favoured spot on the largest island. The constant clamor of the gulls has brought in our first terns of the year with double figures of Common Tern at Freiston on the 23rd and a peak of 7 at Frampton on the 24th. 5 Arctic Terns were also present that day with a single bird seen over the reedbed the day before.
I was going to pop this next species in at the top but it's such an iconic bird that I thought I'd dedicate a whole line or two to it. Our first Cuckoo of 2014 was both seen and heard on the 24th. Like the Turtle Dove, this species has seen dramatic declines, which in turn has led to some amazing science and one of the most engrossing websites online. The BTO Cuckoo Tracking website is basically a countdown to Spring, you can actually see it coming! You can see updates of satellite tracked Cuckoos on migration and many have been glued to the pages as we anticipate the return of these incredible birds.
Come to think of it we don't do too badly here for declining farmland birds. Along with the Turtle Dove and Cuckoo we also have good numbers of Corn Bunting (who have been singing all over the place), Linnet and Skylark.
Corn Bunting - Ian Ellis
Linnet - Russ Telfer
Skylark - Russ Telfer
Although we don't have as many breeding pairs as we'd like, Frampton is a great place to see Yellow Wagtails as they flit around the cows feet and chase around the wet grassland. We haven't breached double figures yet but the 7 or 8 we have had included a gorgeous Blue-headed bird (one of the European races) on the 16th.
We've not had as many Wheatears moving through as we usually do but fortunately it's very much quality of quantity as they are absolute beauties!
Wheatear - Neil Smith
But we're not just about birds of course and both Frampton and Freiston are great places to get up close to all sorts of wildlife.
Roe Deer - Neil Smith
Speckled Wood - Jill Hall
Water Crowsfoot - Neil Smith
So keep your eyes out when you come and see us this weekend and make sure you give yourself time to explore as there's always lots to see and enjoy.
Oh, I nearly forgot about this chap. A quick brain teaser for the weekend...... Seen on the reebed on the 14th. Answers on a postcard please :)
Tufted Duck and .........? - Toby Collett
Finally a huge thank you to see gull for posting some pictures and feedback on our forum, our first interaction on there in 6 months!!! Please do feel free to share pictures or reports from your days out, ask us questions and make suggestions. We really like to see that you guys enjoy the reserve as much as we do :)
Enjoy your weekend and good birding.
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