Howdy folks! And welcome to a new year's worth of Frampton Marsh sightings. With me, Chris the visitor guy. I hope you all enjoyed your festive breaks, and maybe even found some time to get some birdwatching done.
So, what have we had about on the reserve? In time-honoured fashion, lets go to the maps.
Sorry, no maps for Wednesday or Tuesday
And finally...
So do you get the general idea?
Hen harriers, peregrines and merlins are around pretty much every day. Check the fencelines on the wet grassland for the last two. The harriers are usually low over the saltmarsh, but do come over the reedbed chasing the starlings.
Talking of the starlings, if the weather is good the murmuration can be impressive. Estimates are of 5-7,000 birds. If it is raining they do not show anywhere near as well though, so pick your day.
Whooper swans continue to come onto the reserve late in the evening, often well after the sun has gone down. Though if you are waiting for them, it gives you a chance to admire Venus, currently shining brightly in the sky. Look south-east to see it.
One great thing about this time of year is the wonderful quality of the light. if you get a bright day, it really does make photos glow and seem alive. Check out some of these...
Stonechat by Neil Smith
Blue tit by Phil Diggins
Teal by Neil Smith
Fieldfare by Alan Brewster
Right, so that is what has been about, now a warning if you are planning to visit us. On the road between the reserve and Frampton village, the farmer is loading up a large pile of sugarbeet. it is possible that you may get caught there for up to 15 minutes as the lorry is loaded, as it is impossible to get past. if you want to avoid this, we suggest coming in/out along the route signposted with brown tourist signs from the A16. Of course you might be lucky and miss it completely.
So, that's all for this week. If you want to keep up with the latest here then please follow us on Twitter, on Facebook and share any lovely photos you may have taken with us on our Flikr page. I hope you all have a great week, good birding, and I'll catch you next time!
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.