Howdy folks! Welcome again to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings. With me, Chris the visitor guy.
Its another fairly short this one this week, with a bit of a map gap in the middle. But hopefully it'll give you some ideas of what is out here. Shall we start with today?
The water rails are becoming ever more obvious. We are sure at least one pair bred on the reserve this year, maybe more. The young birds are now popping up all over the place, though in front of reedbed hide is a pretty good bet. You just have to be patient. Also, keep your ears open for their pig-like squealing.
No maps for Thursday, Wednesday or Tuesday I'm afraid.
So, Monday...
And Sunday...
The Egyptian geese were fleeting in their appearance, maybe visiting from Snettisham where they are know to breed. Golden plover flocks were pretty impressive.
Oooh, that was a wonderful weasel sighting. It actually swam up to the visitor centre, climbed out then disappeared into the undergrowth. Amazing views. of course I didn't have my camera handy...
So, what are some things to look out for? Well, maybe some of these
Stonechats show really well from the rough ground on the other side of the reedbed to the visitor centre, and you can get some cracking views. or indeed photos, as Neil Smith so admirably demonstrates here.
Out on the water of the reedbed, try searching through the ducks for this scaup.
(Photo by Cynthia Harrison)
Beware of female tufted ducks which can also show a white patch of the base of the bill. The rounded head shape here shows it is a scaup, tufties have a definite peak to their head. Be patient, search through the ducks and sooner or later it will pop up. Possibly literally, as like the tufties it is a diving duck.
Whooper swans like these also might take some patience. Not from how hard they are to see, but more when they show. They fly in at dusk. Sometimes as the sun sets, sometimes when it is really quite dark. They sleep on the scrapes or reedbed, then leave again in the morning to feed on local fields.
(photo by Neil Smith)
Just to finish with, here's a couple of videos by reserve regular Steve Black. One of a snipe, another of a hunting hen harrier.
So that just about wraps it up. Do remember you can send up sightings, videos, photographs or anything else by email (lincolnshirewashreserves@rspb.org.uk), pop them on our Facebook page, or tweet them, remember the hashtag #RSPBframpton. Our twitter feed can be found here and is a great way of keeping up to date with what is happening on the reserve.
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.