Howdy folks! And welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy.
Well, just a wee bit of an exciting week this week. So cue the maps...
Where's the excitement? Patience, patience... Though surely black-necked grebes, a spoonbill and bee orchids are quite good going?
You know patience is a virtue, right? The excitement is coming... And again, still some good stuff there on what was a bit of a weather-hit day.
Look, I'm not pulling your leg. Yes, the grebe wasn't reported that day, but everything will be revealed on Tuesday's map.
Well, I promised you excitement, and the second ever black-winged pratincole for Lincolnshire (and the first in the UK since 2014) is surely it. It spent a lot of time hidden in the long grass, but when it flew about the reserve, hawking after insects, you got some wonderful views. This was the first black-winged pratincole for the reserve, and completes our set after we got the oriental pratincole in 2010 and a collared pratincole in 2009.
The first green sandpiper of the year seems a bit paltry after that. A definite influx of painted lady butterflies too. Oh, and the grebes were showing again.
Oh, and not even shown on the map, a quail was calling just outside the reserve.
All the excitement must have been too much, as we don't have a map for Wednesday.
The pratincole had stuck about on Wednesday and was still performing well on Thursday. A good supporting cast of other waders too. And after the map was created, a marsh warbler was found singing by the central mound. Top notch stuff! Who says summer birding is dull?
The pratincole was still here on Friday, spending long periods sat on the ground, then giving fantastic views as it went on feeding flights. Even right in front of the visitor centre, at once point. A clouded yellow butterfly led the supporting cast, which also included a water rail just outside the visitor centre and yes, those grebes...
OK, so if there are the maps, how about some photos? Maybe one of the pratincole? Roy Kinchin can oblige.
Roy also got a very nice shot of a sedge warbler on a teasel.
Regular contributor Jeremy Eyeons has more for us this week. Firstly a pair of newly fledged swallows
Then you know how it is... you want to do some work around the home but your other half is just sat there, getting under your feet...
So lets have a nice shot of a little ringed plover instead
Regular readers may remember that last week I talked about the 'nuptial plumes' on the back of a little egret. Macca has a very good photo of them here.
Finally, David Suddards sends us a whole batch of lovely photos. Though not without some trouble. I mean there you are, trying to take a photo and someone always goes and stands right in front of you...
Maybe easier to concentrate on the smaller things. Like these fungi, sprouting from the wood chippings on one of the viewing areas. Not 100% on the ID, I think it is sulphur tuft? Maybe someone can write in and confirm or deny...
No mistaking the next one though, one of the freshly arrived painted lady butterflies
Sticking with butterflies, here is a ringlet
And a speckled wood
Although they look rather moth-like, these are still butterflies. Large skippers
Whilst this IS a moth, a cinnabar.
Finally a plant with the name of an insect, a bee orchid.
And to round off this week's photos, and staying with the small stuff, Paul Sullivan sent in this shot of Amblyteles armatorius. One of the ichneumon wasps.
If you have trouble working out which wader is which, we have three upcoming wader ID courses, run by the wardens. They will help you separate your dunlin from your curlew sandpiper, and your bar from your black tailed godwits with plenty of expert advice. On the other hand if flowers are your thing, we will have a couple of wildflower walks, led by a friendly guide. Places are limited, book today!
So there you have it! If you are coming to visit us, you can keep up to date with the sightings by following our Twitter account. No need to have an account yourself, we make it so everyone can see it. If you do tweet yourself, please remember to use #RSPBframpton so we can see what you are posting, and also ideally mention @RSPBNorfolkLinc. If you have any good photos (or video, or even artwork) we'd love to see that too. Tweet it, or share it on our Facebook page or our Flickr account. It may also be useful for you to know the weather and tide times for the site, which may well have an impact on what is showing.
All the best, take care, and I will catch you next time!
Chris
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.