Letters from Lauren - week 5

Here is the fifth in the series of letters from Lauren, our summer residential volunteer. This week she looks back at all the excitement happening with rare birds..

------------------------------------------

Hello everyone

I’m sure you will all be aware by now that it’s been an exceptional week at Frampton Marsh, due to some stupendous birds turning up at the reserve.

Funnily enough, on Wednesday morning, I had literally just been thinking to myself that I’d seen white-winged black tern and pectoral sandpiper here since I started volunteering back in July, and was wondering if I’d see any more rare birds during my remaining two-and-a-half weeks…

As if by magic, not long before mid-day, the news came through that another had indeed been reported – a stilt sandpiper! This was a first for the reserve, and is thought to be the second for Lincolnshire (the previous record being back in the 1960s). Moreover, somewhere in the region of forty to fifty of these American vagrants have ever made it to Britain, therefore this bird could potentially be the only one of its kind to show up in the whole of the UK this year!

Although I was about to start a pond-dipping session (where, incidentally, a newt was caught that somehow ended up being named Archie), afterwards I was delighted to hear that the sandpiper was still around and was showing well at North Scrape. I sneaked along there during my lunch break and thankfully managed to see the little beauty! In fact, as I write this on Monday evening, it is still present at the reserve, and has provided countless happy birders with some fabulous views over the last few days.

Understandably, such a rarity has resulted in the reserve becoming extremely busy recently. Apparently now well over one thousand individuals have arrived especially to see this bird, several having travelled considerable distances (from London, Wales and Northumberland, for example), and Saturday afternoon saw me donning a hi-vis jacket and directing visitors into the overflow car park in the field opposite the centre!

As if this wasn’t enough excitement for one week, on Thursday, what else appeared, but a red-necked phalarope! And then, just when we thought things couldn’t possibly get any more exhilarating, a long-billed dowitcher was spotted at the reservoir on Friday! Unfortunately I dipped out on both of these, as neither remained on site for as long as our stilt sandpiper.

So, can’t wait for next week at Frampton Marsh – who knows what might turn up? At this rate I wouldn’t be at all surprised if we get an emperor penguin…

Lauren