Hello again,
Sorry, still no Toby. So another simplified version of the weekly sightings. Not assisted by all the manky weather we've been having, which has made birding a tad on the tricky side.
Right, waterfowl. Whooper swans are about. Up to 24 of them. Quite a few feed on the farmland just off the reserve then fly in to roost, so early or late are the best times. On the grassland reservoir there have been a couple of goldeneyes too.
On the wader front, up to six spotted redshanks may be found on the wet grassland behind the scrapes. Knot and grey plovers are often to be found on the scrapes, and a jack snipe has been there on and off. Golden plover numbers are still building.... A single woodcock on 1 November gave us our thirty-third wader species since March. Not bad going!
Lots of raptors about. Merlin, peregrine, sparrowhawk, kestrel, marsh and hen harriers all being seen daily. Barn owls hunt around the reedbed in evenings if the weather isn't too bad.
And for assorted other stuff... Lesser redpolls have been in the hedgerow by the visitor centre. Tree sparrows are now coming to the centre feeders with some regularity. A Cetti's warbler has been around 'Mount Hirons', and a water rail has been seen in both that area, and also in the reedbed.
Away from the birds, and a (sadly deceased) water shrew found on Tuesday was only the second reserve record!
Sorry for how abbreviated all this is. Fingers crossed Toby comes back soon!
Reedbed, freshwater scrapes, saltmarsh and wet meadow. Frampton Marsh has it all! Come and pay us a visit soon.