Waders continue to dominate the highlights this week with a good spread across the reserve and over at Freiston too. Let's see what's where....
1. The turtle doves haven't been as noticeable in recent weeks. We have our fingers crossed that it's because they're having a second brood after successfully fledging the first lot.
2. The first juvenile wheatear of the autumn arrived early in the week and we're hoping others will start to follow. The saltmarsh side of the sea bank is the place to scan and check exposed perch points.
3. Check the times below for high tides as this will push more spotted redshanks out of the creeks and on to the reserve.
4. We nudged through 4 figures for our WeBS count of back-tailed godwit last week. Several or these have been colour ringed too so please report any here.
5. Greenshank will follow the same pattern as spotted redshank, with a visit on a high tide giving you a better chance of seeing them.
6. It's as we were last week with curlew sandpiper. 3 are dotted around Frampton, with another on the Freiston reservoir, but that number will probably rise in the next few weeks.
7. As the ditches dry out our green sandpipers become trickier to see. Look out for them along the big ditch that runs south just before you get to the sea bank car park.
8. We peaked at 9 little stint on the evening of the 19th. As much as we'd like to hold them here for a while, they will often tag on to the many hundreds of dunlin that roost out of the wash and then follow them out when the tide drops.
9. We had a good time with short-eared owls last year and they look set to continue with a single bird on the 22nd being joined by another on the 23rd. Raptor viewpoint is your destination to try and see them over the saltmarsh.
The Roads Farm corner is drying out nicely and it will be a fine balancing act making sure we keep waders happy and fed as we head into August. Fortunately we can move birds around the reserve as we expose different feeding areas as the summer progresses and use our water resources to replenish others. Not easy when it's been so dry through June and most of July but we'll give it a go. The 9 little stints weren't complaining and are hopefully setting a trend for big numbers come August when the juveniles arrive.
Little stint (x7?) - Ian Ellis
While we are doing our best to create lots of food for waders we must also be aware that waders themselves are food for others. Halfway through counting black-tailed godwits last weekend (I topped out at 1085 after the restart) a peregrine came over and snatched a dunlin from the throngs. As unfortunate as this is for the dunlin, and to a much lesser extent my count, this is a magnificent sight to see. And they aren't the only falcon to wreak havoc on the wader assemblage. Kestrels will get birds up the air and we'll have a merlin or two back in a month but the real pursuit specialist of the moment is the hobby. These speed low and direct over the grassland and will put on a display of such agility and control that it becomes spellbinding to watch. A proper birding treat if ever there was one.
Hobby - Neil Smith
If you like your birds of prey and their hunting behaviour a little more sedate then we can cater for you too. A probable family of 5 (as of the 24th) short-eared owls are hanging around the southern end of the reserve. These really are boom and bust species with some years having 5 records in total. Five at once is fantastic and well worth the walk out to see. Barn owls have been an more than adequate supporting cast and if you time your visit for an evening high tide.... who knows what else you might stumble on?
Short-eared owl - Ian Ellis
There are plenty of juvenile birds out at the minute and while many look the same as mum and dad, ie tree sparrows, reed and sedge warblers, several can throw you pretty easily. Young goldfinches don't have the red faces, juvenile black-headed gulls can look pink and out on the saltmarsh an immature wheatear has very few distinctive features at all. But they do have one, and one is all they need! That flash of white on the bum, which is how the bird got its name, will still be visible ad easy to see, well, as long as it flies....
Wheatear - Ian Ellis
Last week I nudged you all to look down as often as you look up as the world below knee height is coming alive. Bugs and beasties of an infinite variety of shape, size and colour are showing themselves. A great place to start is in our fantastic wildlife garden and if you head further afield to the back of the reedbed and bunded path to the 360 hide, more surprises await you. Here's a few pictures to get you started.
Cinnabar moth caterpillar - Neil Smith
6-spot burnet - Neil Smith
Ringlet - Neil Smith
Small tortoiseshell - Neil Smith
Rosemary beetle - Paul Sullivan
That's all from me this week. Enjoy your weekend everyone, and if you can't wait 7 days to know what's going on here, keep your finger on the Lincolnshire Wash Reserves pulse by following us on Twitter and giving us a ‘like’ on Facebook. Alternatively if you enjoy taking pictures and have a Flickr account then please join our group and share your images with everyone. If you are thinking of paying a visit from near or far please do check out the tide times which can make a big difference to both numbers and variety of birds seen on the day.
The more you're out the more you see - https://twitter.com/BoyWonderBirder