Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 23 > 29 December 2017

Welcome to the final sightings blog of the year. We hope you've not only enjoyed reading them, but using them as a guide to get the best out of your visits to the reserve during 2017. We are only a few days away from the New Year and I'm sure plenty of you will be out and about to stretch your legs and get 2018 started with a bumper haul. Lets see what we can tempt you with.....

Here's what's been seen on the 22, 23, 26, 27 and 29 December. 

The tasty species to get your 2018 year list off to a good start are often the ones you have to work for. If the weather is looking good and the tides suitable, I would definitely suggest heading down to the Witham mouth for a quick scan of the sea. We've had Slavonian and black-necked Grebe reported there last week and there's always the chance of one, 2 or if you're lucky a trio of divers. Sea duck like eider and common scoter may also be picked up, with scaup and long-tailed duck an outside chance. The tide will push lots of waders in close so you can hoover up knot, grey plover, bar-tailed godwit and turnstone which can be tricky to catch up with at Frampton. 

At Frampton itself the more tricky species in residence are the bearded tits and Cetti's warblers. Both not too difficult to hear but much harder to get eyes on. For the beardies, head round to the North East side of the reed bed or hang out around the sea bank car park. You can also try here for the Cetti's but your best bet is scanning from the VC car park and walking along the footpath towards the Marsh Farm reservoir. While you're walking towards the reservoir, keep an eye out for a white rump and a flash of pink! It may well be the bullfinch that Dan found a few days ago.

We don't give Freiston enough of a shout on here, mainly because we don't get many reports back from those that go there :( When we get over there it's usually to replace fence posts, tidy up the vegetation or replace posters in hides so not a lot of time to grill the reserve itself. Paul has been over a few times though and has regularly seen snow buntings, he's had them all to himself too. 

Of course we'll keep you updated with all that's about but unfortunately we can't be the eyes and ears all the time. I don't think we say this enough but a BIG thank you to everyone that pops in to the centre or gets in touch with us online and lets us know what's around as these reports, and some of the awesome images we use to illustrate it, can't be done without you. 

So what have been showing well enough for pictures this week?

Well the whooper swan roost is now in the regular 50's with over 60 seen earlier in the week. If you do see any yellow nosed swans on the reserve, they are more than likely to be whoopers but do check through them for Bewick's. To see them come in to roost, wrap up warm and wait at mound with the seat. They will fly in from the fields to the south and either head onto the reed bed or scrapes. While you're waiting, you may be treated to the starling murmuration or barn owl fly by.

 
Whooper swan - Steve Clayton

 
Brent geese over the Witham (and Elisabeth - S) - Steve Clayton

It's been another poor year for our brent geese with very few (less than 2% of the adult birds) juveniles being seen. They are still here in good number though with several thousand traversing the site throughout the day.

 
Brent geese over East Hide - Steve Clayton

They need our fresh water resource to bathe and drink so position yourself right, like the visitors below, and you can get some wonderful flybys as they burble over the sea wall. A word of warning, if you do fancy this and are underneath them..... do wear a hat or pull your hood up, and DEFINITELY don't look up and go 'WOW' as they fly over... (don't ask how I know not to do this). Steve's picture below is brilliant in that it captures one of the things we try very hard to do here which is get you as close as possible to the reserve's wildlife. We want you to be immersed and feel connected to your surroundings rather than just coming to look out of a hole in a box.

 
Brent geese incoming - Steve Clayton

We've had a lot of interest in our merlins recently, which is understandable as they are the bees knees, but it's good to see that the commoner kestrel isn't being ignored as these are one of the best birds to watch and admire. Next time you see one hovering, just take ten minutes to see how still their heads are as they eye up some lunch. I can't even keep my head that still when sitting, let alone while waving my arms up and down in a head wind! As we have a couple of kestrels and merlins in residence, this may be useful as a quick refresher. 

 
Kestrel - Richard Bailey

The grassland outside the Visitor Centre is HEAVING after the recent rainfall and lapwing are one of the more confiding waders, and at this time of year, definitely one of the prettiest. Golden plover flocks are building and a good scan though will also find ringed plover, dunlin, black-tailed godwit, ruff,redshank, snipe and curlew mixed in among the hundreds of ducks and geese. We've left the grassland pretty dry in order to conserve our water resources. With it being so mild, holding water back has given the terrestrial invertebrate community time to increase (which when we flood the site gets pushed to the surface and munched) and also chance for late ruderal weeds to grow on the muddy patches which provide seed heads to be feasted on. The result of this management can be enjoyed as soon as you arrive in the car park! 

 
Green plover/peewit/lapwing - Jeremy Eyeons

We also have been doing some management of our arable areas and stonechat have been the stars of this work. Each week we see some excellent photos and this week is no exception. These chaps need tall (~1m) vantage points to perch on where they can spy prey on the floor then flick down to pick it up and return to their perch. This behaviour is quite distinctive and can be used, along with their regular wing flicking, to identify the birds from some distance. If you've not seen stonechat before or want to get some good photos, walk along the northern section of the reedbed and keep an eye out for them on the fence line and taller vegetation.

 
Stonechat - Jeremy Eyeons

 
Stonechat - Richard Bailey

The feeding station has been tweaked once more and still draws in the birds. With the mild conditions prevailing we have seen more and more of them in and around the car park as they search for seed in the thistles and alders. Goldfinch are currently very abundant and could well feature heavily in next months Big Garden Birdwatch. Don't forget to sign up and put an hour aside to enjoy your garden birds in the last weekend of January. All records help give us a snapshot of how our birds are doing and you'l be joining over half a million other observers, which makes this the biggest bird survey in the world! 

 
Goldfinch - Jeremy Eyeons

While we appreciate that many people come here for the birds, we are part of an incredible landscape and they views here can be spectacular. We post a lot of Neil's skyscapes but we can never post too many as they always look wonderful. The best bit is, a lot of these photos can be taken with a phone, so if you are out and it does look good out there, snap and share away. If you'd like us to include them in the weekly round ups, use the details and links at the bottom of the page.

 
Christmas Eve sunrise - Neil Smith

 
Shepherd's warning - Neil Smith

That's all from us 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.