When will this weather end! Living in Britain, I just don’t expect so many days of bright and sunny weather in one go but we have definitely be blessed so far this week. The sun is out again, and by the time I arrived back to munch on my sandwiches I had stripped down to my t shirt!
I love it when the sun is shining, it just lifts the colours of the sky, birds, and flora on the reserve. The place looks bright and colourful. If you are out and about at Frampton Marsh, as I was this morning, look out for spots of yellow around the reedbed because the colt’s foot is now in flower! Colt’s foot is quite an unusual plant as the flowers appear in early spring before any leaves are produced.
It is an important source of nectar for bees early in the season when very few other flowering plants are available. Historically the plant was used to treat asthma and colds, and is still widely available as the medicinal sweet coltsfoot rock. So is if you can find some hiding on one of the banks or alongside one of the paths.
I made a quick stop in the Visitor centre on arriving at the reserve, and was pleased to find that we have whooper swans on the reedbed again! – about 70. These birds are brilliant, and the white of there feathers just shines in the sun. But one of the birds which seems to most excite visitors, and with their classic black and white colouring I can see why, is the avocet. On walking on round the reedbed from reedbed hide, I found a group of 16 on an island towards the rear of the reedbed, although most of them were sleeping!
I was out with my wheelbarrow, doing some odd jobs along with a bit of hide cleaning. As I approached the waters edge at one side of the reedbed, I disturbed two snipe. These are shy birds, and you don’t often see them unless you get close enough to cause them to fly.
Whilst, sweeping east hide, I took two minutes to look out the window and watch the activity on middle scrape. There were over four hundred dark-bellied brent swimming and feeding, 2 male pintails looking rather smart, fourty seven shelducks with their lovely red beaks, and two avocets, along with a few lapwing, and black-tailed godwits. It is great to be able to take a minute to appreciate what birds we do have on sight.
So there are plenty of birds to see, and the reserve looks bright and beautiful in the sunshine, so do come down to Frampton Marsh for a walk round and some bird watching.