What a week! Don't let a bit of rain stop you enjoying a great trip to Frampton Marsh this the weekend .

Well, what a fantastic week for wildlife on the reserve! After a few months of seeing not-very-much on the reedbed (all the good stuff’s been on the scrapes, wet grassland and saltmarsh), it was looking good again this morning.  Pintail, shoveler and more than 50 lapwings in front of the Visitor Centre and bearded tits in the reedbed.

Here’s what else has been seen this week:

Bearded tit by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Bearded tit – 4 seen on Wednesday and another group of 5 seen early this morning on the reedbed
Snow bunting – 12 seen together on the reedbed on Wednesday
Marsh harrier – up for 4 at a time on the saltmarsh
Hen harrier – up to 3 at a time, also on the saltmarsh (mostly seen in the morning)
Merlin – 3 separate birds seen hunting over the reserve
Golden plover – flocks of 900+ on the scrapes and wet grassland all week
Waxwing  - 6 seen in the hedgerow on Tuesday (and 15 outside the office this morning)
Rough legged buzzard – flew over on Monday
Snipe – 36 (!!!) seen on the scrapes alone yesterday
Spotted redshank – seen on the scrapes yesterday and today
Whooper swans – 7 on the scrapes this morning

Waxwing by Neil Smith

Weekend Tides

Weekend Weather

Saturday - rain in the morning but clearing in some parts towards evening. Top temperature of 11 degree with moderate westerly winds. Bring a waterproof.
Sunday  - the best day weather-wise. A frosty start then clear skies and sunshine for most of the day. Chilly, with a top temperature of 7 degrees and moderate westerly winds. Wrap up warm.
Monday - Cloudy for most of the day with spells of rain and stronger southerly winds (up to 21mph). Top temperature of 11 degrees. Bring a waterproof AND wrap up warm.