We'll start this week with where we left off last week and that's with our mystery bird/wing. 

Well done to all those who guessed that it was the wing of a female Pintail. Here is what they look like when they're attached to a body.

 Pintail - Neil Smith

And so to the sightings. The big news this week was our record count of Whooper Swans on the scrapes at Frampton with 251 on the morning of the 5th. 5 Bewick…

Did you know that it is Fairtrade Fortnight? Running from 24 February to 9 March, this is the annual celebration by Fairtrade of their work in ensuring producers, particularly in developing nations, do not get exploited. They get a fair price for the goods they produce, rather than being beaten down by the continual drive to lower prices in our shops.

Here at Frampton, we are pleased to say we are doing our bit to help…

Big thank you to Chris for manning the fort for last week's sightings. Unfortunately you're back to earth with my ramblings this week, will try not to make the return too bumpy.  

Highlight of the week was the years 4th (maybe 5th) red kite reported from the Visitor Centre by Mick on the 26 Feb. Could this be the same bird mooching about or has there been some local movement as birds disperse from wintering grounds…

Last week someone very special paid us a visit. This lovely little pink bear came to have a good look around our reserve and he had a great time. 

In fact he had such a great time and loved looking at all the wildlife so much, he got left behind. He was very upset and lonely but he found us and we gave him a cuppa and something to eat. After that he felt much better and was determined to get home.

He thought it would…

Hi all,

Toby is off entertaining his family as it is half term, so it has fallen to me to do the recent sightings. 

Well, we will start with some returning friends. Four European white fronted geese are back on the wet grasslands. Though with a distressing tendency to hide in some of the channels there.. Probably best viewed from the wet grassland trail, to the south side of the reserve.

The little stint has continued…

I’m looking out of the office window at this beautiful calm sunny afternoon and I just can’t help but feel that spring is on its way! One of the first signs that winter is lessening its grip is the first flowers appearing in our gardens and countryside. Snowdrops are of course the best known. They are already in full bloom here at the RSPB Lincolnshire office. Little clumps of white, looking like mini snow drifts.…

Due to the weather being as repentant and miserable as it was, this week couldn't keep up with the flurry of activity that we saw last week. Despite this we did have a few nice surprises....

The Little Stint that was seen briefly on North Scrape before flying off north last week was relocated on the Freiston reservoir on the 9th but hasn't been reported since, much like the long staying Great Northern Diver. We haven…

The half-term holidays start on Friday and we’ve got some great events lined up for you to keep the children entertained! From Friday 14 February-Sunday 23 February there’s a treasure trail running around the reserve. Follow the clues to find out how wildlife finds love and then answer the questions to win a prize. Just pop into the visitor 10am-4pm to pick up an answer sheet at a cost of £1 each.

Calling all artists and architects. There is an exciting opportunity afoot...

If you visited Frampton last spring and summer, you have have been lucky enough to see one of the Transported arts events that we hosted. The 'Nerdy Birdies' put on a fantastic cabaret act, Angela Daymond held a workshop making items from woad-dyed fabric, and animator Neil Baker created an animated film (which can still be seen in the visitor…

Welcome to the Lincolnshire Wash Reserves recent sightings, being posted a whole day early as I'm away tomorrow and don't want you missing out. Plus it's choc full of photos to make up for a word only round up last week.

We'll start with our surprise of the week which arrived, very briefly, in the form of a Little Stint. While not unusual to get them on the reserve it is an interesting time of year for a…

Very super quick round up as we've had our team meeting all morning and John and I have been out all afternoon getting very wet and muddy but our fishing technique has drastically improved..... 

I'm in all weekend (trying to beat Dan's daily VC total) so will do my best to flesh this out before I head into the centre. 

So, highlights this week.

Firstly we'll start with our lingerers from last week. The Great…

Coming off the back of last weeks sightings with a very photo heavy theme, I'm happy to throw open the doors to opinions and ask what you want from the sightings blog. I appreciate this a bit of lead balloon as we often ask for feedback and never get it but I'll give it a another try, new year, new outlook and all that :) Last week's blog was picture heavy and pretty brief and in previous posts I have given quite detailed…

During autumn and winter months, starlings form massive flocks in the early evening when they come together to choose their communal night time roost. The sky is turned into a swirling black cloud as the birds turn and swoop in unison. This is known as a ‘murmuration’ and is a wildlife spectacle not to miss.

They tend to choose areas sheltered from harsh weather and predators like woodland, reedbed, cliffs…

Bit of a fast and furious blog this week as I've been out on site with a digger since 07:30 and only just got in the office and my tea's in the oven!!

So lets get to it. Quality over quantity this week. The Great Northern Diver remained at Freiston from last week offering good photographic opportunities on occasion but it get's knocked from top spot by wildfowl this week. 

Great Northern Diver - Neil Smi…

Since 1979 the RSPB has been asking you to count the birds in your garden and this year is no exception. Our Big Garden Bird Watch in 2014 is running over the 25^- 26 January and all you have to do is spend an hour of your choice counting the birds in your garden. Over 590,000 people took part last year with 8.2 million birds counted.

So why take part? By bringing all the results together from across the country over…

Our bird of the week left it late to put in an appearance but the Great Northern Diver found on the morning of the 9th was certainly a welcome addition to the year list. Usually it takes a stomp out to the mouth of the Witham and even then only glimpses are caught as they bob around in the swell or fly away from you without offering a glance back. Seen from the comfort of the Freiston Hide it ventured around the lagoon…

If you go down to the reserve today, you could be in for a surprise. No, thankfully no bears. Instead, in amongst all the wigeon is a rather odd looking duck. Below is a picture, kindly supplied by a visitor

 Photo by Keith Waterfall

So, what is it? Well, believe it or not, it is an Australian wood duck, sometimes also called a maned duck or even maned goose. It is a large, goose-like duck. Quite possibly related to…

The wildlife garden at Frampton Marsh is located next to visitor centre on entrance to the reserve. It has been designed to provide food, water and shelter for all types of wildlife, not just birds! There are lots of ways to provide diverse habitats that offer a wide choice of healthy food and shelter, creating a wildlife refuge in your garden is like managing a nature reserve at your doorstep. Have you ever thought of…

Well Stargazing Live is back on the BBC and we’re looking forward to hosting our very own event here at Frampton Marsh! Come along tomorrow (8th January) for an amazing night of astronomical sights. We’re very happy to be jointly running the event with the East Lincolnshire Astronomy club who will help us enjoy the night sky in its full glory. Telescopes will be provided to sweep the sky and the visitor centre will…

When you think of the words drumming and wildlife you may conjure up a woodpecker pecking at a tree or a hare thumping the ground with his big feet. However did you know that snipe do their own kind of drumming? In the spring, male snipe can be heard giving their ‘drumming’ or ‘bleating’ display to try and attract a mate. During the breeding season they are best looked for on moorland where they fly high in circles and…

Sandpipers that is!! Sandpipers are a large group of wading birds and here at Frampton Marsh we get a variety of them visit us throughout the year. You might find green sandpipers, common sandpipers, curlew sandpipers and wood sandpipers here. Some of the rarer birds that can visit are buff-breasted, white-rumped and pectoral sandpipers.

Curlew sandpiper- Neil Smith

Common sandpiper- Neil Smith

Last year we even…

Good afternoon readers and welcome to a second (and hopefully the last for a while as normal service is resumed) double week helping of sightings to ease you into the New Year.

Snow Buntings on the reedbed - Toby Collett

Scaup (duck and first winter drake) from the Reedbed Hide - Toby Collett

The weather hasn't been particularly condusive to getting out for a walk and birdwatch but a few brave souls braved the blusters…

Well it’s worth a mention about the campaigning that we do which can cause some lords to leap about! Having over a million members really gives the RSPB a foot to stand on and we take our campaigning seriously. One of the most recent campaigns was related to farming for wildlife and the funding farmers get for managing their land in an environmentally friendly way. Over 10,000 RSPB supporters emailed David Cameron…

Have a guess what we might be looking at today on the eighth of our twelve days of christmas? Well I’ll give you some clues, they’re a large farm animal, they love grass and they have a tendency to go ‘mooooo’. That’s right, we’re focussing on cows. Cows are very important to the RSPB and not only because they provide us with milk to put in our tea and coffee!!!

You might see grazing…