Well, a nice sunny day here at lovely Frampton Marsh. And some interesting sightings to be had too.

To start with (and the excuse for one of my favourite puns), we've had a few terns through. Most have been common terns, on their way back to breeding grounds after wintering in Africa. But we have had a couple of more unusual ones. Top of which would be the roseate tern. One of our rarest breeding birds, with just…

Well what a week I've had! I've been in Snowdonia National Park in North Wales all week on a training course at the most amazing study centre. I travelled there on monday picking up Sophie and Phil (the other visitor service trainees) on the way and although the 5 hour drive was pretty tiring it was worth it. The weather was great and we got a chance to be out and about enjoying the beautiful Welsh landscape as well as…

Ed (the conservation intern) and I have been moth trapping again. Really is a bit like christmas. You got to bed not knowing what you'll get. Will it be the moth equivalent of a shiny new bike? Or just a satsuma and a pair of socks?

To be honest, the quantity of the catch hasn't been huge. But what we have had has been interesting.

This one is a hebrew character. But one that gave us a few issues.

Normally…

Quite a good weekend for rarer birds. Though they didn't behave quite as well as we'd have liked.

The excitment on Saturday was a black-necked grebe. In nicer summer breeding plummage too. A smart little bird, it did behave well, staying close to the path that runs around the reedbed, and allowing some very nice views.

Of course, we released the news on the birdwatchers news services. So typically, on Sunday…

We have a pair of Mute swans who have decided to set up their nest right next to the footpath near the 360 hide. It's tucked nicely into the corner and they seem to be very happy there. I walked past the nest today and the female was sitting keeping her eggs nice and warm, she seemed very cosy!

Some interesting facts on Mute swans for you.....

Male swans are called cobs and females are called pens
Their wingspan…

Tip #1: If you like night-flying insects, call yourself a junior lepidopterist. If you say you are a young moth-er, the advice you get might be quite different to what you are expecting....

With last night being overcast and relatively still, warm and humid, it seemed to be the ideal time to break out the Frampton Marsh moth trap and see what might be flying about. Once we found it of course.... Took us a good bit of…

Well, this is fun. I'm in the process of moving house to be closer to work. (Until now it was over and hour's commute, each way. And a big petrol bill / carbon footprint). I've moved out of my old place but have a two week wait before I can move into my new one. So in the meantime I am staying in the volunteer accomodation above the office.

The office itself is an old Georgian farmhouse, quite close to the…

Well after what has seemed like never ending days of blustery conditions the wind has finally calmed and it all seems very peaceful, if a bit wet, on the reserve. The sheep have settled in and the lambs seem to be having fun. Swallows are swooping all over the place performing their amazing aerobatics. You can't help but think maybe, just maybe, spring may have finally arrived! Walking around the reserve today really…

Hi again all,

I’m well into my third week now here at Frampton Marsh and getting into the swing of things. Last week I visited RSPB HQ at The Lodge in Sandy for my RSPB induction and it was a great experience. There were people there from all over the country from Orkney to the Isles of Scilly and all working for the RSPB in a range of roles. So what does an RSPB induction involve I hear you ask?!

Well it’s basically…

You wait ages, then everything turns up all at once!

Well, what a weekend. All those northerly winds we've been having (and that have made everything so cold) swung round for the weekend. Strong winds from the south really did bring in all the migratory birds. In the last three days we have had our first:

• Whimbrel
• Common tern
• Swallow
• House martin
• Yellow wagtail
• Whitethroat
• Willow warbler
• Green sandpipe…

When one of our regulars saw a fox entering an active badger set we started to speculate what might be going on underground during those cold winter nights.....either a fadger or a box we thought might be the result. So keep your eyes peeled, you never know what you might see at Frampton!

John

Today we have a guest blog from Jimmy, the volunteer trainee warden:

Frampton’s Wildlife Garden

 Hello there, I am Jim the volunteer trainee warden for both RSPB Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore. I am also lucky enough to be responsible for the development and maintenance of Frampton’s wildlife garden!

 For those that haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Frampton’s wildlife-friendly garden, come on down…

You know, I really ought to keep my mouth shut! If I'm not putting a jinx on the weather by proclaiming spring has arrived, I'm mentioning birds that promptly up and move sticks. True to form, the mediterranean gulls I talked about last time haven't been seen since the weekend.

So, with that in mind, we definitely didn't have a weasel bouncing aorund outside the visitor centre yesterday. In no way at all…

No, not the weather. Although that was definitely rather better over the weekend. The sun was out, the wind had dropped. It actually felt rather nice. I was wandering around in shirt sleeves for the first time this year.

No, what I am actually referring to was the two mediterranean gulls that arrived at the weekend. You may well be familiar with black headed gull, the ones that loaf around on school playing fields. Well…

OK, so I have prematurely hailed the arrival of spring once already. But this time it is looking rather more positive. Although the wind is still a strong north-easterly today, during the weekend it is predicted to swing around to the south. This will bring in warmer (albeit wetter) weather. And hopefully some of our long awaited migrants.

I am glad though that the wetter weather will be waiting until the middle of next…

Hi there!

I’m Charlotte and I’m the new Visitor Services Trainee here at Frampton Marsh. I love the outdoors and have done some volunteering for the RSPB and other organisations in the past. I’ll be helping Chris with all things visitor related including keeping the visitor centre in tip-top condition for when you visit!

Today is my third day on the job and I’ve been out and about exploring the reserve…

You know, I really felt tempted to add the word 'Grommit' at the end of that title....

So, what a busy weekend it was. We have our annual Easter Egg hunt running, and my word, didn't the people come. Great to see so many happy smiley children running around the reserve looking for clues. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and we certainly shifted a lot of chocolate eggs and rabbits as prizes! The hunt is still…

It is the start of the holidays! And to mark this, we here at Frampton Marsh are once again running our egg-ceedingly popular Easter egg hunt.

Come into the visitor centre and pick up an entry sheet. You'll find out that the Easter Bunny has paid us a visit, but dropped all it's eggs around the reedbed. It'll be the youngster's job to follow the trail around the reedbed, looking out for the ggs. When you find one, it…

Well, week it has been! Aside from all the hoo-hah with the swan, there have been some pretty exciting sightings too.

Let's start with the biggie. And when I say big, I'm not kidding. The 'flying barn door', a white-tailed eagle. We know one has been hanging around the Norfolk cost over the winter, but it decided to pay us a visit on Tuesday. yes, on the same day as the swan rescue. It cruised in from…

It really was all go here at Frampton yesterday...

Currently living out on the reserve we have some 50 whooper swans. Winter visitors from Iceland that escape the much harsher weather there to come to the (comparatively) benign climate of Britain before heading back in the spring to breed. They can be told apart from the more familiar mute swans from their black and yellow bills and the way they keep their necks upright…

Yes, OK. Looking out of the window with yet more snowflakes floating down, you might be forgiven for thinking that Thursday's hailing of spring was a bit premature. But on Friday we had another sign that things are indeed changing.

Over by the East Hide a wheatear was spotted. Slightly earlier than in previous years too! Wintering in North Africa, these are often some of the earliest migrants to come back into Britain…

Today we have to bid farewell to one of the stalwarts of the team here at Frampton. Graham, our wonderful warden, is off to pastures new in Yorkshire. Of all things to do, he has gone off to be the Health and Safety officer for our North England reserves. Swapping waders for a hard hat and high-visibility jacket. We all wish him well up there. Though obviously we also hope he has a quiet and peaceful time!

As I write this, the sun is shining outside the office window. Yellowhammers are singing in the hedge, lapwings are doing display flights and the whole atmosphere just feels much more like spring. What a change from a couple of days ago! Sleet, snow, hail and sub zero temperatures. Mind you, there was still ice on my car this morning and on the road into the reserve. So it could all change again.

Not surprisingly due…

Well, didn't we have lovely weather over the weekend? Actually no, we didn't. Cold, wet, windy... But not without interest on the wildlife front.

Highlight of the weekend must be the black redstart that popped up on Saturday. First seen in the village, it was later briefly seen over by the East hide. Migrant or wintering bird? Hard to tell really. Whichever it was, it certainly raised the spirits. Also raising…

The discontent being at how long the winter is lasting. No sooner do we think things are starting to warm up, then we are back to a cold spell. Just check out the weather forecast below... But despite this, as you may have seen in John's post the other day, we are starting to get "first for year" sightings.

The big one of these this past week has been our first avocets. A couple came in on 3 March and have…