We share a Twitter feed with RSPB Titchwell to keep you up to date with what's happening at the RSPB reserves either side of the Wash.

Just search RSPBNorfolkLinc or click on the logo below to find us.

Thanks to those of you who mention that you read the blog when you call into the visitor centre :) 
It's great to hear that you find the updates useful.

I've just created a 'Visitor Sightings' Forum on the Frampton Community pages (here) so please do post in what you've seen, where and when as it's really useful to have eyes and ears out and about.

Please also feel free to post your photos on the…

With bonfire night coming up on Monday we all know it can be a stressful time for wildlife if we're not careful how we celebrate.

Here at Frampton the wildlife doesn't have to worry about that,as it has a perfect haven and plenty of wildlife is making the most of the reserve at the moment.

Tree sparrows by Neil Smith

Here's a rundown of the highlights from the week so far

Recent highlights

Tree sparr…

During the past couple of weeks I've noticed a real change in our two reserves, especially since I started volunteering in June.
Gone are the thousands of black-tailed godwits, only to be replaced by skeins of beautiful little brent geese and flocks of golden plover.
I'm sure they'll soon be joined by redwings, fieldfares and waxwings too (hopefully - I've never seen one!)

Waxwing (Lowres) - what a…

What's around?

It's been an unusual week on the reserve, with the funny weather bringing in birds we haven't seen for a while.

Here are the highlights:

Kingfisher infront of hide (at Freiston Shore) - Paul Sullivan.

Kingfisher - 1 individual seen around the dykes near the east hide on Mon, Tues, and Wed, and 2 seen there today!
Goldcrest - 1 or 2 indivuduals seen int he hedgerow most days this week
Green…

Recent sightings

Less of some and more of the others....waders and wildfowl that is.

The last of the migrating birds have passed through the reserve (for example we haven’t seen the large numbers of ringed plover this week that we had a couple of weeks ago). However the wintering birds are starting to arrive en mass, with a few hundred Brent geese and more teal and wigeon about.
More lapwings are arriving too and…

Last week I read the horrific story of a golden eagle that had been shot from the sky on a hillside in Scotland.
This follows the terrible incident earlier in the year where a tracked golden eagle was horribly injured by what is likely to have been an illegal trap. The perpetrators then put the immobile but still living bird in the back of a car and drove it to a roadside more than 20 miles away, where they hid it under a…

Although the peak in autumn migration is past there are still plenty of waders around and with the winter ducks and geese arriving as well this week is a great chance to see Frampton Marsh or Freiston Shore at a high tide.

It’s a good idea to get to your watch point – usually the sea bank for the best views – at least half an hour before high tide to see the birds come in from the saltmarsh and mudflats.…

Wildlife highlights

It’s official, winter’s on the way: the whooper swans are back!
Plenty of teal and wigeon around too as well as the wonderful waders we’re famous for.

Here are some of this week’s highlights...

Long tailed skua – resting on the reedbed for an hour on Thursday morning.
Dark bellied Brent geese – 400-500 at least feeding on the saltmarsh yesterday and today.
Pale…

Hi folks,

We'll be clearing vegetation on the shingle islands on the scrapes tomorrow to improve the habitat all year round for our fantastic birds. It's important to do this work as too much vegetation doesn't make attractive nesting ground for some important birds (like the common tern that nested here for the first time this year).

The work will cause some disturbance on the scrapes and we apolgise for…

It's been a bright, chilly day today and although there haven't been large flocks about on the reserve, the variety of birds to see has been brilliant.

The pectoral sandpiper's back and there are little stint and curlew sandpiper about too. Ringed, golden and grey plover on the scrapes and wheatear and marsh harrier on the saltmarsh. Fantastic!

Combine this with lovely people to talk to and great autumnal…

This week has been full of crisp, bright autumn days and, although the numbers of migratory birds are decreasing as we march on towards winter, there are still plenty of waders to been on the scrapes.

We are also seeing more and more of our winter visitors arriving and the cooler, shorter days are bringing ever better chances to see birds of prey hunting on the reserve.

Here are the highlights for the week so far:

 Today the reserve (and most of the country) is enveloped in wet & windy weather, so it's the perfect opportunity for me to put fingers to keyboard with another blog update (with Monty, my 6 month old Miniature Schnauzer curled up on my lap!).

My last couple of weeks at Frampton & Freiston have been spent mainly at sea - well 'at lagoon', I suppose.  As, along with warden Graham, assistant warden Simon…

A quick update from me.
We've had a high tide this week which pushed plenty of waders onto the scrapes.
We were also doing some habitat management on the reedbed earlier in the week which spooked a few birds but there were still plenty to see.

Highlights for this week

5 + curlew sandpiper on the scrapes
2 little stint
1 pectoral sandpiper (though not seen today so it may be gone)
teal and wigeon - our winter wildfowl…

Hello there,

You may have noticed our lovely art lecterns set at intervals around the reebed trail. These were put in as a result of a partnership with the Thomas Deacon Academy in Peterborough and their talented young artists often supply wildlife art to feature in the lecterns.

A group of these students will be coming to visit Frampton Marsh tomorrow and will be doing some painting  in the 360 Hide between 10.30am…

Recent Highlights

Black-tailed godwits - 1500 - they put on a fantastic display, wheeling and swirling in unison above the reedbed this today.
House martins and sand martins - the clear weather and wind brought a few hundred house martins and 50+ sand martins through the reserve on Tuesday
Wheatear - one or two individuals seen on the reedbed trail every day this week.
Cape shelduck - originally misidentified (by me) as…

If you carry a scope clamp instead of a tripod then we have some good news for you:

Our friendly neighbourhood wardens have put in 5 descreet clamp boards around the Wash trail at Frampton to help you get the best views of the fantastic wildlife here.

As of this afternoon there will be a poster in the Visitor Centre showing the locations of these boards so keep an eye out or ask the person on duty to point it out to…

As you know, autumn's probably the most exciting times for birdwatching, especially on the Wash.
So I'm not phased that August's flown by as I'm looking forward to seeing what the next few months bring to the reserve (not too much wind and rain please).

Here's a quick rundown of the highlights for this week:

Red necked phalarope - still showing well on the scrapes
Ruddy shelduck - on the reedbed today…

Let me guess, what you really want to know is; is the red necked phalarope still here?

Yes it is. It doesn't have a red neck but as of today it's still around.
This bird is a juvenile in winter plumage so it's a lovely snowey white with black head and wing markings. Last seen on the scrapes but it's been moving about a lot so check in the Visitor Centre for the latest position.

Mike Langman (rspb-images…

Try something different and come down to our Freiston Shore reserve for the Wartime Memories Weekend:

What could be better than combining a trip to our breathtaking Wash-side reserve with a step back in time?

The We'll Meet Again Mobile WW2 Museum will be putting on a fantastic event. Visit the link above to find out more.

Recent sightings

It's been another good week for waders and the godwits are presenting a real spectacle at the moment.  Plenty of birds of prey about too and the butterflies are showing well too.

Highlights:

2 Hobby
2000 Black tailed godwit
1 Kingfisher (the first on the reserve for months!)
2 Marsh harrier
1 Merlin
1 Juv. Sparrowhawk
1 Little owl
1 Short eared owl
Family of weasels
2 Grass snake
1 Curlew sandpiper
2 Wood s…

The guys at Frampton have kept me very busy of late - so busy that I haven't written a blog in ages! I've been given a broad spectrum of jobs to keep me occupied and I've also been given my independence; when Graham the Warden was away for a week.

In the last few weeks I've cleared our wet grassland trail of evil-looking (and feeling!) thorns with hedge clippers. I've laid out an electric fence (without…

What's about:

Plenty of curlew sandpipers about this week, with a top score of 8 on Tuesday.
An arctic tern seen on the scrapes on Tuesday and Wednesday.
One or two wood sandpipers seen every day throughout the week.
A family of stoats seen playing infront of the left hand corner of the Visitor Centre on Wednesday.
Small groups of curlew seen flying over the reserve today and Wednesday.

Some summer insects about too,…

It's simple.

Four fantastic farmers have reached the farming for wildlife final (that's a tongue-twister!).

We choose who we want to win...and go into the draw for a luxury spa break, yes please!

You can see the finalists and cast your vote here

More than 70% of UK land is farmed so wildlife-friendly farming is CRUCIAL in keeping the UK's wildlife healthy.

The more of us to vote, the stonger the message…