• A Fresh Face at Frampton - numero uno

    Howdy folks!

    If you are visiting the reserve over the next six months you will see a new regular face in RSPB uniform. Matt has joined us as a volunteer conservation intern, working alongside the wardening team. This is what he has to say for himself...

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    Hello everybody, my name is Matt and I’ve just arrived at Frampton as the residential intern for practical conservation. I’m really look…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 23 February - 1 March 2019

    Howdy folks! And welcome back to another Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy.

    Another fun-packed (well, sightings-packed) edition for you this week. So with no further ado, we will crack on and get to the maps. Actually wait, no we won't. We have an amendment to make to the last couple of week's editions. The female scaup being reported, isn't. John the site manager got a good look at…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 16 - 22 February 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy.

    And gosh, hasn't it been lovely weather this week. As a result we've had lots of people visiting the reserve and enjoying all our wildlife. The car park has been full most days. And yet it has still been easy to get away from the crowds and find some peace and quiet, one of the advantages of the site. So, if you haven…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 9 - 15 February 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the RSPB Frampton recent sightings. With me, Chris the visitor guy!

    The bitingly cold days of a couple of week ago seem a distant memory now, as we've had a lovely sunny spell. Though I've probably jinxed it now and we'll be back to ice soon! But what creatures have been about? Cue the maps...

    Well, the dowitcher is still with us!

    The female scaup hadn't been seen for a while…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 2 - 8 February 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy.

    Phew, all a bit wild and windy this morning as I write this. The wind is whipping across the marsh. Yet there are still good things to be seen. Cue the maps....

    So the dowitcher is still here, and the water pipit was seen. And the whooper swans are still coming in to roost.

    Same as Saturday, plus extras. Like the cape…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 26 January - 1 February 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the World Wetlands Day edition of the recent sightings. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy. And if you are talking wetlands, Frampton Marsh IS a great example. Created from scratch and now home to lots of wonderful wildlife. Such as what? Well, cue the maps...

    Well, that is a pretty good board to start with, with the dowitcher, water pipits, and a good supporting cast.

    Quite windy on the Sunday…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 19 - 25 January 2019

    Howdy folks, and welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings. With me, Chris the visitor guy!

    And I hope you are all having a fun and productive Big Garden Birdwatch. Remember, even low numbers count! So Please make sure you spend just an hour recording what birds use your garden, or the local park. We have done the office garden here at Frampton. Not the centre feeders though, don't think we can really call those…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 12 - 18 January 2019

    Howdy folks, and welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the slightly chilly Visitor Guy.

    Brr, yes, turned a bit nippy. Well, it is January after all! What effect will that have on the wildlife? Cue the maps...

    The whooper swans have moved to the north of the reserve, though still coming onto the reedbed to roost after dusk. A couple of Bewick's swans remain with them.

    More furry…

  • Frampton Marsh (and Freiston Shore) recent sightings: 4 - 11 January 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh (and sometimes Freiston Shore) recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy!

    Second blog of the year, so what do we have for you? Let the maps commence...

    The 'big five' are five species of raptor. Well, four and an owl, but that is splitting hairs. With a bit of patience (and possibly a good scope to look out over the saltmarsh) you should be able to get all five…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 22 December 2018 - 4 January 2019

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy. A double-sized bumper blog today, covering the two weeks of the festive period. So let's knuckle down, and get looking at some maps.

    Yes, that dodgy Cape shelduck is still with us.

    Oooh, waxwings! Always a good bird to see

    Oddly, no map for 25 December. Even I don't go to work on Christmas Day! (and hats off to…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 15 - 21 December 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy. 

    Well, lets start with the traditional look through the week's maps. Though I'm afraid we don't have any for last weekend, so we have to start with Monday.

    Yes, after disappearing for a couple of weeks, Sheldon the long-billed dowitcher is back in his spot. Returning after an even longer absence was a bearded tit…

  • Festive Fun at Frampton Marsh

    At your wits end with the kids this Christmas holiday? Then get down to RSPB Frampton Marsh for some festive fun!

    Running during the school holidays, you can hunt for some winter wildlife.

    Collect an entry sheet from the heated visitor centre before venturing out onto the reserve’s surfaced paths to find the Christmas creatures.

    Once you have found them, take a photo with your camera or phone. Once you have found…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 8 - 14 December 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the (more or less) weekly Frampton sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy. Brr, getting a bit chilly out there, and apparently the chance of snow on Saturday. What has that been doing to the wildlife? Well, let's see...

    A female goosander was an unusual sight on the reedbed on the Saturday

    Sunday was the Wetlands Bird Survey (WeBS) day, hence good records of precisely how many…

  • Frampton Marsh (and Freiston Shore) recent sightings: 1 - 7 December 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy.

    I'm afraid the wild weather at the end of the week meant there weren't that many sightings to be had. I'm sure there is lots out there, just not many people looking and everything hunkering down in cover. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. Let's look at the maps from the start of the week.

    There…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 24 - 30 November 2018

    Howdy folks! And welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy. Another gap last week as I was off on leave, but back again now with all the latest of what has been happening on the reserve. Cue the maps...

    So a nice short-eared owl to start things off. Hen harriers, merlins, and the starling murmuration has got up to a decent size.

    The Doncaster RSPB members group were in…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 10 - 16 November 2018

    Howdy folks! And after an enforced week's absence as the tech-team were updating the community pages, welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy.

    So, with no further ado, how about this week's maps?

    So, the long-billed dowitcher is STILL around! Well over two months now. The smart money may well be on it over-wintering, assuming we don't have too harsh weather. Some…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 27 October - 2 November

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy. 

    Starting to feel properly autumnal out there now. Colder nights, frosts and the odd bit of rain. What has this done to the wildlife? Well, let's see...

    So, dowitcher still in its spot. 

    And a pretty impressive passage count of passage pomarine skuas at high tide from the river mouth.

    After disappearing for the…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 20 - 26 October 2018

    Howdy folks! And welcome back to the Frampton Marsh sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy.

    A definite change in the weather this week. It started off lovely and sunny and warm. It was time to search out those thermals though at the end of the week, as temperatures started to crash. So what difference did it make to the sightings?

    Well, a gannet last Sunday was certainly an unusual record for the main bosy…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 13 - 19 October 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy.

    Well, after the warm and dry weather of the past few weeks, the weekend was quite a change, with some significant rain. Just what we were after, as we can now start to get water back onto the scrapes and other parts of the reserve which were looking very dry. Middle scrape is likely to be first, with some land work…

  • Fiendish Fun for Wild Things at Frampton

    There is a week of half-term holiday Halloween hi-jinks with the RSPB at their Frampton Marsh site, and they are dying to see you!

    Starting on Saturday 20 October and running every day through the holiday, you can follow a spooktacular treasure trail around the reserve.

    If you are brave enough, you can pick up an entry sheet from the visitor centre before setting off around the surfaced trails. As you go you will find…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 6 - 12 October 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy.

    Well, given the time of year it has been remarkably warm. but have the sightings been as hot as the weather? Only one way to find out, cue the maps!

    A bit of a damp and windy day  on the Saturday, though some good things happening at Freiston. In addition to those things shown on the map, the long-billed dowitcher…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 29 September - 5 October 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to a slightly abbreviated weekly sightings blog. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy.

    Yes, I'm afraid we are missing a few maps this week, including from last weekend. Still, some good stuff on the maps we do have, so let's crack on with Monday's effort.

    Yes, Monday was Lincolnshire Day! Not heard of it? Well basically it is a celebration of the county, on the anniversary of an uprising…

  • Where has all the water gone?

    Howdy folks! 

    No, this isn't an early edition of the sightings blog. Instead I thought it would be good to answer a question we are getting asked a lot recently. Where has all the water gone?

    Visitors over the past few weeks will undoubtedly have noticed how dry the scrapes are. The pools have shrunk away to nothing. Middle scrape has been deliberately kept dry this year, in order to regenerate it, but now south…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 22 - 28 September 2018

    Howdy folks, and welcome back to the Frampton Marsh sightings blog. With me, Chris the visitor guy. A changeable week with the weather, starting with grey, windy and some rain (remember that? Used to happen all the time, or so I'm told...). And ended with bright sunshine and rather warm for the time of year. What did that do to the wildlife? Well, let the maps tell the story...

    The long-billed dowitcher has been…

  • Frampton Marsh recent sightings: 15 - 21 September 2018

    Howdy folks! Welcome back to the Frampton Marsh recent sightings. With me, Chris the Visitor Guy. Refreshed after a week of leave. So lets get back onto looking at what has been about!

    So, the long-staying long-billed dowitcher is still with us, as you will see holds true for the rest of the week. Likewise for the black-necked grebe. The osprey recorded on the board turns out to have been a pale-phase buzzard instead…