|
Leader & Bird List: David Laurie Reporter: Mandy Etherington Nine of us met in the car park at RSPB Frampton Marsh. The weather seemed ideal, warm with a light breeze – a bit cloudy so not too bright or hot. Almost immediately we saw a Hobby fly past and had fantastic views of a Sparrowhawk overhead. It was going to be a good day! We gathered in the Visitor Centre to use the facilities (stopping on the way to admire some Eyed Hawk-moth caterpillars on some bushes at the car park entrance) and the bird list started straight away as we looked through the fantastic picture window in the viewing area. In fact, David had to remind us that we were going to walk around the reserve! The plan was to walk straight down to the sea wall and then along the bank and back into the reserve. I don't think any of us could have anticipated it would take well over an hour just to get to the sea wall! There was just so much to see. On the pools – a huge flock of Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Green Sandpiper, a Common Snipe skulking in the reeds, a fantastic view of about 7 Spoonbills sifting through the water and then another dozen or so doing what Spoonbills do best - dozing with their bills under their wings! There was a large number of Greylag Geese, a few Canada Geese, Wigeon, Lapwing, Ruff - the list went on! On the opposite side of the path, we found
another 2 Green Sandpiper, a Meadow Pipit and then a Skylark flew down for a drink. It was lovely, unusual sight. Another Hobby flew overhead. Even if you've been to Frampton before, you can't help but be bowled over by the amazing 360° views that greet you as you get onto the sea wall. The Marshes stretch almost as far as the eye can see and the rest is just, well, sky! Almost immediately we were able to locate the Temminck’s Stint and had lovely views of it feeding in the mud. There was less water on this part of the reserve and there seemed to be Pied Wagtails everywhere, along with both Ringed and Little Ringed Plover. Through the scope you could see the plentiful flies that they were feeding on. There was also another large group of Black-tailed Godwit and among them David found 3 Spotted Redshank, possibly more. Also, Little Grebe, a big flock of Avocet, and Tufted Duck. Grey Heron and Little Egret were visible in all directions, and quite a big flock of Starlings. Perhaps they will get the huge numbers again this year that roosted in the reed beds in 2023. After coming down off the sea wall we opted to head straight back to the VC rather than do the hides as we all felt ready for lunch! On the path ahead we had a lovely, if brief, view of 2 stoat playing, or were they fighting? Those who were slightly less eager for lunch had an unusually good view 3 Common Snipe feeding in open water. After we had been fed & watered, 6 of us decided to walk around the reedbed and then call into the hides on the way back. We had our first Reed Bunting of the day, but the highlight was probably the flora rather than the fauna. Cut-leaf Teasel towered over us and the field of Sunflowers was beautiful. Lots of dragonflies and a few butterflies but perhaps not the number you would normally expect to see. We stopped off at the Reedbed Hide on the way back. By this time there were at least 30 Spoonbill on a small scrape. The 360 Hide was surprisingly empty – but then we realised there were hardly any birds to see here! On the way back to the VC, one of the Snipe that had been seen earlier was still, obliging, feeding on the open water. Tea and cake were well deserved and help prepare us for the drive home. What a fantastic day we had at this fabulous reserve. For anyone who hasn’t been, I would say don’t be put off by the drive – you will be well rewarded. Thank you to David Laurie for leading the trip and all those who generously shared their scopes. Bird list: Canada Goose Greylag Goose Mute Swan Shelduck Gadwall Wigeon Mallard Pintail Teal Tufted Duck Woodpigeon Moorhen Coot Little Grebe Avocet Lapwing Ringed Plover Little Ringed Plover Black-tailed Godwit Temminck's Stint Snipe Green Sandpiper Redshank Spotted Redshank Black-headed Gull Cormorant Spoonbill Grey Heron Little Egret Sparrowhawk Kestrel Hobby Magpie Jackdaw Carrion Crow Skylark Sand Martin Swallow House Martin Starling Pied Wagtail Meadow Pipit Goldfinch Reed Bunting
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Please feel free to read through our reports from our monthly outdoor meetings. Archives
January 2025
Categories |
RSS Feed
