April, 2012

Hello,

It has been a wet day so far today, on the reserve. Despite the rain (forecast said fine!) lots of visitors have spent the day with us, seeing some great birds along the way.

Today's sightings

Highlights have included:

Brent goose 600+

Scaup (drake) 1

Garganey (drake) 1

Fulmar 1

Common tern 1

Arctic tern 3

Avocet 66

Black-tailed godwit 120

Bar-tailed godwit 1

Black-winged stilt 1

Whimbrel 1

Swift 15+

Swallow 30+

Sand martin 4

House martin 6

Merlin (f) 1

Marsh harrier (f) 1

Hen harrier (f) 1

Wheatear 3

Water pipit 1

Yellow wagtail 4

White wagtail 6

Weekend weather

Sunday will be wet all day. The high temp will be a max of 10C, while the low temp will only reach 6C. The wind will come from the north east at a speed of 22mph.

Monday will have some long awaited sunny spells! High temps could reach 15C, while the low temp will only make 8C. The wind will remain a north easterly, but at a steadier speed of 9mph.

Next week's tides

Thanks for reading.

Cheers,

Simon. 

Hi,

Today's highlights have included:

Barnacle goose 2
Brent goose 450+
Arctic tern 10
Little gull 1
Buzzard 2
Marsh harrier 1
Avocet 40+
Little ringed plover 1
Black-winged Stilt 1
White wagtail 1
Yellow wagtail 2
Tree sparrow 22
Corn bunting 2

Cheers,

Simon.

Hi,

It has been a very wet week on the Lincolnshire Wash. We are now in the wettest drought since records began!

The bird of the day is a black-winged stilt which is showing very well on the scrapes at Frampton. This stunning wading bird has had the occasional flight on to the wet grassland, where it has been harrassed by the displaying lapwings.

Also on the reserve today:

A pair of garganey on the wet grassland
Little ringed plover 2
Avocet 60+
Yellow wagtail 2
Wheatear 4

Weekend Weather

Friday will begin with sunny spells, becoming showery around 1pm until 4ish. The wind will come from the south west at a speed of 10mph, with maximum temperatures of 12C and a minimum of 4C.

Saturday will be slightly wetter with the rain starting at around 10am until 4ish. Again, the wind will come from the south west, but at a speed of 6mph. Maximum temperatures will be around 10C, with a minimum of 6C.

Sunday will have a strange mix of sunny spells and thunder storms. There  will be a westerly wind with a speed of 9mph, with maximum temperatures of 11C and a minimum of 5C.

Next week's tide times

Cheers,

Simon.

Look out for our brilliant volunteers working on the new wildlife garden near the Visitor's Centre at Frampton Marsh.

Over the last few weeks our main priority has been to get the sites ready for the return of our cattle, fixing fences, mending drinking troughs and charging batteries for electric fencing. Each spring/summer most of Frampton Marsh and Freiston Shore are grazed by cattle. They do a fantastic job keeping the grass in perfect condition for nesting lapwings in the spring and for grazing geese in the winter. They also add plenty of organic matter which improves the condition of the soil for worms and such like, providing food for flocks of waders.

Cows are already back at Freiston Shore and will join us shortly at Frampton Marsh, and when they do, watch out for the flocks of yellow wagtails that often follow them around at this time of year.