A day late with these sightings I'm afraid but a good day at Frampton yesterday albeit in some quite challenging weather conditions. Nothing particularly out of the ordinary but the reserve is absolutely alive with birds at the moment, especially the wet grassland areas.
Golden Plover were the star birds with a guesstimate of not far short of 10,000 birds on the reserve proving quite a spectacle. A conservative estimate of 3000 Wigeon was also quite something. No specific counts were made but the following noted (in addition to the above);
Wildfowl; Mallard Teal Shoveler Pintail Mallard Pochard Tufted Duck Goldeneye Whooper Swan (6 close to road on way in other large groups in distant fields) Dark bellied Brent
Waders; Ruff Black tailed Godwit Avocet Snipe Lapwing Curlew Redshank Dunlin Ringed Plover
Others noted included Little Egret, Grey Heron, c.50 Linnet, several Skylark and both Tree Sparrow and Yellowhammer on the feeders outside of the visitors centre.
Best bird over the saltmarsh was a fine male Hen Harrier. Made the soaking from the driving rain more bearable.
Matthew
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