05/05/2018 Lincolnshire with the Cumbrians - Day 1/6 RSPB Frampton Marsh

Saturday 5th May 2018
Lincolnshire Tour
Day 1/6
Cumbrian Friends Annual Outing

RSPB Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire

First day of a 6 day tour, at RSPB Frampton Marsh - my first ever visit.  This was part of  my annual outing with Cumbrian friends Brian, Graham and Harvey and the choice this year was Lincolnshire. 

The weather was excellent - warm and sunny with hardly any wind.  Of course this also meant that there was little bird movement.  Nevertheless we had a great day, managing to get around 80 bird species.

• One of the early highlights was a Lesser Whitethroat singing from the top of a large tree ahead of us.  We were a little taken aback by this sighting and in our rush to get the scopes set up, we disturbed the bird and it flew away.

• Another major sighting involved a pair of Curlew Sandpipers from the 360 degree hide.  They were on an island along with some Dunlin and Black-headed Gulls.  Not far from them on a nearby island was a fabulous Little-ringed Plover.

• There was a splendid Wood Duck moving up and down one of the channels.  I also saw my first Greenshank of the year.

• Near the end of our day we had great views of the Wood Sandpiper that had eluded us in the morning.

• Pride of place however went to the 2 Turtle Doves that Graham spotted in the late afternoon.  They were actually on the ground near some dead trees and we were able to enjoy superb views for 10 minutes or so.

A great start!