Catching Up

 I've been back at work for two weeks now, after 19 weeks furlough so it has been a bit of a shock to the system, although I have got back into the swing of things fairly quickly. Unfortunately work has now got in the way of all my other interests and time is again at a premium.

The last couple of weekends I have been out with Colin visiting some sites in an attempt to try and fill in a few of the large number of blanks in this years bird year list, though the main priority is to have a good day out. The trips to Otmoor and the Peak District were a good start but I have missed the east coast with only the one trip at the start of the year.

On the 23rd we went to RSPB Framton Marsh, which has in recent years become the place to see waders in the autumn, and we always have a good time. An early start got us there at 0730, just before high tide and right from the start it was a wader fest. A scan from the closed visitors centre got us a few adult Curlew Sandpipers, a Common Sandpiper and huge numbers of Godwits and Knot, along with Ruff Avocets and Ringed Plovers. A bit further down we added a few more waders, there were huge numbers of Swallows and Sand Martins, big flocks of Swifts and the usual selection of duck and geese. The walk down to the sea wall was rather quiet as many of the pools on the grazing marsh were empty, but getting up on the bank was rewarding, although very windy. 

The large number of grazing cattle had as usual their attendant flocks of Yellow Wagtails. I get the impression that this is one of the best places in the country for them now, there can't be many places with numbers in the hundreds. The salt marsh also had the expected Curlew, there was around a dozen Greenshanks, half a dozen Spotted Redshanks and eventually we found a spot where two or three Little Stints were lurking, aloe]ng with a couple of Wood Sandpipers.

We decided to head out along the bank to the Welland outfall, a bit of a log being 3km each way. Almost every hawthorn bush held a few Willow Warblers-there seems to have been a bit of an east coast fall as large numbers were reported elsewhere. A couple of Wheatears were good to see, and there were lots of Whimbrel on the marsh among the Oystercatchers, Curlews, Redshanks and Little Egrets. A few Little Terns were feeding around the river mouth were a nice bonus but most seabirds were well out in the Wash and with the tide now falling were a long way off. The walk back was a bit of a slog and having been out for five hours we were in desperate need of coffee and a bite to eat so there wasn't much stopping though watching the 26 Spoonbills fly over was worth a brief halt.

In the afternoon Colin decided to head slightly north and go to RSPB Freiston Shore, not a place we have visited before. A Red Breasted Flycatcher had been reported late morning so it was worth the short drive. When we got there we were told it had been observed sleeping but had disappeared an hour or so earlier. We hung around for a bit as there were a lot of hirundines and Yellow Wagtails around and over the cattle so it was worth scanning through them. I was hoping for Whinchat or a Redstart. While doing that I noticed an egret hidden among the grazing cattle which seemed to be remarkably buff in colour so I casually asked if anyone wanted a Cattle Egret. I was a bit shocked when the photographer next to me asked if I would be submitting the record as its a description species for Lincolnshire (and possibly the first seen this year). Fortunately he was on the records committee and was happy to take my name and number for the report.

Here it is in all its (very cropped) glory. 

On that high note and after a rather tiring day we decided to head home. I kept an eye out for reports from Graham, Paxton etc just in case there was anything to justify a diversion but in the end we didn't so it was a quick trip back.