A Family Day at RSPB Frampton.

 We had arranged to meet up with Heather's brother and his wife at Frampton today. The forecast was somewhat mixed as it proved. While we waited for them to arrive, I popped down to the 360 hide and was surprised to find it dry and seemingly planted with sunflowers. It would appear that this is a management strategy. At the end of the summer the plant growth is cut down and the lagoon reflooded. The rotting vegetation creates the right conditions for all manner of micro life which in turn encourages the birds. Each of the lagoons is given this treatment in rotation. On my return to the cafe, Malcolm and Maureen had arrived. Before they had finished their coffee and cake the heavens opened and so we used this as an opportunity to have lunch. By the time we had finished the weather had dried up and we were able to walk a circuit of the reserve. All told we recorded 44 species the highlights being several snipe, curlew sandpiper, little stint and half a dozen greenshank. A good day.

Black-tailed Godwit, RSPB Frampton.

Cemetery and Woodland Burial Ground

 Another hot day at 29C. A walkaround the woodlnd burial ground with Heather hoping to find purple hairstreak. The burial ground is plentifully supplied with young oak trees in the canopy of which these beautiful and special butterflies spend their time. Although a friend has pointed me in the right direction we had no luck. We did see several small whites, and some speckled woods as well as singles of peacock, meadow brown and holly blue. What a disappointing and worrying year it has been for butterflies this year and insects in general.

Purple Hairstreak taken in Chambers' Farm Wood, June, 2020.

Butterfly Conservation Open Day, Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe

 Today the Lincolnshire branch of Butterfly Conservation were holding an open day at the Rimac entrance to Saltfleetby/Theddlethorpe Dunes NNR hosted by the wardens from Natural England: Owen Beaumont and Renata Jackson.Most members of the Lincolnshire Branch committe were there to lead guided walks so it was good to put faces to names as well as catch up with those I do know. Pater Cawdell, one of the founder members of the local branch was there and it turns out he was at Horncastle Grammar School at the same time as me, two years below me so we were able to reminisce about schooldays as well as butterflies. It was a very successful and enjoyable day with two guided walks led by Dave Wright, Branch contact and a friend from Grimsby. It was a very warm (28C) and breezy day so insects were very active and difficult to catch up with for photography. I have seen very few common blues this year so it was really good to see so many. I saw my first brown argus, small copper and wall brown of the year but the only one I managed to photograph was the argus. Small/essex skippers were plentiful. There were also large numbers of dragon and damselflies on the wing mainly ruddy darters, but I also saw black-tailed skimmer, emerald damselfly, brown hawker, small red-eyed damselfly and a fleeting glimpse of an emperor. The highlight of the day, however was a wasp spider, a first record for the reserve. I last saw them in Menorca.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Male Emerald Damselfly

Brown Argus

Common Blue

Gatekeeper

Meadow Brown

Peacock

Small Red-Eyed Damselfly

Ruddy Darter male

Ruddy Darter female

Ruddy Darter female

Ruddy Darter male

Ruddy Darter male

Silver Y moth

Silver Y moth

Small/Essex Skipper

Small/Essex Skipper

Wasp Spider

Wasp Spider

Fitties Birding

 Having had a good birding session a couple days earlier, Brian and I decided to begin our regular day out at the Humber Mouth Yacht Club on the Fitties and time it for hight tide. It was again a beautiful warm and sunny day, although with a strong breeze blowing. Surprisingly, despite having more time, we saw fewer birds. We walked down as far as the boating lake before retracing our tracks. We enjoyed sitting on one of the benches at the back of the Fitties cam watching the receding tide. We picked up a few more birds here but not as many as I expected. Looking, through the 'scope, though, there were many thousands way out on Tetney High Sands just off Northcoates Point.

Redshank

Humberston Fitties beach

The Haille Sand Fort

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Humberston Fitties.

Breakfast and Birds

 With a sigh of contentment I sat back from my empty plate after demolishing my full English. Parked up earlier at Anthony's Bank Car Park, Heather and I had plenty of time to wander down to Brighton Slip for breakfast at The Helm. It was a perfect morning: warm and sunny without being too hot and we had just caught high tide. Perfect for a bit of bird watching. Although we only had a couple of hours, including breakfast, I recorded nearly 30 species. I was surprised at the number of starlings there were about and there was even a spot of murmurating. We shall have to keep our eyes open in the autumn. Following breakfast, wandering along the prom, the tide had started to go out and the birds to disperse from their roost sites. It is always exciting to see flocks of waders whirling in the sky making stunning patterns as they fly in formation showing first their dark backs and then silver underparts. One flock flew in and landed close to us; all bar-tailed godwits in magnificent summer plumage.

A First Class day at Gibraltar Point.

 Brian and I had a flyer this morning, getting away from Grimsby at just after 8.00 am, parking up in the north car park at Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve just after 9.00 am. Morning coffee is somewhat of a ritual for Brian but, as the cafe, doesn't open until 10.00 am, we had time to visit the roadside hides overlooking Jackson's and Croft Marsh and Tennyson's Sands with their respective lagoons. More or less the first bird we heard was a great spotted woodpecker which augured well for the day. Swallows were swooping around us hunting for insects and it was good to see house martins among them; only my second sighting of this species for the year. The expected spoonbills were present, as well as good numbers of avocet and black-tailed godwit. There were a lot of little grebes about as well, which was a joy. However, the bird of the day for me was a greenshank and we saw a second later in the day. A good start; by coffee we had seen 30 species despite the gloomy beginning on the weather front.

After coffee and cake, I left the camera in the car and we set out across the marsh for the beach. It was good to see swathes of purple sea lavender covering the salt marsh, always a pleasure; who needs Provencal lavender fields? Amazingly we saw no skylarks or meadow pipits, perhaps they are quiet following the breeding season. On the beach we first heard and then saw a large flock of noisy sandwich terns, nesting completed and their journey to southern climes already begun.

Calling in at the roadside hides on the way back to the centre we found both green and common sandpiper and little grebes with some young chicks still with their striped heads.

The day was completed with the short walk to Lil's hut where we saw a pair of egrets which may or may not have been the reported cattle egrets. Sadly, although I could see the birds through the 'scope, there was too much magnified heat haze for a positive ID so they didn't make the list for the day which came to 41 species. An excellent day made better by the skies clearing in the afternoon to give warm sun.

Avocet

Black-Tailed Godwit

Black-Tailed Godwit

Dunlin

Snipe

Snipe

Spoonbills and Black-tailed Godwit

Spoonbills

Gibraltar Point

Gibraltar Point

Swathes of sea lavender

Swathes of sea lavender