Arrived at Alkborough Flats at 08.00 and left at 14.30 with John Barber and Dave Hugestone - birds seen included Spoonbill (12), Avocet (10's), Little Egret, Lapwings, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Yellow Wagtail, Greenshank, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Peregrine and Kestrel. Unfortunately we didn't find the Swamphen despite splitting up and investigating the reported sightings. It's a big area with a big reed bed and plenty of places for it to hide.
Good to see Phil Hampson again.
sid ashton said
Wed Aug 31 8:14 PM, 2016
Set out this morning with John Barber heading over to Alkborough Flats, north of Scunthorpe intending to look for the Purple Swamphen (it's a Purple Gallinule to me as well Ian!!!) On the journey we picked up that it hadn't been reported this morning. Plan B was to head to Hatfield Moors just off the M180 where we had extremely good views of the Baird's Sandpiper that was first seen yesterday.The reserve car park is a little way past HMP Moorland on the A614, and to get to the boggy area where the bird was is quite a hike !!!
PS checked maps this morning, Thursday and noticed that Hatfield Moors is just in South Yorkshire.
-- Edited by sid ashton on Thursday 1st of September 2016 11:55:14 AM
Mark Jarrett said
Sun Jun 19 6:46 PM, 2016
Sneaked a quick hour this morning driving briefly on Nocton Fen then to the end of Metheringham Fen, just short of the River Witham. Birding with the windows down, of note :-
Buzzard Kestrel (2) Sparrowhawk (1) Little Egret (1) Red-legged Partridge (4) Yellowhammer Corn Bunting (1) Jay (2) Lapwing
Mark Jarrett said
Fri Jun 17 5:16 PM, 2016
Two hour visit to Whisby Nature Reserve today en route to Metheringham. Two Nightingale with a real bonus of a Turtle Dove on wires whilst walking around Coot Lake. Nice year ticks.
steven burke said
Sat Jun 4 12:14 PM, 2016
Frampton marsh 3rd june, first time here with 67 species seen.
2-4 turtle doves, 2 in flight another 2 feeding on the ground just outside the reserve. 2 marsh harriers 1 short eared owl 1 buzzard 1 sparrowhawk 2 cuckoo, a female flew past me, another heard 5 little gulls 1 Mediterranean gull 2 garganey lots of avocets + chicks & black tailed godwits & redshanks all around 19 knot 2 ringed plover several little egrets around 70+ common terns 5 Egyptian goose 1 barnacle goose 2 cettis warbler, 1 seen well 2 lesser whitethroat reed warbler, sedge warbler, whitethroat, blackcap & chiffchaff all around lots of yellowhammers swifts, house martins, swallows, but no sand martins 5 red legged partridge & 3 grey partridge just outside the reserve water rails heard only plus all the usuals around
Highlights from Gibraltar Point were Cuckoo, Short-Eared and Barn Owls, Bramblings,Firecrest,Spotted Redshanks,plenty of Lesser Whitethroats,Whitethroats,Sedge Warblers etc.
Highlights from Frampton Marsh: more Spotted Redshanks,Yellow Wagtail plus loads of Ruff in various states of dress! A few Little Ringed Plovers,still large flocks of Brent Geese,plus loads of the more common birds around.
Finally, a brief visit to Whisby NR, near Lincoln on the way home,Loads of Willow Warblers,Chiffchaff,Blackcaps etc,but the highlight has to be at least three singing Nightingales around Coot Lake,not to forget some vey showy Mediterranean Gulls,and three Whimbrel over.Then an ever so slight diversion via Matlock on the way home,for our "easiest" ever Dotterel.
fantastic views of the red-necked grebe & 2 slavonian grebes on the lake, views down to at least 8ft away from the banks. also kingfisher flew over towards the reed bed, no signs of the bittern.
also a look on the shoreline opposite the boating lake which had a great mixture of birds...
Ringtail Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier,2 Whooper Swan, Pintail and 100's of Brent Geese.
Plus lots of the usual wetland species
Mark Jarrett said
Sun Jun 7 10:40 AM, 2015
Another one and a half hour walk this morning. All the usuals, at least a dozen Skylark plus a Yellow Wagtail pair.
Afternoon walk produced a few butterflies :- Common Blue, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Green veined White and Speckled Wood.
-- Edited by Mark Jarrett on Sunday 7th of June 2015 09:26:11 PM
Mark Jarrett said
Sat Jun 6 9:57 AM, 2015
A couple of one hour plus walks, yesterday evening and this morning, in farmland north of Metheringham.
Swallow, House Martin, Swift, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat (c. 10), Green Woodpecker (1), Buzzard (1), Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Red legged Partridge (4), Skylark, Reed Bunting, Linnet & Yellowhammer (6).
Mark Jarrett said
Fri Mar 27 6:03 PM, 2015
Exact same walk as that below. Amongst others :- Kestrel (1), Buzzard (2), Yellowhammer (2), Reed Bunting (c.25), Tree Sparrow (c.6), Red legged Partridge (8), Chiffchaff (c.5), Skylark (c.15), Great spotted Woodpecker (1), Green Woodpecker (1), Long tailed Tit, Little Grebe (1). Pleasant in the sunshine, cool out of it.
Mark Jarrett said
Thu Oct 30 1:27 PM, 2014
Forgot to add (can't seem to edit) from yesterday Skylark (c.10) and Lttle Grebe (2).
Mark Jarrett said
Wed Oct 29 9:39 AM, 2014
Pleasant one and a half hours walk in farmland just north of Metheringham, which itself is about eight miles or so south east of Lincoln. Bit of woodland here and there and plenty of hedgerows.
Amongst others :-
Kestrel
Sparrowhawk
Linnet
Bullfinch
Yellowhammer (c.12)
Redwing
Pied Wagtail
Two separate mixed flocks of finches, tits etc including Yellowhammer, always good to see.
Jonathan Platt said
Sun Aug 3 6:48 PM, 2014
Frampton Marsh is well worth a visit at the moment, I had 24 species of wader from 360 Hide on Saturday - absolutely fantastic! Other notable birds were Glossy ibis, three Spoonbills, two Garganey, Hobby, Marsh harriers, Barn owls and a pair of Turtle doves (apparently they've done well in the area this year).
Mike Chorley said
Fri May 23 7:25 PM, 2014
Started a long weekend with Riggers and Karen F at Frampton Marsh very early doors last Friday(16th) with a Muntjac on the approach road to Frampton Marsh. One of the best views ever, as it stood there trying to work out what idiots would be up and about before sunrise before it headed off into the undergrowth As always, worth the early start to have the Marsh to ourselves and enjoy the chorus of various warblers, Black-headed Gulls, Avocets and Oystercatchers. The field behind the East Hide was full of Ringed Plovers, together with Little Ringed Plover, 3 Temminck's Stints and 1 Little Stint. Flyover Peregrine and a passing male Marsh Harrier with prey got our raptor count for the weekend up and running.
From here we headed down to Willow Tree Fen between Spalding and Market Deeping. We could only locate one of the two Black-winged Stilts here, but had good prolonged views of it and the Glossy Ibis sharing the main pool. The first two of the many Cuckoos we saw and heard over the weekend, together with a male Yellow Wagtail and an unexpected pair of Pintail were the other highlights here before we headed off into Norfolk to meet up with Mike A
Nearly forgot the Water Vole in the ditch beside the track along the eastern edge of the reserve
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Friday 23rd of May 2014 08:29:53 PM
Phil Owen said
Sun Jun 2 3:29 AM, 2013
Took the longer route home from Suffolk yesterday afternoon to pay a visit to Gibraltar Point.
No sign of the reported Greenish Warbler but nice views of a female Red-backed Shrike near the visitor Centre car park along with a single Corn Bunting.
Pete Welch said
Sun Oct 28 6:40 PM, 2012
Over in Lincolnshire with the family this weekend and managed time for an all too brief visit to Donna Nook - a place I want to visit again! Despite the blasting wind and rain there were Goldcrests all along the walkway in the thorn scrub and a superb grey male Hen Harrier came over the dunes and out across the marsh. The fields on the road out had small parties of Redwing and Fieldfare dropping in - maybe there first landfall and further inland were very large flocks of hundreds of both species feeding across the newly sown fields in waves of birds.
Also the first fourteen seal pups have been born but only one was visible - in a few weeks I'm told there will be hundreds within yards of the fence line. One warning though - even on a Friday afternoon, before the real seal season, the car park was quite full and there were lots of signs about police patrols to stop parking anywhere along the lanes - so midweek visits or after the seals have pupped would be better for birding.
This morning saw plenty of winter thrush flocks all the way across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire so they'll be arriving in even better numbers over here this week I'm sure.
Chris Greene said
Sun Apr 1 3:29 PM, 2012
Very late post for last Thursday,29th , Gibraltar Point NNR .... A brilliant , reserve which I visit at least three times each year, I'm surprised I couldn't find mention of it on the search facility! ... A bit quiet at the moment,and drought conditions beginning to take their toll,however, highlights including .... 40+ avocets, Drake garganey, Female black redstart, Short-eared owls , hunting over salt marsh, 2 ruff, plus plenty of shelduck,shoveler,widgeon,etc.
Cheers Chris
Mark Jarrett said
Thu Mar 29 3:56 AM, 2012
Had two to three hours to kill in Lincoln this morning, so went to Whisby Nature Reserve on the south western outskirts of the city. Although not ideal at this time of year, the reserve deserves a full, lingering day, so today I had to miss out certain areas. The Sand Martins had not yet returnrd to the artificial wall put up for them on Thorpe Lake.
Lovely sunny, warm weather, the best of the birds being :-
G C Grebe Cormorant Mute Swan Canada Goose Greylag Goose Gadwall Tufted Duck Goldeneye (c.8) Oystercatcher (2) Blackcap (2) Chiffchaff (30+) L T Tit Lesser Redpoll
The area north of the railway line, which splits the reserve in two, looks absolutely superb for warblers. It's a long time since I've seen so much scrub and brambles. No wonder Nightingale seem to thrive here.
sid ashton said
Mon May 9 5:05 PM, 2011
Went over to Whisby Nature reserve with my friend the Manx birder today in the hope of finding the reported Nightingales and we weren't disappointed - we heard 7 singing males and had 4 separate sightings. The first took some time to achieve, they are skulkers and despite their amazing song they are extremely difficult to pinpoint. Nevertheless patience paid off and the "camera lady" eventually managed some acceptable shots.
Whisby is a pleasant reserve with plenty to do for little people and a fair number of stretches of water, woodland and really posh hides if hides are your cup of tea. One had a Swallow's nest with a request by the wardens to leave the windows open !!! There is a relatively new artificial Sand Martin cliff which seems quite well occupied. Other birds of note were Garden Warbler, Common Tern, Garganey (male), Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper. A nice day despite the downpour on the way home
Phil Owen said
Fri Apr 29 11:05 PM, 2011
An afternoon visit to Lincolnshire today started off at 1.00pm at Rosper Road Pools, Immingham for the reported Collared Pratincole.
The bird had flown off 10 minutes prior to arriving and as it seemed to be in the habit of feeding mainly in the morning and evening, we decided to head for Tetney Locks to take a look at the 7 Dotterel which were showing really well and close up in a ploughed field.
Also present there were several Yellow Wagtails, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and 2 Grey Partridge amongst others.
Unfortunately there was no sign of the Tawny Pipit so we decided to head back to Rosper Road for the evening. After 10 minutes or so, in flew the Collared Pratincole giving really good prolonged views twisting and turning and taking insects over the water together with the many Swallows and House Martins.
Also present were a Marsh Harrier and a reeling Grasshopper Warbler.
Nice to meet Rob and Sonia Adderley who also managed see the bird just in time after their quick visit to the local Tesco.
A cracking bird and a great afternoon!!
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Friday 29th of April 2011 11:08:26 PM
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Friday 29th of April 2011 11:38:13 PM
Arrived at Alkborough Flats at 08.00 and left at 14.30 with John Barber and Dave Hugestone - birds seen included Spoonbill (12), Avocet (10's), Little Egret, Lapwings, Ruff, Spotted Redshank, Yellow Wagtail, Greenshank, Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Peregrine and Kestrel. Unfortunately we didn't find the Swamphen despite splitting up and investigating the reported sightings. It's a big area with a big reed bed and plenty of places for it to hide.
Good to see Phil Hampson again.
Set out this morning with John Barber heading over to Alkborough Flats, north of Scunthorpe intending to look for the Purple Swamphen (it's a Purple Gallinule to me as well Ian!!!) On the journey we picked up that it hadn't been reported this morning. Plan B was to head to Hatfield Moors just off the M180 where we had extremely good views of the Baird's Sandpiper that was first seen yesterday.The reserve car park is a little way past HMP Moorland on the A614, and to get to the boggy area where the bird was is quite a hike !!!
PS checked maps this morning, Thursday and noticed that Hatfield Moors is just in South Yorkshire.
-- Edited by sid ashton on Thursday 1st of September 2016 11:55:14 AM
Buzzard
Kestrel (2)
Sparrowhawk (1)
Little Egret (1)
Red-legged Partridge (4)
Yellowhammer
Corn Bunting (1)
Jay (2)
Lapwing
2-4 turtle doves, 2 in flight another 2 feeding on the ground just outside the reserve.
2 marsh harriers
1 short eared owl
1 buzzard
1 sparrowhawk
2 cuckoo, a female flew past me, another heard
5 little gulls
1 Mediterranean gull
2 garganey
lots of avocets + chicks & black tailed godwits & redshanks all around
19 knot
2 ringed plover
several little egrets around
70+ common terns
5 Egyptian goose
1 barnacle goose
2 cettis warbler, 1 seen well
2 lesser whitethroat
reed warbler, sedge warbler, whitethroat, blackcap & chiffchaff all around
lots of yellowhammers
swifts, house martins, swallows, but no sand martins
5 red legged partridge & 3 grey partridge just outside the reserve
water rails heard only
plus all the usuals around
Returned yesterday from a few days in Skeggy.
Highlights from Gibraltar Point were Cuckoo, Short-Eared and Barn Owls, Bramblings,Firecrest,Spotted Redshanks,plenty of Lesser Whitethroats,Whitethroats,Sedge Warblers etc.
Highlights from Frampton Marsh: more Spotted Redshanks,Yellow Wagtail plus loads of Ruff in various states of dress! A few Little Ringed Plovers,still large flocks of Brent Geese,plus loads of the more common birds around.
Finally, a brief visit to Whisby NR, near Lincoln on the way home,Loads of Willow Warblers,Chiffchaff,Blackcaps etc,but the highlight has to be at least three singing Nightingales around Coot Lake,not to forget some vey showy Mediterranean Gulls,and three Whimbrel over.Then an ever so slight diversion via Matlock on the way home,for our "easiest" ever Dotterel.
Cheers Chris.
Cleethorpes country park...
fantastic views of the red-necked grebe & 2 slavonian grebes on the lake, views down to at least 8ft away from the banks.
also kingfisher flew over towards the reed bed, no signs of the bittern.
also a look on the shoreline opposite the boating lake which had a great mixture of birds...
160+ brent geese
500+ knot
200+ bar-tailed godwit
grey plover
sanderling
dunlin
redshank
lapwing
oystercatcher
turnstone
ringed plover
shelduck
Lunch stop at Frampton Marsh RSPB on Sunday:
Ringtail Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier,2 Whooper Swan, Pintail and 100's of Brent Geese.
Plus lots of the usual wetland species
Afternoon walk produced a few butterflies :- Common Blue, Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell, Green veined White and Speckled Wood.
-- Edited by Mark Jarrett on Sunday 7th of June 2015 09:26:11 PM
Swallow, House Martin, Swift, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Whitethroat (c. 10), Green Woodpecker (1), Buzzard (1), Tufted Duck, Little Grebe, Red legged Partridge (4), Skylark, Reed Bunting, Linnet & Yellowhammer (6).
From here we headed down to Willow Tree Fen between Spalding and Market Deeping. We could only locate one of the two Black-winged Stilts here, but had good prolonged views of it and the Glossy Ibis sharing the main pool. The first two of the many Cuckoos we saw and heard over the weekend, together with a male Yellow Wagtail and an unexpected pair of Pintail were the other highlights here before we headed off into Norfolk to meet up with Mike A
Nearly forgot the Water Vole in the ditch beside the track along the eastern edge of the reserve
-- Edited by Mike Chorley on Friday 23rd of May 2014 08:29:53 PM
No sign of the reported Greenish Warbler but nice views of a female Red-backed Shrike near the visitor Centre car park along with a single Corn Bunting.
Also the first fourteen seal pups have been born but only one was visible - in a few weeks I'm told there will be hundreds within yards of the fence line. One warning though - even on a Friday afternoon, before the real seal season, the car park was quite full and there were lots of signs about police patrols to stop parking anywhere along the lanes - so midweek visits or after the seals have pupped would be better for birding.
This morning saw plenty of winter thrush flocks all the way across Lincolnshire and Yorkshire so they'll be arriving in even better numbers over here this week I'm sure.
A brilliant , reserve which I visit at least three times each year, I'm surprised I couldn't find mention of it on the search facility! ...
A bit quiet at the moment,and drought conditions beginning to take their toll,however, highlights including ....
40+ avocets,
Drake garganey,
Female black redstart,
Short-eared owls , hunting over salt marsh,
2 ruff,
plus plenty of shelduck,shoveler,widgeon,etc.
Cheers Chris
Lovely sunny, warm weather, the best of the birds being :-
G C Grebe
Cormorant
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Greylag Goose
Gadwall
Tufted Duck
Goldeneye (c.8)
Oystercatcher (2)
Blackcap (2)
Chiffchaff (30+)
L T Tit
Lesser Redpoll
The area north of the railway line, which splits the reserve in two, looks absolutely superb for warblers. It's a long time since I've seen so much scrub and brambles. No wonder Nightingale seem to thrive here.
Whisby is a pleasant reserve with plenty to do for little people and a fair number of stretches of water, woodland and really posh hides if hides are your cup of tea. One had a Swallow's nest with a request by the wardens to leave the windows open !!!
There is a relatively new artificial Sand Martin cliff which seems quite well occupied. Other birds of note were Garden Warbler, Common Tern, Garganey (male), Little Ringed Plover and Common Sandpiper. A nice day despite the downpour on the way home
The bird had flown off 10 minutes prior to arriving and as it seemed to be in the habit of feeding mainly in the morning and evening, we decided to head for Tetney Locks to take a look at the 7 Dotterel which were showing really well and close up in a ploughed field.
Also present there were several Yellow Wagtails, Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and 2 Grey Partridge amongst others.
Unfortunately there was no sign of the Tawny Pipit so we decided to head back to Rosper Road for the evening. After 10 minutes or so, in flew the Collared Pratincole giving really good prolonged views twisting and turning and taking insects over the water together with the many Swallows and House Martins.
Also present were a Marsh Harrier and a reeling Grasshopper Warbler.
Nice to meet Rob and Sonia Adderley who also managed see the bird just in time after their quick visit to the local Tesco.
A cracking bird and a great afternoon!!
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Friday 29th of April 2011 11:08:26 PM
-- Edited by Phil Owen on Friday 29th of April 2011 11:38:13 PM