RSPB Frampton Marsh, 15th August 2022

Frampton is a great place to go at this time of year especially for returning waders, so a warm sunny day was ideal and we arrived just as high tide was approaching. Yellow Wagtails and Meadow Pipits were everywhere along the sea wall, but the main attraction were waders. Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Green Sandpiper and Snipe were all spotted but close in were a number of Black-tailed Godwit.

A large flock of Knot were in the middle of the scrape with many more Godwits. Closer in, we spotted three Golden Plover.

And an obliging Common Sandpiper.

I managed to snatch a couple of shots as a Redshank flew past.

A few Spotted Redshank were also present and stayed while the tide dropped.

Taking a break from the waders we spotted five Geese species including an early Brent Goose, one Barnacle Goose and three Pink-footed Geese. Two of these had been on the reserve over the Summer.

A few juvenile Shelduck were also present.

One of the most impressive sights were the Spoonbills which must have numbered nearly 50 birds!

The Sunflower crop was also coming along nicely!

But back to the waders, and of course as you would expect quite a few Avocet about.

The other very obliging waders were Ruff, in a range of moults as well as some juveniles.

A welcome surprise was also this lone Wood Sandpiper.

But the bird of the day was a White-rumped Sandpiper from the 360 Hide, kindly pointed out by a local birder. Just record shots as it was distant, and in the 2nd shot there is a Ringed Plover and Dunlin in the shot for comparison.

What a fabulous reserve and looking forward to seeing the new visitor centre soon.