A day’s birding in Lincolnshire - November 9, 2013

Dave, Ken and I went to Lincolnshire today for a change and initially went to Cut End at the mouth of the River Witham.  It was fairly calm during our stay and we had timed or arrival to coincide with the high tide.

There were two other birders present on arrival and they informed us that a party of Bewick’s Swan had flown up stream and that they had also seen several Gannets and a Slavonian Grebe.  We didn’t expect to see the Bewick’s but we didn’t see any Gannets and couldn’t find the Slavonian Grebe either.  We did see a Red-breasted Merganser, four Red-throated Divers and a Merlin and there were a few Grey Plover, Dunlin and Turnstone and plenty of Curlew and Redshanks.  As the tide receded we walked back to the car and set off to Frampton but called at the Pilgrim Fathers Memorial, which was a small granite obelisk mounted on a granite block.

Brent Goose at Cut End

Brent Geese at Cut End

Brent Geese over the River Witham

On arriving at Frampton we had some lunch and then went to the 360° hide where there were masses of wildfowl, which were mainly Wigeon but there was also Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler and a few Shelduck.  Waders were few but there was a very late Wood Sandpiper and we also found a Jack Snipe, which was feeding on one the islands.  I counted fifteen Snipe and found three Black-tailed Godwits amongst the ducks and there was a single Bar-tailed Godwit amongst a small group of Curlew feeding on one of the grassy areas and two Oystercatchers and a Marsh Harrier flew over.

Brent Geese alighting at Frampton Marsh

Wigeon over Frampton Marsh

Pintail at Frampton Marsh

There were fewer birds from Reedbed Hide and again mainly duck, predominantly Wigeon with just two Pintail and a single Shoveler, although there were plenty of Teal and a few Gadwall.  I also saw a single Ringed Plover in flight but it dropped behind one of the islands and although we heard it calling as we walked back to centre we didn’t see it again.  There was also a flock of Pink-footed Geese that were seen in flight to the south but they came down, landing out of sight.

We decided to go to the sea wall before we departed and we had three more Marsh Harriers over the salt marsh and a few Little Egrets and presumably masses of Knot in flight over the Wash.  There were nine Black-tailed Godwits feeding in one of the grass fields and a Dunlin was observed on one of the flooded area.  As we got back to the car a we heard a call, which was a repeated chit, and a small wader flew over that we identified as a Little Stint.

With the light fading and the temperature falling we decided to call it a day and headed off home.