Lifer & a great day at Frampton Marshes.

Got up this morning with no plans but after breakfast, and a chat with Jimmy we decide to go for the CaspianTern at Frampton, which is over a 2-hour drive about 120 miles from home, the Tern would be a lifer for me so let's go for it.

We leave around 7 am & after a trouble-free run we arrive at the car park at 9 30 am to find it packed & struggled to find a parking place.

A scan from the side of the visitor centre over Reedbed Lagoon gets our first tick of the day when a Little Stint is seen.

Next up I get my lifer when we find the Caspian Tern asleep among the many Godwits. We watch the Tern for a good ten minutes before it wakes up to give a full view of the carrot-like beak to confirm that we have the Caspian.

I needed Common Sandpiper for a tick & pick out 2 while here on the same lagoon.

A walk round to Reedbed hide soon gets us tick number 4 as we spot a Curlew Sandpiper just a few yards away from many Spoonbill a good find this one.

As we leave the hide we are told that a couple of Wood Sandpipers are showing & we are onto them for tick number 5.

The reserve is alive with both Bl & Bartail Godwits, about 18 Spoonbills, Ruff,  Ringed Plover & 2 Little-ringed Plover.

A great few hours spent walking this special place with the added bonus of a lifer for me.

The Caspian Tern

Wood Sandpiper

We never fail to have a good time when we visit here & today was no exception.

Caspian

Lesser Yellowlegs + at Oare Marsh.

Brian had set off for the long trip to the Peak District for a sight of the Bearded Vulture & still not able to travel in one car & not wanting to drive that far myself & the very very long walk when you get there means that trip is a no go for me.

So Jimmy & I set off to once again to Oare Marshes in Kent in the hope of ticking the Lesser Yellowlegs that has been seen on the east flood for a few days now.

On arrival, we have the tick within minutes as the bird shows very well on the single island halfway out on the flood, it continues to show well for the whole of the four hours we spend here.

As the morning goes on we get updates from Brian & he is still walking to the tor & has a long way to go & has found a nice bog to sink into up to his knees.

We head round to the seawall side to search for the reported Curlew & Wood Sandpipers for more ticks. We spend a few hours searching back across the flood & it's easier to scan with the sun behind us now.

But we have no luck & there are no sightings of them all day. so back round to the layby for a scan of the flood before we head off for home & we pick up a couple of year ticks as a Whimbrel is spotted on the same single island that the Yellowlegs was on.

A last scan of the Northern corner gets us our first Little-ringed Plover of the year.

A really nice warm day spent here & along with the 3-year ticks we see a Spotted Redshank, some Med Gulls, Redshanks, Common Terns, Ruff, Knot, Dunlin, Avocet & many Black-tailed Godwits.

A Turtle Dove is heard again & the Barn Owl shows once again the same as the last 2 visits here.
An update from Brian & he has seen the Vulture after a very long wait & is not looking forward to a horrible walk back to the car. such a stupid hobby but we all love it.

Lesser Yellowlegs

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Bonaparte's Gull again at Oare Marshes Kent.

Jimmy & I had planned to head to Oare Marshes for a morning's birding, a text to let Brian know our plans & he says he will meet us there early morning, dam this not being to use one car.
We set off before 5 am so we could avoid the Dartford bridge toll its free before 6 am & we reach there well before that.
On arrival, we find Brian has beaten us there & was already scanning the mudflats for the returning Bonaparte's Gull without any luck so far.
We scan the east flood & get no sign of the Gull. The flood is full of Black-tail Godwits, Avocet, Dunlin & we pick out a Waterrail over the far corner showing very well.
Two Turtle Doves are heard & then seen on the pylon wires & once again the same as our last trip here a Barn Owl shows well with a nice flight view.
Brian joins us & after another scan of the scrape, we decide to walk around the scrape.
Brian walks on as we look for a tick with a Little Ring plover but no luck.
We do spot a Greenshank that is a year tick for me, Jimmy didn't need this. Also not needed a nice looking Spotted Redshank was great to see.
The phone goes Brian tells us to get round to him as he has the Bonaparte's just past the hide, out on the mud on the east side of the slipway.
The bird moves about on the mud to give us great views. Nice to see this bird returning again to give us a nice yearly tick.