Baggins on the Loose

Gibraltar Point, Lincs, 18/08/21

Mid August and I took advantage of a few midweek days of dry and bright weather in what has been anything but a long hot summer, at least up here in the northern half of the country. So I rocked up in the campervan at Gibraltar Point on the Lincolnshire coast mid afternoon and strolled around the dunes for the rest of the day and the next morning.

Curlew Sandpiper, Gibraltar Point, 19/08/21

There's such a mix of habitats here - saltmarsh, freshwater lagoons & scrapes and acres of scrub amongst the sand dunes, that I wasn't surprised to rack up 72 bird species in less than 24hrs. Time of year helped with plenty of wading birds on the move with an impressive 17 species here including Wood Sandpiper (2), Little Stint (1), Black Tailed Godwit (c140) Bar Tailed Godwit (2), Avocets (c90), Spotted Redshank (11), Curlew Sandpiper (1) and I think my highest ever count of Spoonbills in the UK with at least 24 here.

Frustratingly, most of the good waders were on the far side of the lagoons and the light wasn't great but this Common Snipe struck a jaunty pose as it strode across the scrape!

Common Snipe, Gibralter Point, 19/08/21

Spoonbills, Gibraltar Point, 18/08/21

Lesser Whitethroat, Gibraltar Point, 19/08/21

The sand dunes here are extensive and more often than not covered with deep scrub, so finding good birds is sometimes very tricky, but in one particular sheltered area I came across a Spotted Flycatcher, a Lesser Whitethroat and several Chiffchaffs & Willow Warblers - all within a few square metres.

I stood for ages in this spot trying to get a shot of the Spotted Flycatcher but to no avail but as I hid away I was rewarded with some close views of a Chiffchaff passing food to one of its youngsters.

Chiffchaff feeding young, Gibraltar Point, 19/08/21

Cuckoo (juv), Gibralter Point, 19/08/21

The previous evening, again in and amongst the dunes I was treated to a nice but typically brief view of a Hobby and there was a juvenile Cuckoo also hanging around, whilst on the shoreline I had at least 5 Arctic Skuas that were harassing Sandwich & Common Terns. I'd never managed to photograph a single Skua species until this day - they've always been too far out to sea, so I was pleased to put that particular record straight, even though the results weren't that great!

Hobby, Gibraltar Point, 18/08/21

Arctic Skua, Gibraltar Point, 18/08/21

Arctic Skua pursuing a Sandwich Tern, Gibraltar Point, 18/08/21

Next stop, a bit further down the coast was RSPB Freiston Shore. Never been here before and didn't plan on visiting but I heard that there was a Black Stork frequenting the area (a rarity for the UK). Have to say the habitat here looked perfect for a stork species - with a bit of imagination this could be a wetland in Spain (Emporda perhaps?)

RSPB Freiston Shore, 19/08/21

And as luck would have it, moments after I took the above a dark shape appeared in my field of view and turned into said Stork, a juvenile so not the most striking of birds but I wasn't complaining, I had the bird to myself and my first Black Stork in the UK since 1974!

Black Stork (juv), Freiston Shore, 19/08/21

Greenshanks, Freiston Shore, 19/08/21

I watched it for maybe 10 minutes before it took off and headed south presumably heading for Frampton Marshes where it had also been reported from and my next destination. Other good birds from Freiston included 9 Greenshank and 10 Yellow Wagtails on the scrape.

I made it to Frampton by late afternoon and had time for a complete circuit of the reserve before darkness. I've been here several times before and it's a firm favourite of mine - mainly because of the wading birds it attracts and once again it didn't disappoint, but before I get on to the birds allow me a bit of a self indulgent pause - my normal everyday lens for bird pics (Canon Ef 400mm) was in for repair during this trip and I've been using a Sigma 120-400 - not a bad lens but not a patch on the Canon, however at 120mm and slightly above it produces some great results for long range landscapes and here's a selected few from Frampton Marshes in the evening sunshine - not just landscapes either, look closely and you'll see some good birds in these vistas.

Frampton Marshes, 19/08/21

On the edge of the Wash. looking SE from the flood bank, Frampton Marshes, 19/08/21

Frampton Marshes, 19/08/21

Floodbank, Frampton Marshes, 19/08/21

The stand out bird here was a rare vagrant from Asia, a Pacific Golden Plover and with less than 100 ever seen in the UK there was a steady stream of observers. A 'lifer' for me, I'd had it pointed out to me the evening before - 70 yards beyond the flood wall on the Wash side, but it was asleep and all I could see was its head! Same place the next morning it emerged a bit perkier and I watched for 30 mins or so wondering where this lost and dainty plover might end up, whether it will make it back to Asia😕

Pacific Golden Plover, Frampton Marsh, 20/08/21

Black Tailed Godwit, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Renowned for attracting wading birds of many species and regular rarities, Frampton served up the goods once again with another 17 species haul (same as yesterday at Gib. Point) with many juvenile birds, especially Ruffs & Spotted Redshank causing many a second glance and a scratching of the head! Nothing out of the ordinary this time of year but not sure I've ever estimated more than 600 Black Tailed Godwit in one place! Here's one of them having a bit of a preen and a few other wader pics from here.

Little Stints, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Ruff (juvs), Frampton Marsh, 20/08/21

Spotted Redshank, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Spoonbills were again much in evidence with at least 25 congregating on the lagoons and flying over the reserve, that's another UK high for me and just great to see these once scarce birds becoming part of our wetland sceneries.

Spoonbills, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Spoonbills over Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Spoonbills, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Out of interest here are my wader counts from Frampton - Oystercatcher (4), Avocet (c70), Pacific Golden Plover (1), Ringed Plover (c20), Little Ringed Plover (5), Northern Lapwing (c40), Whimbrel (1), Black Tailed Godwit (c600), Ruff (c70), Dunlin (c50), Little Stint (3), Common Snipe (c50), Common Sandpiper (1), Green Sandpiper (15), Spotted Redshank (c30), Common Redshank (c15), Greenshank (4), plus there was also a Wood Sandpiper and a Curlew Sandpiper there that both eluded me😖

Reed Warbler, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Other good birds I had here included a single Short Eared Owl perched up on a post in the saltmarsh beyond the flood wall, a juv Scaup, Wheatear, Kingfisher, a probable Whinchat and still plenty of Sedge & Reed Warblers.

Scaup (juv), Frampton Marsh, 20/08/21

Northern Wheatear, Frampton Marsh, 19/08/21

Walking testosterone machine, Frampton Marsh.

Away from the birdies, I watched a water channel favoured by Water Voles for a full hour without any luck, but did witness a impressive looking Bullock striding along the flood wall as I waited, and later on spotted a nice Painted Lady butterfly and got a nice pic of a Common Hawker dragonfly perched on a reed stem.

Painted Lady, Frampton Marsh, 20/08/21

Common Hawker, Frampton Marsh, 20/08/21

Roe Deer, Theddlethorpe, 20/08/21

On the way back home to Yorkshire I popped into a part of Theddlethorpe dunes I hadn't visited before, the southernmost section just north of Mablethorpe. With the benefit of hindsight (and looking at a map) I maybe should have walked south from here along a public footpath that borders the Viking gas terminal and some good looking habitat instead of struggling across the very overgrown dune system near Crook Bank - saw hardly anything noteworthy apart from a Blackcap (a new bird for the trip) a single Swift and a bunch of Sandwich Terns on the beach, oh and I disturbed a young Roe Deer as I was thrashing my way through!

Much easier going at Donna Nook, my last destination before home. It was mid afternoon, grotty cloud cover, and a with a brisk Westerly wind I'd already dialled down my expectations which were not to be surpassed on this occasion! The relatively new wetland area here seemed a bit like the poor relation compared to the rich pickings at Frampton and I had to be satisfied with 60 or so Redshank, 3 Greenshank and a healthy count of Yellow Wagtails (23) for my efforts to circumnavigate a changed access route to the reserve due to some sort of construction work going on in the car park. If truth be told, although a bit weary after putting maybe a few too miles in my old legs, I would've gladly turned around and done what I often feel like doing - headed back south, even if it is just as far as South Lincolnshire! There was nothing at Donna Nook tempting me to reach for the camera so here's a final few from Gib. Point & Frampton to round off this post .....