This is Part 1 of 2, and forms part of an entry to the Amazing Nature Competition run by @adalger. Go check out the fantastic Community to see more excellent images and articles
A couple of weeks ago my partner and I headed out to RSPB Frampton Marsh. It is a Wetland Habitat located on the East Coast of the UK. At this time of year Insects (my preferred subject) are few and far between, so instead the main aim of today was to check out some of the Birds we have here.
Unfortunately Covid has arrived here as well, we should be safe in the fresh air and the open skies, but there are some restrictions regarding the Bird Hides to consider.
The main reason Frampton Marsh is popular this time of year is due to the large numbers of birds travelling through the area. Some of these are passing through to head further south for warmer weather...
...and some others, like these Wigeon (pictured above) chose to stay here in the UK in the Winter.
All day we had flocks of Geese passing overhead..
This is one of the commonly seen species: A Greylag Goose spotted here in the shallow water looking for food
This is another common species: A Canada Goose, easily recognised with its white head markings and black neck. These can be seen in the UK all year round.
SOme of the Canada Geese were feeding in the shallow water, most were sat down and resting.
Theres not just wetland birds here to see, we spotted this Female Kestrel hovering nearby looking for small mammals. The picture isn't brilliant, but I couldnt get close enough, she kept moving further away and hovering at intervals.
There were also some smaller birds like this delightful Goldfinch!
Theres the Kestrel again!... Damn just another 'bum' shot!, I'm just not quick enough haha
There were a few insects around... some Common Carder Bees were spotted on various flowers, and the I saw this lovely Red Tailed Bumble Bee
And then I saw this lovely Fly Mesembrina meridiana sheltering on a Thistle
(Flies are lovely too you know!)
Lots of juicy autumnal Berries, the larger birds such as Blackbirds and other Thrushes like these
And the smaller birds like the aforementioned Goldfinch are often seen feeding on the seeds from these Teasels
Lots more birds were seen flying overhead, I think these are Geese again?
One of the Social Wasps, You can see the yellow mark on the wood, the wasp as gnawed away at it to get the wood fibres used to make the nests
Another invertebrate find... we saw several of these very hairy caterpillars wandering along the path. I suspect they were looking for a place to settle down and shelter over the coming Winter
A view of one of the Bird Hides. We stopped in here breifly, but there wasn't a great deal to see, so we carried on walking around the reserve
Some more birds flying, These are Wigeon, and they were seen in large numbers across the reserve.
An example of the weland habitat, a large expanse of shallow pools and reed beds. It is a very open area, and as it is also coastal, it meant it was very windy!
My partner looking out over the wetland to see if there was anything interesting to photograph...
...wait, whats that over there?
Theres a little white blob in the far distance...
Oh yes! Its a Little Egret! These elegant birds are similar to the Herons we see here, and they feeding in the same way, moving slowly in shallow water ready to pounce and spear the fish with their beak.
Thats a nice place to stop this account, look out for the 2nd part to be posted soon where we carry on walking around to see what else we could find
To Be Continued...
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Wow that is a really fancy goldfinch. The ones around me are just yellow and black.
They are beautiful little birds!
Great post @dannewton ^^ .. This will be an entry that @melinda010100 will love for sure 😉 .. It feels a bit weird to see you not focusingoon bugs,but I saw some in here too 😁 .. Seeing thispost makes me a little bit nostalgic, wanting me to go back to UK once again .. So unfortunate with covid at the moment
It was a tough call between Amazing Nature or Feathered Friends... in the end the competition entry was the deciding factor
haha, it felt weird for me posting it to be honest!
With the weather today, it feels like Winter is right around the corner, no hope of interesting bugs until next Spring now. :-(