Bird Watching
| Days & times | Various |
| Venue | Wherever there are birds! |
| Contact | Group Leaders Co-ordinator %Phillip James% |
Group Leader - position vacant
If we say so ourselves, we have a great Bird Watching group!
Our members are a good mix of ages and backgrounds, with a range of knowledge levels. Complete novices are as welcome as life-long birders, but most of us are somewhere in between. We all help each other with our ID skills, and nobody feels left out.
Recent(ish) activities:
Covid-19 enforced a hiatus until early in 2021 but, as soon as our shackles were off, ten of us gathered at Frampton Marsh on May 18th. It was an absolute joy to meet up with old friends again, and rediscover this wonderful reserve. Plans rapidly took shape for more super outings in the coming months, and we kept everything crossed that we would still be allowed out for them. Some months later, here's where we are:
Already enjoyed in 2021 since restrictions were relaxed ...
15th June - Dersingham Bog for an evening liaison with nightjars, glow worms and tiny carnivorous sundew.
29th June - Bempton Cliffs seabird colony, to see puffins and their pufflings, gannets, cormorants, guillemots, kittiwakes, fulmars and more. An overnight stay was arranged for those not wishing to drive there and back in a day.
30th June - Tophill Low Nature Reserve, East Yorkshire, for those who chose to stay over after Bempton Cliffs.
14th July - Wild Ken Hill (a rewilding project at Heacham, recent hosts for BBC's Springwatch) for a private guided walk around the reserve.
15th July - A morning visit to the Hawk & Owl Trust's Sculthorpe Moor near Fakenham.
17th August - A self-guided walk at RSPB Titchwell Marsh on the north Norfolk coast.
21st September - A rediscovery of LWT Deeping Lakes, Peterborough followed by lunch at Vine House Farm.
28th October - A self-guided walk at LWT Gibraltar Point coastal reserve near Skegness.
14th November - We joined members of the Sheffield RSPB local group for a visit to Frampton Marsh, with an after-hours stay to watch the starlings coming in to roost.
24th November - A small group headed to NWT Cley Marshes on the north Norfolk coast.
10th December - We met for a special pre-Christmas trip to Freiston Shore, to see what the morning high tide brought in. We then adjourned to the "We'll Meet Again" WWII museum and cafe next door, for refreshments and a trip around the exhibits. It was wonderfully fresh out on the sea bank, so we appreciated the opportunity to warm up and partake of a tasty lunch.
... and in 2022:
11th January - A visit to WWT Welney to reconnect with the thousands of whoopers, Bewick's and mute swans that come to Welney in the winter, plus the many varieties of waterbirds that share the space.
19th January - We gathered for an impromptu and hastily-arranged visit to our 'home' reserve of Frampton Marsh near Boston. There had been sightings of a red-breasted goose and tagged white-tailed eagle G471, and we had hopes of seeing one or t'other. Even without these two rare visitors, we were guaranteed to see many, many other wonderful birds. Frampton never lets us down.
23rd February - A first-time trip for the group to Whisby Nature Park near Lincoln. Following recent storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin, the weather was miraculously good, with sunshine and blue skies. It was even mild enough for an al fresco picnic lunch. Whisby is a beautiful and varied patch of countryside, with several lakes, wooded areas and open land. We didn't see the elusive bittern, but there were plenty of other waterbirds including tufties, gadwall, little egret, mallards, cormorants, plenty of gulls and the greatest number of shovelers that I have ever seen in one place.