A trip out up to Lincs on Sunday with Jim and Dave was a much needed visit out, and with a couple of life “ticks” a very worthwhile one.

The day started at 7.15am and, desperate to get birding, I managed to get us to Frampton Marsg by 8.50am. This reserve never fails to disappoint and Sunday was no different; Green Sandpiper, Greenshank, Ruff, Little Egrets by the dozen, Black Tailed Godwits, Ringed Plover, Yellow Wagtails, plus the usual suspects all were showing well. A few young Reed Warblers confused for a little while, as did the odd pipit and Reed Bunting – definitely a case of getting the eye back in after the summer with some of these birds. The two below are Meadow Pipits.

A female Pintail from the 360 degree hide was a bonus, and, as the others set out for the salt marsh and high tide, I picked out a Sandpiper for Jim and I to mull over. He confirmed a Wood Sandpiper and a much needed life tick for me, one that was long overdue. We found an Elephant Hawkmoth Caterpillar on the path on the way out of the hide, a species conspicuous by its absence in my garden this year.

We arrived at the sea wall to hear we’d just missed a perched “peregrine” that turned into a Hobby once the heat haze had gone. Later Jim picked it up as it bombed past us on the way back to the reserve, earlier we’d watched a raptor terrorizing flocks of waders in the distance – the flocks rising and falling in such massive groups was amazing to watch and very mesmorising. A Whinchat on the way to the visitors centre was another good bird. No photos due to the distance but here’s a Cormorant instead.

We left Frampton, and Jim’s brother Garry who had joined us earlier, and set off to Gib Point after lunch to meet Jim’s friend Jayne. We headed to the hides and then the sea but nothing much on offer there, my luck at Gib is very poor.

With the sun up, and weather red hot, we decided to try for some butterflies – Brown Hairstreaks at their stronghold in Chambers Wood near Lincoln being the target species. On the way we stopped at Hagnaby Lock, a small hide over looked the water and several Green Sandpiper and a couple of Ruff were wandering round, 12 Herons were also on the waters edge. Jim picked out a pair of Hobby over the trees and also four Turtle Doves in a bare tree to our right, a first view of this species for me after last year’s “purring” bird hidden in the trees (again with Jim) at Erewash Meadows.

The Common Darter like to perch on the wooden railings on the way to the hide at Hagnaby and I spent some time photographing them and a blow-fly – the blow-fly was still enough to allow me to take several shots I could focus stack in a trial of CS5 – wow results, just need to start saving….

The clouds were forming by the time we got to Chambers Wood, the light was fading and we had a fruitless search for the butterflies for half an hour or so. The Migrant Hawkers were out in force though, as many as I’ve ever seen in one place by a long, long way. One Hairstreak did show briefly in the top of an oak as we left and I imagine it was a Purple Hairstreak given its location, though hard to say. Jayne returned next morning and got both species – if anyone is visiting there then I can pass on directions to the spot.

I’ll leave you with a shot of this spider. Thanks for reading.