Hare-ing about

 With some good weather promised and a day free I decided to have trip out. I'm not really chasing year-lists this year but it's nice to see what you can find. My main focus was on Lincolnshire and the reserve at Frampton Marsh. I got up early and by just after 7 was heading into the flat countryside. The farmers were already up and I passed a minibus discharging workers into the fields! On the other side of the road to them I spotted some distinctive humps in the fields. One sat up and the group ambled away as the farm workers came down the road!

I decided it might be a good day for hare spotting so I carried on to another field where the grass was short and I struck lucky: another group of about half a dozen hares. For 15 minutes I used the car as a mobile hide. One came particularly close as it bounced across the fleece-covered field giving it a rather wintry feel.

It joined its friends and they variously snoozed, groomed and chased each other around.

Eventually they all moved off into cover and I drove back the way I came to go to the reserve itself. As soon as I got out the car there was bird-song everywhere. It felt very Spring-like. Frampton is a marvellous reserve with loads to see, even from their car-park where a smart shoveler and avocet were pottering around.

After a coffee and a roll I headed off to the accompaniment of warblers, mainly sedge, singing either side of the path. 

They were joined by reed warblers and buntings, all giving a soundtrack to the morning.

The marsh itself was fairly quiet, though there had obviously been a hatching of avocets as many of them had chicks pottering around in the shallow margins. Even when newborn they have the characteristic upturned-bill, albeit in a smaller form! Being very precocial they were already feeding for themselves on small insects.

There weren't many other waders around unfortunately. The nesting little-ringed plovers were pretty distant but redshank, lapwing and oystercatchers did come near enough for a photo opportunity.

I only found one spoonbill, normally a commoner bird here, and as usual it was mostly asleep! 

The big downside was the number of dead gulls I saw.. There is a large black-headed gull colony here but avian flu is clearly present. Without doing a full count I would estimate I saw 80 or so dead birds, although many more were seemingly healthy. 

There was one more star bird but I'll update about that at a later point!

With there sun getting quite hot I headed home, stopping on the way back at Shardeloes. This is near Paxton Pits and is a stronghold for nightingales. With it being 1pm I wasn't hopeful but within a minute of getting to the right area I heard four or five birds singing away in the dense cover. Views were subliminal at best but it was lovely to hear them! 

I know I said I wasn't year-listing, but that did take me to 184 for the year. Normally I'd be well over 200 by now!!