I Bet That Incey Wincey Never Looked This Good.

Alan Shorrock and I celebrated the beginning of meteorological Autumn by leaving the county and heading over to Frampton Marsh. This excellent RSPB reserve often delivers good stuff and it didn't disappoint today either. Strong north westerly winds no doubt had a limiting effect on bird migration but there was still a decent amount of stuff to watch.

Spoonbills and Black-tailed Godwits.

Perhaps the most spectacular sight of the day was the huge number of Black-tailed Godwits packed on to the reserve, one of the wardens estimated 3,500 birds. Such a mass of birds was bound to attract some others seeking safety in numbers and we found a few Knots in amongst the godwits. Alan saw and heard a Spotted Redshank while other waders on site included Snipe, Redshank, Lapwing, Ringed and Little Ringed Plover, Dunlin and Ruff as well as a few Avocets. My favourite birds seen today were the Spoonbills, we saw nineteen in total and unusually for this species several were awake and actively feeding. A Hobby provided some raptor interest, I failed to see the marauding Peregrine that put the godwits into panicked flight. Another bird of note was a Water Rail seen from the visitor's centre.

Wasp Spider and Red Admiral.

For me the most memorable sighting of today was that of a Wasp Spider near the visitor's centre. Apparently this is the most northerly site in the UK for this slowly expanding but very striking species. Sharing the spider's patch were a few Red Admirals which were some of the few other butterflies noticed on our travels. Our meagre list was made up by Holly Blue, Small White and Speckled Wood.

Willow Emeralds.

Of the damsels noted today it was Willow Emeralds that were the most interesting, at least ten were found on the trek out to the reservoir. Only one other damsel was observed and that was a female Small Red-eyed, dragons on the wing were Common and Ruddy Darter and Migrant Hawker. One other wildlife piece of interest was a leveret hiding in vegetation in front of the visitor centre.

Ruff and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.