Frampton Return....A Superb Visit,Sunday 03.08.2014.

With the prospect of a mouth watering list of birds on offer at the superb RSPB reserve at Frampton situated on the Wash,i made the journey down today bright and early.The main target was the reported adult White-rumped Sandpiper and i hoped i might also get some record shots with a bit of luck.I began by looking from the 360 hide from where the bird had been seen the day before.At first there was no sight of this Yankee visitor,but after about 40 minutes it suddenly appeared with a couple of juvenile Ringed Plover,at first quite a distance from the hide,but slowly but sure it made it's way towards us,eventually giving stunning views through the scope and allowing me to take some decent shots of the bird.On a few occasions it was observed feeding alongside a Dunlin giving a great chance to compare the two species different structure,plumage details and feeding action.The White-rumped being a much sleeker streamlined bird and had a faster feeding action.The latter feature was a good way of spotting the bird if you took your eye off it for a few minutes.It was flushed on a couple of occasions,but always returned to the area in front of the hide,until it was flushed for the final time by a passing Hobby.Other goodies seen while waiting and watching for the bird included at least 6 Little-ringed Plover,Juvenile Wood Sand,Peregrine,2 juvenile Spoonbill,juv/female Garganey,15 Common Tern,42 Little Egret,at least 20 Ruff,4 Common Sandpiper and a brief flyby from the resident Glossy Ibis.After enjoying all this excellent action from the 360 hide i went back to the car,unloaded some gear and shedded a layer or two and began to explore the rest of the reserve.Some nice insects were seen and included female Emperor,male Southern Hawker,4 Brown Hawker and my 'First' Migrant Hawker of the year along with Common and Ruddy Darters from the world of Odonata and 2 Painted Lady,several Peacock,Small Skipper,Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper from the world of Lepidoptera.A very noticeable sound while walking around the reserve was the constant stridulation of male Roesel's-bush Crickets from the rank grassland a great sound to hear.Back to the birds and walking along the borrow pits beside the flood bank was another Wood Sand,a family of Little Grebes and a hundred plus Sand Martins resting from their migration.Some great views of Black-tailed Godwit,Ruff,Lapwing and Greenshank allowed some more great photo opportunities and after a chance meeting with Colin and Sheila Jennings,i was back in the 360 hide photographing the cracking Glossy Ibis.The bird showed brilliantly and much better than on my last visit,when it was only seen distantly on the wet grassland and a big thanks to Colin and Sheila for the tip off.So after another excellent visit to Lincolnshires premier wader site,i travelled home a very happy boy.

Adult White-rumped Sandpiper.

Adult White-rumped Sandpiper.

Juvenile Wood Sandpiper.

Juvenile Lapwing.

Male Ruff.

Adult Black-tailed Godwit.

Glossy Ibis.

Glossy Ibis.

Male Ruddy Darter.

Painted Lady.

'Old' female Black-tailed Skimmer.