After arriving at the reserve car park and getting the kit together,i headed over to the 360 hide were i settled down for the next 3 hours or so over the high tide.
The numbers and variety of birds which use the scrapes are amazing,with 11 species of duck's,8 species of wader and 4 species of geese observed during my visit.But it was three species which were the most prominent,Golden Plover,Teal and Wigeon.It was really great to see the mass flocks of birds wheeling around together at the slightest sniff of a raptor,but it is the relative closeness and comfort sat in a well situated hide that really gives you an advantage here.It's amazing to think that this reserve used to be farmers fields and through the hard work of the RSPB and volunteers,have turned this site into Lincolnshire's premier wader hot spot.
Highlights seen during my watch from this excellent vantage point included 42 stunning Pintail and 2 male Ruff in amongst the throngs of commoner species.It was really nice to study the gorgeous Pintails at relative close range,the lovely sound of the males as they attempted to capture the attentions of the unimpressed females as they displayed to them and sparred amongst each other.This was birding heaven for me,watching in my opinion,the smartest of our dabbling ducks.
Some guesstimated counts included 2500+ Wigeon,800 Teal,600 D.B.Brents and 1500 Golden Plover,with 16 Black-tailed Godwit and 300+ Lapwing making for a very impressive scene.
After this excellent spell of birding i wandered back to the car and had my lunch before walking along the perimeter of the reserve onto the sea bank and back to the car in a big square.Highlights included at least 3 Marsh Harrier hunting the saltmarsh,at least 350 Pink-footed Geese feeding on a winter wheat field to the south of the reserve,with 13 Little Grebe and a single female Goldeneye on the farm reservoir.
As i neared the car park and visitor centre,3 adult Whooper Swan made a very brief visit to the scrapes before heading in the direction of the reservoir.
A second visit to the 360 hide saw me along with a visiting RSPB group from Chesterfield enjoying more views of the Pintail which had reduced to 28 birds now the tide had dropped and the 2 Ruff showed closer also,an adult and juvenile male.
As the afternoon wore on i made my way back to the car seeing a final goodie before travelling home,a pair of Goosander which flew in off the Witham,over the scrapes and south towards the reservoir.This species is a bit of a rare here,so i was chuffed to have seen them.
A really enjoyable day today,visiting this superb reserve in the heart of the Wash.
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| Pintail. |
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| Close encounter with the Golden Plover flock. |
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| Wigeon,Pintail,DBB Brent Goose,Black-tailed Godwit and Teal. |
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| Dark-bellied Brent's,Wigeon,Pintail and Teal. |
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| Part of the Pintail flock. |
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