22 May 2026 – Frampton Marsh RSPB
On the last full day of our holiday, and our last birding opportunity, we drove from Docking to RSPB Frampton Marsh avoiding major roads as much as possible. As it happened, it turned out to be the first day of a heatwave and probably the hottest of the year.
When we got to Frampton we found a much improved visitor centre with a good cafe, good loos and a viewing area from which we could see a Little Stint but walking along the footpath towards the sea we also got a drake Garganey – a good year tick. From the first track that goes off to the left we looked back on the lagoon and found a roosting Spoonbill that we eventually saw later waking up, having a preen and showing off its spoon bill. There were Common Terns and lots of breeding Greylag, Black- headed Gulls and Shelduck. Anne drove me up to the furthest parking place but apparently the Temminck’s Stint hadn’t been seen since the morning. Neither had the Black-winged Stilt that lots of people were looking for. A couple of Little Ringed Plovers strode around.
After an ice-cream break at reception, we walked down the lane that used to be so good for Turtle Doves but they weren’t even on the bird list in reception, never mind recent sightings. We decided it was too hot to do much more and we still had to drive to the Premier Inn at Grantham so we drove off to a nearby pub (see cc slip) for a drink and a snack and then hit the very hot road.
Year Ticks
Garganey
Little Stint
Bird Sightings : 22 May 2026 – Frampton Marsh RSPB
| Species | No |
|---|---|
| Avocet | 80 |
| Black-headed Gull | 200 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 20 |
| Blackcap | 1 |
| Brent Goose | 2 |
| Canada Goose | 10 |
| Common Tern | 10 |
| Coot | 6 |
| Gadwall | 10 |
| Garganey | 1 |
| Goldfinch | 2 |
| Greylag Goose | 50 |
| House Sparrow | 1 |
| Lapwing | 4 |
| Little Egret | 1 |
| Little Grebe | 1 |
| Little Ringed Plover | 2 |
| Little Stint | 1 |
| Mallard | 10 |
| Mute Swan | 4 |
| Oystercatcher | 2 |
| Pheasant | 2 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |
| Pochard | 20 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
| Reed Warbler | 2 |
| Shelduck | 30 |
| Shoveler | 1 |
| Spoonbill | 1 |
| Tufted Duck | 30 |
| Woodpigeon | 20 |
| Wren | 1 |