The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Hi,

As I hope you are aware RSPB Frampton Marsh is undergoing a bit of a makeover at the moment. I wondered if any LBC members would like the opportunity for a guided visit once all the major habitat and visitor infrastructure works are completed and we have been able to 'turn on the tap' later in the year. To refresh your memory after this phase of works Frampton will comprise the following;

20 hectares reedbed (this will take up to 10 years to mature)
21 hectares freshwater scrapes with islands (by my reckoning the largest in the UK!)
120 hectares wet grassland/grazing marsh
363 hectares saltmarsh
Visitor reception building/hide
Three birdwatching hides (all with 360 degree viewing)
3km of new footpaths
Toilets
New car park
Lots of birds

If there is enough interest I'd be happy to meet up (presumably a weekend is best), run through what's what, discuss plans for the future etc. How about provisionally Sunday 7 December at 2pm? Please use the vote option to register your interest (I had to enter two options for the poll, so feel free to choose either if you want to come. I don't want to know if you're not interested!).

Cheers,

John

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Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

Given the hours of daylight at that time of year, perhaps 1:00 or 1:30 might be better?

I'm a definite.

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Sounds as though I should move my caravan to Frampton.
Geoff

Great to see so much effort being put into creating and managing a variety of habitats for the benefit of a whole host of wildlife.
The RSPB have done some fantastic work in the south of the county, Freiston is an impressive reserve and now Frampton is to get a makeover
Just hope one day the RSPB can put some funding into the forgotten north of the county

regards

Chris

Lawrence Llewellyn Bowen nowhere to be seen, which makes it even better!

Perhaps the opening could be done by Simon King?

No hidden agenda.... honest......

** thuds quietly in a corner **

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I would love to attend "" But "" yet again working at Waddington birdwatching
Although, I do echo the sentiment of the forgottrn wastelands of the frozen north.

Brian.

John
i am trying to schedule a coach trip from the frozen north early next year as part of our fieldtrip itinerary is this possible ?

Terry Whalin

Grimsby and Humberside RSPB

Hi,

Frampton is not designed to accommodate coaches for the short to medium term for various reasons (although we can make special arrangements). I'd suggest that since we don't quite know what the spectacle will be like it would be worth waiting a year or two in any case before arranging a group visit from the north of the county.

We could meet earlier in the day, but I was only expecting to entertain you all for an hour and a half or so! Besides, good time of day for birds of prey Katherine!

John

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Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk

There is talk of a large country park for the Huttoft area. Perhaps the RSPB could get involved with that. I might not need to move the caravan then.
Geoff

Hadn't heard about a possible country park at Huttoft - hope if it goes ahead it involves a substantial area of wader scrapes/islands, something I think we are crying out for in our neck of the woods as I'm sure you'll agree with Geoff!

We have small pockets of such habitat I know - Messingham, Paradise, Kirkby, etc and probably the best area at present - Manby flashes. Killingholme Pits is good for Blackwits and has had some rare visitors in years gone by (Sharp-tailed Sand for starters) but its not the reserve it once was and the islands are so overgrown very little can get on them. Chowder Ness in the early days was ideal (Black-winged Stilts, Temmincks Stints etc & other noteworthy wildlife such as Red-veined Darters) but now its mudflats.
Alkborough is approx 35 miles away and the other nearest place with such substantial habitat is Gib - 50 miles away - impressive as both are, neither you can use as a regular patch with the cost of fuel these days.
Shame nothing has been done with Tetney Marshes RSPB, it obviously has great potential, but the general consensus from birders in the area is that the RSPB continue to view it as just a holding reserve.

I accept that without funding things cant improve and appreciate a lot of hard work already goes on at some sites I have mentioned above, often on little or no funding (and in some cases on a voluntary basis) - maybe the planned Donna Nook realignment project will be the answer.

regards

Chris

I have brought up the subject of the lack of anything from the rspb except the holding reserve of tetney on or in the humberside area. I have been told that there are plans for the medium term for the area.
I think this will be more to do with global warming and the breaching of sea defences etc where the cost of defending coastal low lying areas is prohibative, but i have no definate info of where or when. I believe there is a map on a web site from the enviroment agency showing areas where the sea defences might or might not be repaired and areas at risk of coastal erosion. So by putting 2 and 2 together and getting 17 you can make a judgement where any development by either english nature with other partners might or might not take place in the medium to long term eg alkborough area is one place that is clearly marked as an area at risk as is sunk island and spurn point, but we shall i think remain the frozen north for a few years yet.

Terry Whalin

[quote="Chris Atkin"]Hadn't heard about a possible country park at Huttoft - hope if it goes ahead it involves a substantial area of wader scrapes/islands, something I think we are crying out for in our neck of the woods as I'm sure you'll agree with Geoff!

Hi Chris,
As a country park it should have plenty of ice cream parlours, but I'll be surprised if it has many wader scrapes etc. unless the RSPB get involved.
People can have a say on the plans if they get a leaflet or go to :-
http://www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/lccp.
Geoff

Thanks for the update Terry, but a few us of have been to local meetings before where the RSPB have mentioned new plans for Tetney, these were over 8-10 years ago yet still it remains the same. I think we'll only believe it when we see it happen.
In my early days of birding I use to visit the area every weekend and enjoyed seeing the breeding colony of Little Terns (now gone due to no protection), visiting the hide and checking the logbook (now gone), watching birds such as Long-eared Owl, Red-breasted Fly & Red-backed Shrike in bushes around the airfield (ripped out by the local farmer so he could count his cows on the airfield), listening to Corn Buntings along the ditch as you walked up Tetney Lock & watching Barn Owls coming and going between the barn along there (barn then removed by local farmer and ditched filled in to gain a few feet for more crops).

Have had a look at the proposed Huttoft Country Park Geoff - thanks for the link. Will be interesting to see how things develop there - just hope it doesn't end up like Cleethorpes Country Park where wildlife is far from being a priority.

regards

Chris

What is the current state of play at Frampton? Have any of the buildings gone up yet?

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The hides/reception are currently scheduled for construction in November, although this does depend on the contractor's order book.

John

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Contact: recorder_south@lincsbirdclub.co.uk