In Boston: Frampton Marsh

August 16, 2024

Rachael’s day

At my ( Scott’s) suggestion Rachael leaves our hotel bound for a 12+ mile out and back to the mouth of the Witham, to the point where it comes together with the Welland flowing in from the west. I encouraged her because we both took this sam3 hike when we stayed in Boston two years ago, and I remember it as a long but exceptional walk. I remind her of it, show her the post and scan through its photos, and she’s sold.

She only sticks it the plan for about four miles though, abandoning it when. She comes to the spot where you can connect with the trail system around Frampton Marsh, the same spot she called me from two years ago to make it out that far because of all the birds around. She decides to leave the riverside trail here because it’s getting too dry and overgrown for comfort. so let’s hear what she has to say about it. I especially want to hear about the cows.

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Shortly after the above photo, the trail gets very narrow and full of nettles and other scratchy shrubs. I definitely don’t need that after my bee sting. I pulled out my phone and discovered that I was near the Frampton marsh and so I headed that way. I was very glad I did. It was a beautiful spot.

Looking down on the marsh from a paved road above it.

I finally found the way to get down by the marsh.

The following were taken while following the trail.

When I started heading back, I had to make my way past all these cows. I had to go right through the middle. It made me very nervous and I didn’t take this photo until I made past them.

The rest of the way back was uneventful and I was glad when I found a safe spot where I could eat my lunch.

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Scott’s day

Some of you might have noticed that there hasn’t been much bird activity to report lately. In fact, other that Flamborough Head the northland has been a bust, bird wise. I haven’t logged a new bird for the year since Flamborough five weeks ago. Mostly that’s because birds are scarcer and harder to spot in the interior other than the larger and commonly seen ones, and I’ve listed all of those already.

Today I’m hopeful that will change and I’ll pick up a new bird or two. Boston is near the coast and is probably the last best chance to pad the list before we leave England.

I’ve got a two part ride planned for the day - first I’ll bike to Frieston Shore, a wildlife refuge near the shore that’s north of the Witham; and after that I’ll double back to Boston to the nearest bridge across the river and then head to Frampton Marsh, a larger and more important preserve on the other side.

It’s only five miles to Frieston Shore. After I’ve left town it’s one flat field after another until I get to my destination. its one huge vegetable garden, and there must be a dozen or more different crops growing here.

Here’s another. That’s enough for now. Let’s go find some birds.

Frieston Shore is a large coastal reserve, but the coast isn’t readily accessible by any route I can see. It’s about at least a several hundred yards away, and it’s not clear if you can walk there or not. There’s a sketchy path that heads off that direction that I follow for a short ways but turn back because it’s not suited to someone in walking shorts. Instead I walk the loop around the large lagoon that constitutes its main feature near the parking lot where I’ve locked the bike. I see some birds alright, but they’re mostly too far out for a good shot with my camera. Nothing new, but it’s a lovely walk and there’s just me using the trail this morning.

The lagoon at Frieston Shore. There’s a well developed walking path around its perimeter.

A Gatekeeper, one of the UK’s most common butterflies but one I’ve never seen before.

Elderberry, a shot I took just to remind myself what the plant is.

Maybe this would eventually bring me to the shore?

I’m well around the lagoon when I think I see some motion in the grass down below so I zoom in on it. New bird! I’m really thrilled by this one, a green woodpecker. It’s a species I’d been hoping to see eventually, ever since I started seeing reports of them in northern Spain. They’re an unusual woodpecker, in that they don’t really peck wood. They peck dirt instead, and spend most of their time down on the ground like this.

Now that I’ve seen one it won’t surprise me if I see others from time to time now that I know what to look for. And in fact I see a second one fly off before returning to the bike.

#26: Eurasian green woodpecker, a lifetime first.

I take a different road back to Boston than I came out on. It’s a mix of vegetable fields and small communities with roads lined by hedgerows, so it has a different feel. I keep my eye out for birds as I bike along, and am rewarded with my first sighting of a reed warbler.

My first sighting of a common reed warbler. This is the bird with the incredible musical song we heard along the Tiverton canal.

I make it back to Boston and cross the bridge to the other side of the river (now named the Reach, for the final straight stretch from here to the coast). It’s a pretty decent spot for birds, even right here in town. I spend a few minutes admiring them and wishing that the lone cormorant would turn back and swim toward me instead of off into the sun where it’s too bright for a shot.

From there I bike toward the coast again. It’s similar to the loop to Freiston Shore - five miles out, five miles back, very quiet most of the way. The land is a little more contoured on this side and has a different look, but I don’t pay it much attention except to stop for about fifty barn swallows strung out like clothes pins on the power lines.

Looking back toward Boston along the Reach.

Frampton Marsh is a physically smaller but considerably more significant refuge - it’s got several miles of trails, a visitor center, a number of cars in the parking lot and quite a few visitors today. Some of them are sitting on the patio under umbrellas taking refreshment, with their giant cameras and scopes resting next to them; and others are walking the trail lugging their equipment around, standing around in small groups with their lenses all aimed at something or other someone has spotted.

I’m just on my own though, with my little pocket camera with a puny 30x zoom, hoping that there will be enough birds around close enough that I can identify them and maybe pick up something new. And if not, I’ll at least enjoy the day out, walking around enjoying the weather and the scenery.

At Frampton Marsh. You’ll recognise this landscape from Rachael’s photos above. Our paths crossed briefly out here, but about two hours apart.

This is a look toward the shore, but it’s quite a ways off still. That line of trees is probably at the River Welland, and the sea is a bit beyond that.

I don’t get far at all from the visitor center when the birds start showing up in large numbers. For the next two hours that it takes me to walk the three mile loop I’ve chosen I’m stopping constantly to zoom in on a concentration of birds near enough that it’s worth checking out. Its clear that with a real birding lens I could do better - there are large rafts of waterfowl roosting on bars far enough out that they just look like a blur - but what I can zoom in on is fantastic. I pick up seven new birds for the year today, including five lifetime firsts.

Eurasian lapwings were surprisingly common here. I saw dozens of them.

The big guy is a spoonbill, as you probably guessed. The real prize though is that white bird with the black stripes on its head, a Bar-headed goose (#271). I was lucky to get it in the shot and only knew to look for it in my photos when I got back from hearing a woman try to point it out to a different birder.

The large bird is another black-tailed godwit, and the other’s a common redshank.

#274: Ruff, my fifth lifer of the day. This one’s a female, looking pretty nondescript. The breeding males look astonishing from the photos I’ve seen.

Eventually I make it back to the bike, unlock it, and start lazily pedaling back north. As I bike I start mentally tallying the birds I’ve seen today, but it’s too long of a list and I keep losing track and have to start over. I’m pretty sure it’s up to about thirty though, which for me counts as a pretty big day; and I’m hopeful that when I get back and unload the photos and do some research I’ll pull in a few more.

I’m not quite done though. As I’m biking along I realize I haven’t seen a single raptor today, or even a jackdaw. And then in the space of about a quarter mile there’s a rook and some jackdaws out in a wheat field, and I startle a kestrel from the line above, and then a buzzard soars high up. So, well over thirty is my guess now.

When I get back home I cull through the several hundred photos I’ve come back with, make a subalbum of images needing research, and then between Google Lens and eBird I just keep adding to the list. I’m excited to see I’ve captured a ruff, a reed bunting, and a black tailed godwit - all lifers -and am really delighted to discover that the bar-headed goose a woman was trying to point out got pulled into the net along with the spoonbills. When I’m done, I’m up to 45 different species for the day - possibly the longest list I’ve ever come home with.

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Graham FinchI guess you know what RSPB stands for.
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2 months ago

Scott AndersonTo Graham FinchNatch! Really some pretty birds, obviously.
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2 months ago

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** Graylag goose, Canada goose, Mallard, Eurasian wigeon, Eurasian moorhen, Eurasian coot, Eurasian spoonbill, Eurasian kestrel, Common buzzard, Carrion crow, European goldfinch, House sparrow, Bar-headed goose, Collared dove, Common wood-pigeon, Rock dove, Barn swallow, Little egret, Great egret, Grey heron, European starling, Black-headed gull, Herring gull, Lesser black backed gull, Common redshank, Northern lapwing, Little grebe, Mute swan, Pied avocet, White wagtail, Eurasian jackdaw, Eurasian oystercatcher, Common tern, Eurasian blackbird, Green woodpecker, Reed bunting, Common reed warbler, Ruff, Dunnock, Rook, Common shelduck, Western house martin, Eurasian magpie, Common buzzard, Black-tailed godwit

Today's ride: 21 miles (34 km)
Total: 3,309 miles (5,325 km)

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