Kestrels on camera!

Over the last few years barn owls have bred in a specially designed barn owl nest box at Frampton Marsh, and during the winter we installed a camera in the box so visitors could watch the owls’ antics on a screen in the visitor centre.
This year, instead of barn owls, a pair of kestrels chose the box as a safe place to raise their young. On April 12 the first kestrel egg appeared on the television screen, and by April 25 there were five! The female kestrel sat on the eggs for a month, only getting off to pop out for a snack. During the female’s absence the male, like any good father, would take his turn in sitting on the eggs, occasionally turning them gently to keep them warm on all sides.
On May 23 the first chick hatched. It was instantly hungry, and its caring parents began to delicately feed it. By May 25 all five eggs had hatched into healthy, hungry chicks, providing lots of excitement for RSPB staff and visitors alike. The family grew rapidly. Throughout June they transformed from cute little fluffy white chicks to strong, powerful, hovering predators. All five of the young birds fledged successfully, and can still be seen regularly.

Frampton and Freiston management

Graham Figg (Warden) writes: Those of you who have been down to Freiston or Frampton recently may have noticed that the sites are quite dry. Both have been affected by the lack of rain over the past few months — this year we’ve had the driest spring in the area for a hundred years.
Nevertheless, breeding birds at Freiston have done well, with many successful pairs. There has been a record number of lapwing nesting on the wet grassland, and the lagoon has been home to the largest numbers of nesting black-headed gulls, common terns, oystercatchers and avocets we’ve ever recorded.
Freiston Shore has several areas of arable land in Entry Level Stewardship Schemes. Our pollen and nectar mixes have come on well and are providing lots of food for the insects that in turn feed the birds. In addition to this four hectares of wild bird seed mix were planted in May, which will provide feeding opportunities for buntings, finches, sparrows and other birds over the next few years.

Lapwing family by Neil Smith

Frampton Marsh, however, has been more severely affected by the dry weather. The scrapes did not store enough water throughout the winter to act as reserves during the drier months, and because of the low water levels breeding birds have not been as successful as in previous years. The reedbed has done better, and with good levels of water breeding numbers of mallard, gadwall, lapwing and coot will also be good.
The wet grassland has been wetter this year than ever before but there is always room for improvement. In the autumn you may see some large pieces of kit on site: we are bringing in a bulldozer and an excavator to carry out a few earthworks, which will enable us to maintain and manage water levels better for the future throughout the wet grassland. We hope this will boost both wintering and breeding populations.
Unfortunately, we had some vandalism in the 360 hide in June. Frampton Marsh is a beautiful place to come and, as many of you will know, the hides are always open so that people can enjoy the site at all times. We want to protect this amazing area, so remember to keep a look out and if you see anything suspicious please do let us know.

A new face

Jasmine Atkinson writes: Hello! I’d like to introduce myself as I’ll be around for a while as the new Visitor Services Trainee. If you’ve been down to the reserve this summer you may have seen me about. My placement at the RSPB is funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and will last 18 months, with the last nine months spent at Titchwell Marsh. I’ll be in the visitor centre quite often and I’d love to meet you, so make sure to come in and have a chat.