With the cold days hopefully behind us, attention is now focused on Spring, and the influx of migrant birds. With summer visitors starting to arrive, and winter birds not quite leaving it looked a promising time of year, a real mix up. With that in mind where better to experience the full force of early Spring than in the myriad habitats that make up Minsmere. Ok so I go there a lot, maybe at the expense of other sites, but Minsmere does provide the best birdwatching, maybe in the whole country.
It was a good day for it, sunny and cloudless when we arrived at Minsmere. We started off with a coffee sitting outside and watching the birds on the feeders - not much was around except a flock of CHAFFINCHES.
We soon moved on to North Hide, where the light was against us (see below).
Immediately in front of the hide LAPWING were starting to nest in the area of wet grassland. They are very territorial, often rising up at any potential threat, tumbling through the sky on rounded wings.
There were also several SNIPE present, blending into the brown grass with their camouflaged plumage.
We moved along the path through the North Bushes, along the North Wall to the beach, without seeing too much.
View from North Wall, across the North Levels to Dunwich Heath
The sea was very calm, but with little on it except the odd GULL. We then accessed the East Hide which overlooks, well, the East Scrape, basically the opposite to North Hide.
On the Scrape two things were noticeable. First the water levels were very high, with little exposed except the larger islands. The second noticeable thing was the lack of birds species. Not the number, there were thousands of GULLS present, AVOCETS had returned in large numbers to nest here on the Scrape, and a few other WADERS were present, like breeding OYSTERCATCHER and REDHANK. However what was missing was the variety. There were few DUCKS, few WADERS, on the Scrape, just lots and lots of GULLS.
Pair of OYSTERCATCHERS probably starting to nest immediately in front of the hide
East Scrape from East Hide - all the white blobs are GULLS starting to nest - there are thousands of them.
What has happened over the last couple of years - as if from no where, hundreds of MEDITERRAENEAN GULLS have appeared. In the old days - maybe ten years ago, a few over summered and occasionally nested, but no more than twenty or thirty. Now we are getting hundreds. I don't know why this happened or where they came from, but its good news anyway, for a bird to naturally increase in number whilst almost every other species is declining.
MED GULLS on the South Scrape. They are similar to BLACK HEADED GULS - the most common bird on the Scrape - but have subtle differences, most noticeable in their summer plumage.
We moved along the beach, a pair of STONECHATS were present in the gorse bushes, and we had lunch over looking the South Levels, an area of flooded grassland south of the reserve. With high water levels, there were a lot of DUCKS, and a flock of BARNACLE GEESE were feeding on the abbey field.
On South Scrape there were a few migrant waders present, four TURNSTONES, three DUNLIN, and singles of both KNOT and GREY PLOVER.
West Hide offered pretty much the same thing, so we carried on towards the reed bed hides. The crossroads where the scrape path and the reed bed path met held a couple of SISKIN and a MUNTJAC DEER happily dozing away, oblivious to the people around.
In front of the Bittern Hide, management work was going on so we carried onto Island Mere Hide.
On the path by the Bittern Hide, by the Adder Trail, I saw a movement in a bush. Expecting it to be a CHIFFCHAFF or something, I had a quick look, and discovered the bird was a FIRECREST! Immediately I got my camera out and tried photographing it. My automatic focus went haywire trying to find the bird in the bushes and the photo up top is the best I could get. There has been a mini influx of this species around the country and I was hoping to catch one today and am chuffed I did - bird of the day.
This SWAN was nesting in front of Island Mere hide
Island Mere was quiet - a pair of GREAT CRESTED GREBES had arrived and will probably nest, as well as a pair of POCHARD amongst the small numbers of TUFTIES. What was annoying was the two SMEWS which were still hanging around the reserve had flown away to some other pool, but only twenty minutes ago had been on Island Mere. If I had seen them today they would be the latest record I would have for the species.
We exited Island Mere and climbed Whin Hill, an area of grassy heath where Springwatch was filmed from some years ago.
The woods were quiet - the highlight was a pair of TREECREEPERS by Canopy Hide, birds I took maybe twenty photos of and the one up top was the best. It is a charismatic bird, which as its name suggests climbs up trees. They can't go back down so they have to fly to the bottom of another tree and climb up. They're pretty common and are found in most woods with tall trees so are worth a look.
The walk back was uneventful, we had a coffee in the centre and left homewards.
Looking back, whilst writing this blog, the day actually seemed fairly eventful, but at the time I was a bit disappointed. I was expecting more migrants to be present, but I think the Beast has had its toll on a lot of birds, some we can only find out until later into Summer. But its only the start of the Season, one that this year is a bit tardy. Once we get into April, that's when everything goes up to 11.
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