Minsmere - 12/7/2018

 

 

Another month and another trip over to Minsmere with the chance off catching some early returning WADERS as Summer slowly turns to Autumn in the birding calendar. July is quite an inbetween period for birds with the breeding season pretty much ending and migration yet to fully take off. However this is Minsmere and there is always something to see at any time of year so a trip is always worthwhile.

The choices about what to take equipment wise is always a problem. Do I take my long lens and DSLR, or do I sacrifice it for a telescope which will give me better views of little distant brown waders. As my brother who was birding with me wasn't into photography I decided to take the scope and used my little Canon bridge camera instead.

 



RINGED PLOVER

 



So the usual arriving ritual, park up, show our membership cards at the reception and grab a cup of coffee. With both me and my brother having refillable cups it was nice to have 20p knocked off each cup. Not much but a nice touch.

GULL ID: 2 BLACK HEADEDS with 1 MED GULL

 



As usual we started our birding tour of Minsmere at the North Hide. With the vegetation in front of the hide so overgrown, any birds seen were some distance away in the shorter areas of East Scrape. A GREEN SANDPIPER was seen over at West Scrape, but apart from that very little.
We walked past the North Bushes, stopping off for a look at the STONE CURLEW field, but didn't see very much. We walked the North Wall, again with not much about and hit the beach. On the sea were a pair of COMMON SCOTER, a male and female. We walked along the beach to East Hide which overlooks a large chunk of the Scrape, a part that still had some remaining water.
There were the usual assortment of post breeding GULLS, both BLACK HEADED and MED, with a large number of KITTIWAKE, here and on South Scrape. COMMON TERNS were still nesting, whilst SANDWICH TERNS were busy fledging their young. They are unusual breeding birds for Minsmere so its good to see.
Passage WADERS were low on the ground, with just the one summer plumaged DUNLIN, whilst the usual oversummering GODWITS were about. AVOCETS were also about in plenty of numbers, but didn't have any young with them at all, it seems they have all failed this year.

East Scrape

 



We exited East Hide and went to the Public Viewpoint, which overlooks South Scrape. Amongst all the usual GULLS were a large flock of LITTLE GULLS numbering around forty in total. Now these GULLS are very small, hence the name, about the size of a TERN. They have an all black head, different from the brown of a BLACK HEADED GULL.
On this part of the Scrape there were some COMMON TERN chicks the first I have seen this year, this species being a late breeder.

 

A pair of nesting COMMON TERNS on East Scrape

Walking along the beach we came upon a RINGED PLOVER. It was sounding its piping call in consternation and pretending to be injured as it ran along the beach. As we watched it another plover appeared, and as we walked back to give them room we saw what they were protecting - a tiny little plover chick. These birds nest on the shingle beach, but are constantly in danger of having their nest trodden on by the hordes of tourists who visit the coast. They nest in a little fenced off area on the beach to protect them from people. With numbers in Suffolk being decimated by the sheer number of visitors, its nice to see some success. Little baby plovers make conservation work worthwhile.
We walked over to North Levels, which at the moment was a dried up area of rough grassland. On gorse bushes on the dunes we encountered a pair of STONECHAT, which were probably nesting there.

EMPEROR DRAGONFLY

 



We stopped at the South Hide which gave a view of the South Scrape from a different angle, but saw little else different from before.
We walked over to West Hide, where we found a large chunk of the Scrape here had dried out and become overgrown with marestail. With large areas of mud around there were more migrant WADERS about. We saw five SPOTTED REDSHANK,mainly in a smart black plumage. There was one RUFF, a male, looking great with its white head. A WHIMBREL was also seen in flight.

BITTERN in flight

 

After the Scrape we walked up the road to the woodland trail, which starts at the Canopy Hide and winds its way to the Dunwich path, before exiting at the road that leads to Island Mere. The plan was to find SILVER WASHED FRITTILERIES, which we did find, I think, on a hazel tree in some numbers. It was a large orange butterfly. There were also lots of commoner BUTTERFLY species flying around.
On the way to Island Mere we encountered a FOX sauntering along the main footpath. It didn't seem particularly perturbed to see us and nonchalantly disappeared into the marshes. This is my first ever record of a FOX at Minsmere, a good one because they are such charismatic animals.
At Island Mere things were quiet with a raft of GADWALL, some SWANS and a nesting GREBE, which is a very late time to start a family.
The Bittern Hide was next and surprisingly we were able to see a BITTERN in flight here, the first time I have seen this species from its self titled hide. Also about was a HOBBY which is normal as they nest in the area. After this it was a walk back to the centre and the car park, and we went home.
A good days birding all told. For a rather unremarkable July day we still packed in a whole load of birds. That's the magic of Minsmere where pretty much anything can happen. Over the next month WADER migration reaches a peak, but it maybe pushing it to see if any water will be remaining in Suffolk to attract them. We need rain.