Minsmere - 1/8/2018

 A COMMON TERN family nesting in front of East Hide. The male would often fly in and feed the mother and chick.

As another month passes so a trip to Minsmere beckons. I know its not a very original decision, and its not like I'm discovering new territory, but its Minsmere and deserves a look every so often, just because of all the birds I can see there. Also it was to be my brother's last birdwatching trip with me, after ten months of hanging around Suffolk he is finally off to the States to live. This will be a farewell trip to Minsmere for my brother, so I was hoping it would live in memory. He will be missed as we have had some good birding trips and he has kept  me company on otherwise lonely walks.
I took the train to Saxmundham and met up with my brother at the station and we drove to Minsmere. Upon entering the reserve it was clear it was going to be busy with people. In fact we were unable to get upstairs seating on any of the hides, having to sit downstairs with the more restricted views. Bugger the school holidays.
We did the usual circuit of the Scrape, starting at the North Hide,  which as usual was very much overgrown, restricting views, and any bird life was distant.

View from North Hide over West Scrape to Sizewell B. As you can see it is very overgrown with birds quite distant.

 



We left the North Hide, passing the North Bushes which were quiet as small bird migration hadn't quite started yet. The Stone Curlew Field was also quiet. We found out from a volunteer that no STONE CURLEWS had nested there this year, but a further nine had done so dotted across the rest of the reserve.
We went further past North Wall to the sea where little was present except fishing TERNS and passing GULLS. From the beach there is access to East Hide providing good views of the Scrape. What was immediately obvious was how quiet the Scrape was. All the BLACK HEADED GULLS had fledged their young and had moved on leaving it a very quiet place. Of the breeding birds only COMMON TERNS were still left, although not in particularly high numbers, most now raising their chicks.

Of course being August it was all about WADER passage which the Scrape at Minsmere excels in drawing in. At this time of year the Scrape dries out creating lots of mud for WADERS to feed on.
On all the areas of the Scrape were flocks of GODWIT and DUNLIN; with smaller numbers of TURNSTONE and RINGED PLOVER dotted about the place. On East Scrape there was one COMMON SAND; one GREEN SAND; several RUFF were also present looking scruffy as they moult out of breeding plumage; and three SNIPE were also present.

 Two summer plumaged TURNSTONE with a grey SPOT SHANK behind.

 

 

In the last post on Minsmere (Minsmere 12/7/2018) it was noted we saw a tiny RINGED PLOVER chick on the beach. Now returning three weeks later we discovered it had survived and thrived and was now near fledging, which is great news from an underfire species. Also around the beach area a pair of STONECHATS were still about.
Further along is the Public Viwepoint, a wooden structure just down the beach from East Hide, which doesn't have a roof - so its not a hide. From there it overlooks South Scrape which was also good for WADERS with around 16 SPOT SHANK - now sadly moulting out of their jet black breeding plumage into something greyer; three KNOT and single GREENSHANK.
As well as being full of WADERS, South Scrape was home to a few roosting and nesting TERNS. Most interesting were the two BLACK TERNS, now moulted out of their black summer finery, with black wings and grey-white body with a black ear tuft and also being slightly smaller than a COMMON TERN. These were birds that used to nest in the UK but disappeared with the draining of marshland for farming. Also present was a LITTLE TERN, and probably thinking about going off on migration, this species leaves early.

 East Scrape - as the water dries out lots of mud is exposed providing food for WADERS.

 

We had a look at the Levels an area of rough grassland that floods in winter but didn't see anything.
We went on to the Wildlife Lookout (West Hide) but on the way passed two wardens with strimmers who went out on the Scrape and scared everything away. As this isn't a particularly important time of year management is often taken out now, sometimes resulting in lots of disturbance.

RINGED PLOVER on the beach. The automatic focus on my camera had a field day with this shot.

 



We continued over to the reedbed hides but needn't have bothered. Bittern Hide was as crowded as usual, although I don't understand why as I hardly see anything from there. Island Mere held a flock of GADWALL, but again little else. We even failed to see a single MARSH HARRIER, maybe for the first time ever at Minsmere.
It was a good farewell to Minsmere for my brother with a good range of WADERS and TERNS present. Unfortunately it was very busy human-wise as happens in the school holidays because Minsmere is the crown jewel of bird reserves and attracts tourists from the non-birdwatching world. Such things are important to keep the RSPB going, maybe enticing a new generation to catch the birding bug.