With the strange times we currently live in, one where I've miss the way of life that existed before the virus spread to this country from the far reaches of Asia. The place I missed most of all was Minsmere, both the reserve and the many birds I saw there. As lockdown eased, the chances of revisiting the greatest bird reserve in the country become a possibility, and so it was finally time to pay a visit, five months on from when I was last there.
It was a strange visit in many ways. With social distancing the hides were closed, as well as the visitor's centre, the cafe and its gorgeous scones. The closed hides were the most galling as the Scrape can really only be viewed from their protection. As it was I had to stand on the tallest part of the dunes craning to get a look of East Scrape, over the hide. I was still able to get views over the South Scrape from the public viewpoint which was the only lookout over the Scrape overall. As a result I missed a lot of East Scrape and all of West Scrape so my visit was in some respects limited. But this being Minsmere there was plenty to see and from now on I shall only focus on the positive points, like how good it was to walk the paths and take in breaths of clean, wild air again.
The birdlife today was the standard stuff for early August, migrant WADERS and loafing DUCKS, nothing much out of the ordinary. At this time of year the Scrape is allowed to drain off water, allowing mud to show, creating feeding habitat for birds passing through on their Autumn migration. I saw 11 SPOTTED REDSHANK, 1 RUFF, small flocks of DUNLIN and TURNSTONE, and the odd RINGED PLOVER and COMMON SANDPIPER, your standard fare.
Over South Scrape there was a single SANDWICH TERN, a bird I haven't come into contact with this year due to the pandemic, and one COMMON TERN. The last SAND MARTINS of the summer kimmed over the scrape, with a few still feeding nestlings in the sandy walls of the old car park.
What was really surprising, having hit early August, is how lush everything looks. Usually by this time of year life has been decimated by the intense heat of the Summer, and so far this year, the dieoff which I associate with Autumn hasn't come about yet. The rains of this Summer has kept everything alive. The reeds were a sea of green with sprinkles of colourful MARSH MALLOWS and AGRIMONY, and the trees were still doing well, it looked healthy, more like Spring than late Summer.
On the beach I was only able to make contact with one pair of STONECHAT, but I saw a brief DARTFORD WARBLLER with them, as it goes when you see one you see the other, thousands of years of evolution from species coexisting next to each other.
As with the Scrape hides Island Mere was closed, and so the only view was from the distance, a hike up to the top of Whin Hill, from where I could observe a large flock of moulting duck, which were most likely GADWALL.
A new path had been opened up through the woodland, one that trod its way though an area that is usually closed off. As is usual at this time of the year the trees were quiet for birds, where they are much more sneaky in this period. However in the open glades, the areas when sunlight is allowed to enter through the canopy, these areas were alive with DRAGONFLIES and BUTTERFLIES. It was good to see a usually closed off area, the woodlands are an often overlooked part of the reserve despite there being lots of it.
So ends a very quiet time on the hallowed grounds of Minsmere. As always there was something to see, and though this time of year is generally quiet anyway, there was enough to warrant a blog. I look forward to further lockdown easing so I can get back to doing more of my favourite pastime of birdwatching. The final results of the virus may mean that we never go back to what life was like before, I don't know, so if you're reading from the future don't judge me. Just go out and enjoy the countryside.
No comments:
Post a Comment