Minsmere - 24/12/2021

BLACK TAILED GODWIT having a good shape

What I love most of all about Winter, more than any month, is that it creates an aura of wilderness on the land, a kind of wildness embodied by the empty trees and frosty mornings. There is a haunting beauty to the season, again like no other, when even a duck pond becomes something wild. Summer feels so tame in comparison, so civilised, and that's what Winter means, the arrival of large numbers of birds from distant lands.

GREAT WHITE EGRET, West Scrape

On a relatively mild winter's day, one of the last days of the year, I headed over to Minsmere to have a look for some of the birds that the cold has brought in. As with most winter's days it was fairly quiet with most of  the birds sleeping or feeding in a lazy manner. Large numbers of water birds turn up at Minsmere for the winter, taking refuge on the wetland areas on the reserve, usually concentrated on the Scrape, and numbering in the thousands. 

DUCKS and LAPWING on South Scrape with the BEWICK'S SWANS in the background

Birds of the day was a flock of eight BEWICK'S SWANS on South Scrape, newly arrived birds having flown in all the way from Russia. Like many other birds, these swans are having a hard time of it, and their population is declining. Always a fairly scarce bird on the Suffolk Coast, this bird is becoming much rarer now, with Minsmere being the main base for them. One of the problem with Bewick's Swans is that they are not rearing enough young on their breeding areas, and tellingly none of the eight birds today were juveniles. One of the swans had a neck ring, a way of tracking individual birds, but I couldn't see the number. 

Snoozing TEAL, East Scrape

Often not the focal point of the reserve, as its fairly poor for birds, the sea can be fairly empty off Minsmere, but today it was actually quite a good place to see birds. The still calm weather allowed for  some good views of certain maritime birds, mainly RED THROATED DIVER, with at least ten present close to the shore. Usually you see these birds miles off the beach, usually just a speck in the telescope as it undulates on the waves, but today they were easy to view. There were also a few GREAT CRESTED GREBE and CORMORANTS on the sea as well.

Plenty of RED THROATED DIVERS were seen offshore

The Scrape was the main focus of waterbirds, with most of the commoner birds present. Slightly scarcer, just the one PINTAIL was present, a male on South Scrape. The Levels, a large area of wet grassland between Minsmere and Sizewell, has started to flood, with a large flock of LAPWING present. Hidden amongst the tussocky grass on the ground, they would take to the air when the odd MARSH HARRIER flew over, maybe a thousand put to flight, their rounded wings and tumbling flight a characteristic of this bird. Winter is always a poor time for WADERS at Minsmere, but a few birds were present. 20 DUNLIN were on East Scrape, whilst 19 AVOCET, 12 CURLEW and 2 TURNSTONE were on South Scrape, with 2 REDSHANK on the Levels. One further wetland bird, a GREAT WHITE EGRET was present flying around the Scrape often in the company of its smaller brethren, the LITTLE EGRET. Although common a few miles north at Dingle Marshes, it is still fairly scarce here, but will become more common, forced here through climate change.

BLUE TITS on the visitor centre feeders

Away from the waterbirds, there was a supporting cast of the smaller birds. Around the visitor centre bird feeders among the large numbers of TITS was a NUTHATCH, a bird that although common across the country is actually quite scarce on the Suffolk Coast. As usual the dunes held plenty of STONECHAT with six present, such an easy bird to see as they are often gracious enough to pose on a gorse bush for a view. And finally another iconic bird of Minsmere, and its huge reedbeds is the BEARDED TIT.  The bird's characteristic metallic "pinging" call carries over the winter's silent reeds, and I was able to see two flying across the front of East Hide.

South Scrape

A fairly standard mid winter's day at Minsmere, with the usual birds you would expect from the place, a nice banquet of wintering species. Visiting the reserve on a day such as this, empty of people, away from civilisation, Minsmere is so relaxing, so healing, a place to fix the scars enforced on us by modern society, a place to connect with nature. That is just one of the reasons why we must protect places like this, because its as good for us as it is for wildlife.

Minsmere - 24/11/2021

A nice festive ROBIN, they were present in large number at Minsmere, every bush seeming to have one

Finally, its happened, its beginning to feel like winter. Despite the shortening days, and the calendar running into November, things still felt too mild, not really seasonal, and the birds were not arriving. But into the last week in November, the leaves on the trees have finally fallen, temperatures have dropped and our wintering birds have started to arrive.

Male SHOVELLER having a good scratch, they are present in good numbers on the Scrape

With the temperatures falling, the birds are forced into migrating to warmer grounds. A case of this was by far the most interesting sighting of the day, that of a BITTERN. As I was sitting in the Public Viewpoint, just behind the dunes, one of those elusive brown herons flew over me heading in from the sea, before heading south towards Sizewell B. To get such a view of such an elusive bird migrating like this is amazing. Although a fairly easy to see bird at Minsmere, Minsmere is maybe the best site to see them in the country, for one of them to be out in the open is very rare, they usually slink around at the base of reedbeds. This is only my second ever record of a migrating bittern, the first was just earlier this year at Cley in late August.

A BITTERN flew in from the sea before heading off to Sizewell B

At this time of year waterfowl dominate the scene at wetlands such as Minsmere, attracted to the large amounts of water on the reserve. As is usual there were good numbers on the Scrape  and Island Mere, but the Levels had yet to flood so were still quiet. There were a few goodies, high winter specialists coming in when that little bit of colder weather falls. Best of the show were four WHOOPER SWANS on Island Mere, among the large herd of MUTES accompanied by 100 GADWALL as well. A female GOLDENEYE was on South Scrape, which although a common wintering bird on various water bodies, is actually quite rare at Minsmere, this being only my second or third record. One last good record was a count of twenty PINTAIL on East Scrape, a good total, as they are not that common at Minsmere.

BLACK TAILED GODWIT are present all year on the Scrape. This is one of the Icelandic race, which doesn't breed in East Anglia

Although at this time of year the Scrape can be quiet for WADERS, some low water levels on East Scrape attracted a few to linger. Around ten AVOCETS were around, a bird that though an iconic breeding bird here is quite rare in winter. Good numbers of BLACK TAILED GODWIT were present, as they seem to be at all times of the year, and there were also ten DUNLIN and seven GOLDEN PLOVER hanging out with the many LAPWING.

Female STONECHAT perched in reeds beside the Public Viewpoint

A range of extras was provided by the smaller birds, our little songsters that have turned quiet for the shorter months. Seven STONECHATs were around, two at the beginning of North Wall and five in the Dunes, as usual perched on the top of a bush, a bird which gives good views. As they say, where there's stonechats there are also DARTFORD WARBLERS, and there was one of those resident warblers in a gorse bush with a pair of stonechat, behind the Public Viewpoint. Further along, seven SISKIN were feeding in alders between South and West Hide their meloncholic "sighing" call carrying over the marshes. And finally at several places around the reserve the metallic "pinging" of BEARDED TITS could be heard over the reedbeds, although they didn't appear above the fronds.

The KONIK PONIES are a feature of Minsmere, they are given full range to graze the Scrape

As you would expect from the greatest bird reserve in the country there was another good showing of mid winter birds today. Its quite a relief to finally see nature responding to the turning of winter, I thought at some point the leaves would never fall, and we would be in some weird non-season. Its still early days, but the evidence is in that climate change is upon us, although its fairly tame at the moment, but nature is struggling to keep up. Only time will tell the full effects of this will be, but it doesn't bode well. We all know what to do to mitigate it, its just whether we can be bothered.