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Do you ever do something and then wish you hadn’t? The red deer viewpoint on Westleton Heath has been a bit like that. But it has been so popular that we’re glad we did organise it, despite the subsequent hassle that it has caused!

The viewpoint attracted an incredible 1100 people over the three evenings, and all went away happy, even when the fog rolled in and hid the deer. Mind you, their deep bellowing will have been even more impressive with zero visibility. The staff and volunteers on duty coped admirably, given that we had been expecting about 100 people per evening! We’ve drafted in extra staff and volunteers for this weekend as the weather forecast is good again.

Just after I posted my last entry, I took Minsmere’s Wildlife Explorers group out looking for footprints. Not surprisingly, we found a good supply of red deer tracks, allowing them to take plaster casts of the hoof prints. Incredibly, one group of four deer allowed us to approach to within a few metres – even with 18 excitable children and their parents. Just another case of Minsmere’s wildlife becoming unusually confiding.

An even better find on this event was a small whitish dropping, found by one parent. This proved to be a green woodpecker dropping. Looking carefully at it, we were able to see the remains of ants – and the nearby holes in the ground indicated where the woodpecker had been probing for them. It just shows what you can find when you start looking carefully at the ground!

Of course, there’s plenty of birds to see here too. The star attraction for the last few weeks has been a colour-ringed great white egret. This bird was ringed as a chick in northern France this summer, and seems to be quite at home in Minsmere’s reedbed – often feeding alongside a grey heron and little egret at Island Mere.

October at Minsmere means different things to many people. Maybe it’s the first leaves changing colour signalling the arrival of autumn. Or perhaps it will be arrival of winter migrants and the expectation of something rare – a yellow-browed warbler or Pallas’s warbler among the goldcrests maybe?

Given the chill wind today, perhaps October signals the start of winter. Afterall, it’s only three weeks till the clocks change.

For many though, October means deer. Red deer to be specific. For October is when the deer rut takes place. When hormone-filled stags compete for control of harems of hinds and the chance to spread their genes to next generation. When the deep bellow of these impressively large beasts echoes across the heaths.

The deer rut is always a popular spectacle at Minsmere. With one of the largest herds in England, it’s perhaps not a surprise. Especially given that these are largest land mammals in the UK.

Minsmere’s red deer rut guided walks have always been oversubscribed, even though they start at a chilly 7 am! This year we’ve decided to give many more visitors the chance to discover these stunning creatures.

We are opening a special red deer viewing area on Westleton Heath, complete with mobile information point and telescopes. The viewpoint is open for the next three weekends, on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, from 3 pm till dusk. Why not join us and take in the sights and sounds of the deer rut?

Visitors to Minsmere in recent weeks have been able to see the reserve from an entirely new perspective, thanks to some new temporary nature trails.

For the first time, we opened a new trail along the edge of the reedbed to view pools that were previously out of sight to visitors. This has given many opportunities to see little egrets and waders such as green sandpipers, greenshanks and black-tailed godwits – and there was even an excellent to chance to see spoonbills here for a few weeks.

This temporary trail will close very soon to reduce disturbance to wintering ducks using the pools. Instead, this week we have opened another temporary trail. This one goes through the North Bushes, giving visitors the chance to get close to migrant songbirds.

Several warblers, including lesser whitethroats and garden warblers, are feeding on brambles in these bushes before heading south to Africa. In their place, we will soon be welcoming the first redwings, fieldfares and bramblings. Other common birds along this path include greenfinches and goldfinches, and we hope that maybe someone will be lucky enough to stumble across a wryneck.

With Minsmere’s list of sightings for the year edging closer to a record number – we’re up to 235 already – I had an expected sighting myself this week. Sadly the bird in question – a male Reeves’s pheasant – was an escapee so can’t be added to the list. It was, however, an absolutely stunning bird. The most surprising thing is that it has been here for about six months now but has been only a handful of times.

We are planning to run some extra deer watching events this autumn so you can experience the impressive annual rut. The guided walks in early October are always popular, but there are still some places available. Look out for details of some extra deer watching events during early October – details will be available early next week. Why not take the chance to watch these stunning beasts this autumn?

August at Minsmere is a month of change. Many of our summer migrants are leaving now – indeed, most of the local swifts have already gone. Those that remain are busy feeding, refuelling for the long journey ahead. It’s a good time to look for warblers, including whitethroats, lesser whitethroats, garden warblers and blackcaps, feeding in the bramble bushes.

Out on the Scrape, there is a real sense of the changing seasons. With the breeding season over, most of the terns, black-headed gulls and avocets have gone – just a few avocets remain with the handful of surviving chicks.

The lack of black-headed gulls makes it seem strangely quiet at times. In their place, comes a steady stream of migrant waders – black-tailed godwits, spotted redshanks, ruffs, green and common sandpipers, and a few curlew sandpipers and little stints. Consequently, no two visits will be the same.

It’s also a good test of your ID skills, with waders in all sorts of plumages, ducks returning for the winter in their drab eclipse plumage, and warblers no longer singing. There are some compensations though, with a good variety of butterflies and dragonflies on the wing – the first panted ladies are slowly arriving.

August is also the month when many families visit Minsmere, so we organise a variety of family activities to cater for their differing interests. Our Nature’s Olympics event last week was extremely popular, despite suffering from rain and wind on the second day. Thankfully, it was not quiet as bad as they have been experiencing in Beijing!

Next week (20 August) we have our first ever Summer Bug Safari, with pond dipping and crafts the following week. Why not bring the children or grandchildren for a great day out? To book your place, give us a ring.

Continuing the themes of variety and unpredictability, the last few weeks have once again proved that life is never simple when it comes to natural history!

Wader migration is in full swing now, so every time you look at the Scrape there is something different to see. Among the flocks of black-tailed godwits and dunlins there are many more unusual species. Minsmere is a great place to look for spotted redshanks, some of which are still in their breeding finery, and to compare them with redshanks and greenshanks. There are also several ruffs in various plumages to provide an identification challenge.

The real rewards for the avid birdwatcher are gained from careful scrutiny of the dunlin flocks. Late July to September invariably sees small groups of curlew sandpipers and little stints accompanying their commoner cousins. Occasionally, something even rarer arrives, and that was certainly the case last week.

Being close to England’s most easterly point, Minsmere is perhaps the last place you’d expect to see American birds on this side of Atlantic, but last Friday we had an incredible three different species of American wader on the reserve! A white-rumped sandpiper had been here for a week by then – the first at Minsmere for four years. A pectoral sandpiper (the commonest American wader in the UK) was a brief visitor in the morning.

But the real highlight was a tiny, grey wader feeding with dunlins on the Levels, then resting on the beach. Patient watching by Robin Harvey, one of Minsmere’s wardens, was rewarded when he saw the partial webbing between its toes and confirmed the identification as a semi-palmated sandpiper. This was only the second Minsmere record, and the fourth for Suffolk.

Having missed many of Minsmere’s good birds this year, I was lucky enough to see both the white-rumped and semi-palmated sandpipers while leading guided walks – giving some lucky visitors the chance to see these rare birds. One group also had stunning views of a young cuckoo in the reedbed.

Now that the school holidays have started, we’re busy organising family activities. Look at the events pages for full details of what we’re planning. Why not bring the family this summer to discover many fascinating facts about wildlife?

One of the joys of working at Minsmere is that you never really know what's going to happen from one day to the next. Motivation is not a problem with so much variety on offer – even without the fantastic birdwatching!

The last week has been an excellent example. On Wednesday evening, I met a group of staff and their families from one of leading local tourist attractions – Southwold Pier. It was a gorgeous evening, as I led them on an introductory tour of Minsmere. Highlights included nesting little terns, a red deer in the reedbed, and a good selection of waders and gulls on the Scrape.

Then on Friday I led a nightjar guided walk, preceded by a superb dinner in our tearoom. We strolled around Westleton Heath at dusk listening to singing Dartford warblers as the light faded, then to the mysterious, mechanical sound of singing nightjars. If you've never seen one, make an effort to find a local nightjar site this month – or plan a short break next summer (mid May to late July). You won't regret it - as long as take precautions against insect bites!

We even got good views of a feeding pair flying low over the heather. To finish the evening off in style, we found several glow-worms emitting their strange fluorescent light from the pathside vegetation.

Yesterday, I met colleagues from English Heritage and Suffolk County Council to celebrate the completion of repairs to the 12th century Leiston Abbey chapel. TV, radio and newspaper reporters joined us to mark the occasion. The original Leiston Abbey, situated close to the sluice on land now owned by the RSPB, is one of the most important historical landmarks in Suffolk. Click here for more information. This was an excellent example of working in partnership, and a chance to celebrate our cultural as well as natural heritage.

With the school holidays approaching, we are also planning the forthcoming family activity days – see www.rspb.org.uk/events for further details.

As you can see, there's many opportunities to do something different here on the Suffolk coast! Why not come along and see for yourself?

Have you been enjoying the Bill, Kate and Simon Show on BBC One? It’s also known as Springwatch. I've been really envious of the species Simon King has seen in Scotland, although we've got plenty to shout about here at Minsmere.

We celebrated Springwatch at Minsmere last week too. The weather wasn’t particularly spring-like though. Saturday felt more like November, albeit a little warmer. It only stopped raining late afternoon, so we didn’t see many visitors. Sunday, in contrast, was hot and sunny, feeling much more like summer than spring, and the reserve was positively buzzing.

Our wardens and volunteers stationed themselves around the trails to show visitors some of Minsmere’s special wildlife, from sand martins and dragonflies near the visitor centre to nesting ringed plovers and little terns on the beach. We really enjoyed the chance to chat to visitors about these special species.

On Sunday the wildlife joined in the celebrations too. An emperor dragonfly spent the day stretching its wings and drying out on a reed stem in the pond, having emerged from it’s larval case. It was great to show visitors one of these dragonflies perched at such close range. Later in the day, a swallowtail butterfly was found nearby. This is a very rare visitor at Minsmere. The sand martins seemed to enjoy the attention too.

Many people were out and about with their cameras, so hopefully we’ll get a few more entries for our photographic competition. Entries close on 29 June, so don’t delay. If you’ve taken a picture that sums up the Magic of Minsmere, we’d like to see it. Entry forms are available from our reception desk.

 

After last month’s record Big Sit total, a stunning stream of rarities further enhanced Minsmere’s claim to the title of “best birdwatching site in Britain” during the last few weeks.

Sadly, I’ve managed to miss all of the rare and scarce visitors. First I was in Cornwall enjoying the delights of the southwest for a short holiday, when the first wave of rarities arrived, then I was busy working at the Suffolk Show for the second cluster.

Most of these rare visitors were southern or central European species, blown across the North Sea on the steady easterly airflow. No fewer than four rare warbler species arrived for short stays: spectacled, great reed, marsh and icterine. With them came two purple herons, a couple of red-backed shrikes, three red-footed falcons and at least one bee-eater over nearby Dunwich Forest.

There were also a few waders stopping off on route to the Arctic. A stunning adult female red-necked phalarope joined regular passage visitors such as little and Temminck’s stints, sanderlings and curlew sandpipers.

All these rare visitors mean that we've already recorded an incredible 211 species at Minsmere this year!

With all this excitement, it was easy to forget that most of our visitors were actually much more interested in seeing bitterns, marsh harriers and avocets. And they’ve been obliging too.

One volunteer had an amazing 15 sightings of bitterns in just a single morning yesterday. At least one female is now feeding young, and courtship flights are continuing. We think, however, that we may have lost several nests due to flooding after the heavy rain over the last ten days. Watch this space to find out if our fears are justified.

Don’t forget to bring your camera on your next visit to Minsmere, as time is now running out to enter our Magic of Minsmere photographic competition. Entries close on 29 June, so get snapping.

Yesterday, two of Minsmere’s volunteer guides set themselves a challenge. Their target was to see or hear as many different species of bird as possible in a day, from one spot. The idea, which is popular in the USA, is called a Big Sit, and is a more environmentally friendly take on the popular Bird Races that many people do in May.

Jon Gibbs and Scott Mayson will be familiar to many Minsmere visitors as regular guided walk leaders and guides in hides. They know Minsmere very well, so decided to set up their chairs and telescopes on the bank behind the visitor centre. From here, they could see the Scrape, the sea and across the north marsh reedbed, and hear birds in the woodland and scrub.

So how did they get on? They started at 2 am, and quickly picked out species such as bittern, nightingale, black-headed gull and redshank on call. By the time the reserve opened at 9 am they already had more than 80 species, including both fulmar and gannet flying north just offshore, and all of Minsmere key species.

As the day progressed, the heat haze became a problem, but by mid afternoon they had equalled the record of 93 species. They broke the record with one of our most familiar species – starling. When they reached their 100th species, shortly after 6 pm, with a sanderling in flight, Jon and Scott decided to call it a day. Other highlights included a buzzard, two wheatears, a flock of eight greenshanks and several other interesting waders.

With a new national record in the bag, Jon and Scott have once again put Minsmere firmly on the map as the best place to spend a day birdwatching. This was also underlined to me last weekend when I recorded an incredible 65 species by 6.30 am while leading a dawn chorus guided walk.

Come along and experience the magic of Minsmere – and don’t forget to bring a camera to enter our photographic competition.

This weekend at Minsmere we are celebrating Spring on the Suffolk Coast. There’s free entry to the reserve, three guided walks per day, guides in hides and the chance to do a bit of pond dipping. What better reason can there be to come along?

Spring is definitely here now. Nightingales are singing all over the place, and more warblers are arriving by the day. The first swift was seen yesterday, and I heard my first cuckoo of the year on Wednesday.

I usually expect to hear the first cuckoo within a few days either side of St George’s Day, and this year I was able to celebrate England's national day with the evocative song of this declining summer visitor.

With eleven booming bitterns, an incredible 18 marsh harrier nests, almost 200 avocets on the Scrape, and the sweet coconut scent of the flowering gorse, spring is very definitely sprung. There should be many chances to take a photograph to enter into our ‘Magic of Minsmere’ competition.

It will be a busy weekend though, as I’m also leading a walk at Snape Maltings in advance of the annual RSPB Spring Concert at this famous concert hall on Saturday.

Wherever you are this weekend, get out and celebrate spring with us.

At last I’m mobile again, and back at Minsmere. I’ve missed a selection of rarities, including bluethroat, red-rumped swallow and purple heron, as well as the early summer visitors.

But it’s not all been bad news as the train journey from Lowestoft to Norwich proved to be excellent for birdwatching. I’ve never seen so many barn owls or Chinese water deer as over the month, plus regular marsh harriers, displaying lapwings and redshanks, and even my first swallow!

Here at Minsmere, spring has definitely arrived, despite the cooler weather. More migrants have been arriving by the day, with the first nightingales over the last couple of days, plenty of swallows and martins, and even an osprey.

I’m looking forward to getting out to look for them later today. It’ll be more of a challenge on Saturday though when I’m coming in to lead the first dawn chorus guided walk of the year. (Sorry, they’re all fully booked for this year.)

Minsmere in spring is a special place to be. We’ve recently launched a photographic competition to celebrate the magic of Minsmere. We’ll short-list the best photos and display them in the tearoom for visitors to select the winner. There will be prizes for the best adult and junior entries. Photos must be taken at Minsmere, and entry forms are available at the reception desk. I’m looking forward to seeing the entries, which I’m sure will reflect the magic of Minsmere. So get snapping and send us your entry.

Enjoy the spring. I know I will.

Hi again

The last month has been intersting. Booming bitterns, sky-dancing marsh harriers, returning avocets and mating toads all signalled the advancing spring. The first chiffchaffs, sand martins and wheatears should be arriving soon.

The toads were a star attraction at the first meeting of the recently relaunched Minsmere Wildlife Explorers group on Saturday 1 March. We had an excellent attendance, with 35 children enjoying a range of craft activities.

In late February, wardens spread cockleshells onto two islands on the Scrape, hoping to attract little terns to nest there, rather than on the beach.

The early spring was rudely interupted early this week by the gales that affected most of the country. Minsmere was closed on Monday for safety reasons, and due to lack of power, but we're all back to normal now.

All except me that is. I managed to break my arm on Monday, so can't drive to Minsmere for several weeks. It will be very frustrating and inconvenient not being around to witness the returning summer migrants.

Still, all is not lost, as I'm working on a big project at the moment that means I need to work from the regional office in Norwich - and I can get there by train.

I'll write again when I can, but it could be several weeks away.

Speak soon.

Ian

Hi again

After a couple of gorgeous spring-like days, Valentine’s Day dawned cloudy and cooler. Typical, because I was leading a family walk to look for early signs of spring, but it felt more like later winter again. Despite that, we heard as few birds singing, saw marsh harriers, muntjac and flowering gorse. The snowdrops and daffodils are out too, and although we didn’t see any, there have been several sightings of bitterns today.

Tuesday was quite noisy in the Visitor Centre. Why? Because 50 children were busy making nestboxes from kits to celebrate National Nestbox Week. They had plenty of fun, but the volunteers’ ears were ringing for the rest of the day.

Our next big children’s event is the re-launch of the Minsmere RSPB Wildlife Explorers club on Saturday 1 March. We’re expecting lots of families to come along.

It’s been great to see so many enthusiastic children at Minsmere this week, enjoying the lovely half term holiday weather. Hopefully, many of them will become the conservationists and birdwatchers of the future, helping to keep places like Minsmere special for generations to come. It makes me wish I’d had more chances to visit Minsmere more often when I was younger.

Hi again

The weekend was a booming success in many ways. The fantastic weather encouraged many visitors out to enjoy the Suffolk coast at its best.

More importantly, we heard our first bittern of the year yesterday (Sunday 27 January). When bitterns first start calling it’s more of a grunt than a full-throated boom, so we refer to them as grunters. If the weather stays bright, we might hear the first full boom soon, but a cold snap might delay them for several weeks.

There was a boom of a different kind yesterday too, when the bomb disposal unit was called to investigate a Second World War mortar that had been uncovered on the heath. The mortar was live, so they carried out a controlled explosion. We think the mortar had been uncovered by red deer, which caused a low sandy bank to collapse under the passage of many hooves. Fortunately, it was well away from the trails, and caused no disturbance to reserve visitors. It did, however, serve as a reminder of Minsmere’s history.

After all that excitement, what will the next few weeks bring? With half term fast approaching, we have two special family events planned in the next few weeks: a craft event called Nests and nestboxes on 12 February and a Valentine’s Dady walk to look for early signs of spring. Could we even hear a bittern on that walk?

 

Happy New Year

Have you had a chance to walk off the excesses of the Christmas festivities yet? If not, why not get out to you nearest RSPB nature reserve and indulge yourself in a spot of birdwatching?

We’ve had an interesting start to 2008 here at Minsmere. First, we had the return of our starling roost, only for them to desert us again within a few days. For about a week over the New Year, we were treated to the spectacle of 40 000 starlings wheeling over the reedbed at dusk before settling to roost.

This wonderful display was made even more spectacular by the attentions of an incredible 18 marsh harriers, looking for a late afternoon snack. Sadly, all that harassment may have proved too much for the starlings, and they soon abandoned us to roost at nearby RSPB North Warren instead.

Then, as I predicted last month, a drake smew arrived. He has commuted between the Scrape and Island Mere, but has not yet been joined by any females.

This has been a good few weeks for unusual birds turning up locally. The American white-crowned sparrow in North Norfolk has attracted the media interest, but another American bird has quietly been residing on the marshes at Southwold: a lesser yellowlegs.

We’ve had our own American bird at Minsmere too – well almost, because this is a hybrid with its European cousin. The bird in question is a teal x green-winged teal hybrid. Very unusual, but not one you’ll find in a field guide. It is likely that the American parent turned up in the UK last winter, before migrating with a flock of European teals to their breeding grounds, where it paired up with one of them. This bird is distinguished by having both the horizontal white stripe of the European teal, and the vertical one of its American parent.

The next few weeks should be equally exciting. I’ll be leading guided walks to look for the ducks and geese at Minsmere and North Warren, where I hope to maybe spot the rare great white egret. We will be expecting the first returning avocets and oystercatchers in mid February, and bitterns should start booming around the same time. So come along and visit for a healthy country walk and a chance to get close to nature.