Here's a question for you. It's mid July, so what season are we in?
Most people will, predictably, say summer. After all, the schools break up for the long summer holidays this week. It's music festival time - hence the huge crowds just up the road this weekend at Latitude. And there are excellent numbers of butterflies flying around now, especially red admirals and ringlets.
However, in the natural world, there are many signs that autumn is already upon us. Looking outside today, this is easy to believe - it's dark (I've had to put the light on at 11 am just to see the keyboard!), wet and windy, yet yesterday had been a lovely warm sunny summer day. OK, so that's one's easy to explain - as i mentioned earlier, it's Latitude this weekend, and rain, mud and music festivals go together like strawberries and cream or rhubard crumble and custard. (Oh dear, I sense a food theme so I may have to nip to the tearoom shortly and test out the source of lovely smells wafting this way.)
As I've mentioned in recent blogs, many birds are already back south, signalling the coming of autumn. Waders such as spotted redshanks, green sandpipers and ruffs and now being joined by wood sandpipers (I saw my first for 4 years last night) and common sandpipers. Numbers of moulting teals are increasing by the day. Little gulls and terns are passing through. Some will linger, others move straight on, so it's difficult to predict exactly which species will seen, but a walk to South Hide might produce arctic, roseate, little, black or Sandwich terns among the common terns. Earlier in the week they were being hassled by an arctic skua which will be heading south from it's arctic or Shetland breeding grounds to spend the winter of southern Africa.
Common sandpiper (above) and arctic skua by Jon Evans
Yesterday, we had a report of honey-buzzard flying north over Leiston. What was probably the same bird was seen over Whin Hill and South Belt late morning, but no staff or volunteers saw it well enough to confirm the identification. Honey-buzzards are rare breeding birds of prey, with no local pairs, so this was probably a failed breeder wandering around the coast before heading back to Africa.
Other birds have left already. I was fascinated to read the story about Kasper and friends this week. They are five cuckoos ringed by the British Trust for Ornithology in East Anglia this spring and fitted with tiny satellite transmitters. The latest readings from these transmitters show that two of the cuckoos are already in the middle of the Sahara, two are in central Europe and the the fifth hasn't left the UK. The BTO hope to learn more about the hazards affecting cuckoos on migration and in Africa to give us greater understanding of the causes of their recent catastrophic declines.
Returning to the subject of butterflies, please try to find 15 minutes during the next two weeks to take part in Butterfly Conservation's Big Butterfly Count. When the weather improves I'll be doing this at home and at work - could be a very big list at Minsmere if I stand by the buddleias, while red admiral and large white are most likely at home. We're also putting the final touches on another new seasonal trail. Our butterfly trail will take you along previously closed woodland rides where you have a good chance to spot purple hairstreak, white admiral and more. You may also spot a hummingbird hawkmoth, as one was outside the visitor centre yesterday.
Red admiral (above) and hummingbird hawkmoth by Ian Barthorpe
Excellent reading Ian. A very impressive list of what terns we could see, and a lovely picture of the skua. We had a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on our Budleia in the garden last week but I was to slow with the camera !!