I had another stroll down to the new Island Mere Hide this afternoon to look at the newly installed interpretation, and in the hope of seeing a few good birds. I wasn’t disappointed.
As I’ve said previously, I loved the old hide, despite it’s shortcomings, and while I knew its replacement would be fantastic, I expected it to take time for me to fall in love with it in the same way. How wrong can you be?
The new hide weaves its magic even before you enter, as the views across the reedbed from the ramped boardwalk are amazing. You get a sense of what to expect before you even reach the hide as you can see through the glass door to the mere beyond.
Entering the hide, the views really are outstanding. I can’t wait till the spring for the bitterns to start wandering around in front, or snipe and jack snipe to hide amongst the cut reeds.
But, of course, it’s the wildlife watching opportunities from the hide that determine the true success of a hide, and this is where Island Mere has always been so popular. Although this is not a good time of year to see bitterns on the ground, I did see one flying across the mere – on only my second brief visit to the new hide. The magic was taking hold again.
Despite our big starling roost having deserted us, the evening flying display was impressive. A small flock of 200 starlings put on a valiant display, while at least marsh harriers quartered low over the reeds, often hassling the starlings or disturbing the ducks. More magic.
On the mere itself, a large flock of gadwalls fed among about 30 mute swans. Beyond, our now resident black swan flew past with three mutes, while two young Bewick’s left their parents and flew in alone to the mere.
Several good birds have already been seen from the hide in its first week. Best of all was a glossy ibis that flew over on Sunday, when seven common cranes also flew over Minsmere. Two more cranes were beyond the mere on Monday, with the original seven at RSPB Boyton Marshes.
There have also been eight tundra bean geese on the Levels for a couple of days, alongside a few European white-fronted geese.
Elsewhere at Minsmere, waxwings have been stealing the show for a couple of days. A flock of 70 is feeding near the reserve boundary, beside the road bridge in Eastbridge. I detoured this morning to see and hear these wonderful birds. There were also 12 in the North Bushes today, which rather than feeding on berries were actually fly-catching as they do when breeding. A sure sign of how mild the weather remains!
The magic begins before you even reach the hide