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Minsmere has had a bit of purple patch in the last week or so, although you had to be quick to catcha glimpse of all our unusual visitors. Typically, I missed them all. The first week of May saw sightings of two rare herons in the reedbed: purple heron and two great white egrets. Typically, they were...

It's been lovely to have a couple of short strolls around parts of Minsmere this week. The warm sunshine has put a real spring in my step, and it really feels like the seasons have changed at last (especially after a week in up to a foot of snow in Estonia earlier this month!) The bumblebees have...

Two species of duck are stealing the show at present: two species that are rarely seen on the same day in the UK. Smews have featured heavily in our sightings blogs for the last three months. We'd usually expect the last ones to be leaving Minsmere in mid March, but the continued cold weather...

It's been a real cornucopia of weather since my last blog, with few signs of the coming spring. The weekend saw some of the wettest weather we've had for may years, followed by a couple of days of snow, more rain, strong north-easterly winds and eventually a little bit of sunshine today. The...

Last Wednesday when I had a look on the Scrape at lunchtime there was still a very wintry theme with ducks dominating include a cracking drake smew with two females. The only waders in sight were a few lapwings and a couple of redshanks. Today the scene was very different. I could tell even before...

We're hosting a special celebration event on Saturday to thank our funders, contractors and consultants for their fantastic support during the recent redevelopment work at Minsmere. This event, which will be in the Discovery Centre, is for invited guests and their families. They will all be arriving...

White herons continue to dominate the sightings this week. Although not quite reaching last week's record numbers, there are still more than 25 little egrets scattered around the reserve. They particularly favour West Scrape and the Konik Field, but many are also hiding out on the Levels. The shallow...

With no computers or phones, I took the chance to enjoy a quick stroll around the Scrape this morning - for the first time in several weeks. After the rain, water levels were a little higher, but South Scrape remains the place to be. Counts today included six little gulls, 17 Sandwich, one little...

It's been a very good week for rarities at Minsmere, but also a case of little and large. On Monday a superb male red-necked phalarope was found on South Scrape, where it was watched busily feeding until early evening. Contrary to popular belief, Adam didn't bring one back in his luggage from...

Have you been watching Springwatch on the BBC? It was heartbreaking to see those dead lapwing and osprey chicks yesterday after Friday's massive storm, but I was so pleased to see the goldcrest nest has survived - and as for those treecreepers ! After April's flooding at Minsmere, we know how...

There's been a decidedly southern European feel to Minsmere this week - and I don't just mean the lovely warm weather. The breeding stone-curlews continue to prove very obliging and popular, with good if distant views from the western end of the North Wall. We often have volunteer guides on...

Water levels are at last returning to normal, and while some parts of the visitor trails still have a few puddles, they are almost all completely accessible now. I say almost all, because a short section between South Belt crossroads and the Wildlife Lookout (West Hide) remains flooded and is accessible...

The last few weeks have seen almost unprecidented levels of rainfall in Suffolk. In a month known for its showers, April has been one of the wettest on record. Here at Minsmere, we recorded an incredible 121 mm (about 8 inches) of rain during the month. Compare that to about 12 mm from early March to...

To help us to celebrate Minsmere's 65th birthday (see Adam's guest blog earlier today), we're holding our annual Spring Celebration this weekend. This event is a great opportunity to see some of Minsmere's special wildlife and learn from our wardens and volunteers. We'll be at...

Mid April means the start of our popular dawn chorus guided walks at Minsmere. Now, you may wander why anyone would want to get up before the lark in time to arrive at a nature reserve while it's still dark, but that's probably the best time to visit Minsmere. Just ask the 16 eager souls who...

After the exceptionally dry weather of late, it's been a welcome to experience a more typical spell of weather during April. In a month known for it's April showers, the weather has been changeable to say the least in recent days. One minute you look out of the window at bright sunshine, the...

After the incredibly warm dry early spring, April has been typically damp, cool and windy. This has delayed the arrival of some of our earlier migrants. Sand martins are now being seen daily above the reedbeds, but still in small numbers, and several swallows are now present too. The first house martin...

It's mid March, so bitterns have finally started to steal the show back from otters in Minsmere's reedbeds. During the first early morning survey work last week wardens heard at least eight grunting bitterns. Grunting is the precurso to booming. A kind of tuning up. Although they were less vocal...

I don't get the chance to lead guided walks very often, so when John Grant asked me to return a favour and stand in for him leading today's walk, I didn't need much persuading. It was, therefore, with great frustration that I opened the curtains this morning to see a thick cloaking everything...

Firstly, an apology for the lack of recent updates. I've been away for a couple of weeks and with so much work going on at Minsmere I didn't ask anyone to write an update in my absence. Also a reminder that you can see more regular, brief updates on our Twitter and Facebook pages. With spring...

More than one year after she escaped from Marwell Zoo, and almost ten months after her visit to Minsmere, Fiona the wandering greater flamingo returned to the Scrape for at least her fifth visit on Tuesday. After so long in the wild, without access to food supplements to enhance her colour, she's...

Last year finished with second highest bird list ever at Minsmere - an impressive 238 species. This year has started in a similar vien, with 101 species recorded on 1 January alone. Here's a few of the highlights from the first week or so of 2012. Several hundred red-throated divers and great...

What a great way to end a busy day in the visitor centre. At 3.45 pm I headed down to North Hide to check out the growing starling roost. After a gorgeous sunny late autumn day, it was becoming a bit overcast and misty, but the sunset was still impressive, if short-lived. Small flocks of starlings...

Apologies for the lack of a recent sightings update. It's not that there hasn't been much happening. Far from it. We've actually had a really busy couple of weeks for birds. I'll try to summarise the highlights for you. Skuas have featured heavily for those keen enough to try a bit...

Just like the proverbial London bus, good birds often come along together. Earlier today, one of our volunteers reported six spoonbills flying over the reedbed towards Island Mere. Seconds later, the radios crackled into life again as Paul spotted an osprey heading in the same direction. Now, osprey...