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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...

After the closure due to snow, it's been great to be back at Minsmere and enjoying some of the wonderful winter wildlife on show over the last couple of days. The ice and snow can be a hardship for some species. We try to give some of our reedbed species a helping hand in these conditions by putting...

It's beena while arriving, but we finally had the first significant snowfall of the winter yesterday. Not much compared to many places (Norwich, much of Norfolk, West Suffolk for example almost ground to a halt yesterday), but enough to turn everything white. It was glorious day here providing you...

Water levels are finally beginning to return to normal on most parts of the reserve, with all paths now fully accessible - if a little muddy near the sluice. The Levels are a still looking superb, with shallow floodwater covering the marshes. Huge flocks of ducks are gathering out there, including...

Today is apparantly the day that all zoos in the UK carry out their annual stock check. They have to count (and account for) every animal in their collections, from mighty elephants to the tiniest insects. I'm sure it can't be too hard to count the mammals, birds and repiles, but the fish and...

Since my last sightings update, the picture has been much the same. Waxwings have been seen in small numbers on most dates, but rarely lingering for more than a few minutes. Bewick's swan numbers have fluctuated between four and eight, and they're commuting between Island Mere and the Scrape...

As I sit here and type the sun is trying to break through the heavy black clouds that have been dumping wintry showers on us all morning. We've had reports of snow and hail in nearby villages, and with a strong northerly wind it certainly feels like winter has arrived. For me, the arrival of winter...

It was bound to happen. No sooner had I blogged about migrants finally flooding in then the wind swung back to the west, the showers set in, and migration slowed down again. Typical. The main consequence of this has been a relative status quo for the last week. The red-crested pochard remains on Island...

As most of you will be aware, managing a nature reserve is not simply a case of buying land and letting nature get on with it. It takes a lot of work, from wardens, volunteers, contractors - and livestock. Much of this work is done in autumn and winter to avoid disturbing breeding species. We've...

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...

It's been a great week for birdwatching at Minsmere, with an excellent passage of waders and some other great surprises, as you'll see from this guest blog by Jon Gibbs, Minsmere Catering Assistant. As the sun rose over the North Sea on September 15th Robin, Paul, Ian and I gathered at...

Lots of migrants are still coming through this week. Only today there was a pectoral sandpiper near Lucky Pool, stopping off on its long journey from Siberia to Southern Africa. It could also have been a bit lost on its way from the eastern coast of North America, as they're sometimes blown over...

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...

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 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...

It's not everyday that we get a superstar visiting Minsmere, so you can imagine our excitement when we heard that Mr Bond was at Minsmere. Yes, 007 himself. Here on the Suffolk coast. OK, so this Mr Bond is not the spy who has single-handedly thwarted every international terrorist for the last...

This week sees several changes to access arrangements at Minsmere, some permanent, others temporary. First the good news. North Wall finally reopens fully on Friday 3 February following the completion of the Environment Agency flood defence project. Apart from a couple of weeks over Christmas, this...

Mid winter at Minsmere means wildfowl taking centre stage. And this year is no exception - although the otters are doing a great job of upstaging them at Island Mere. On Tuesday I led the first of the winter wildfowl guided walks at Minsmere, and enjoyed some great sightings. If you missed it, you...