Minsmere

Looking for Beardies

2013-05-17T13:53:10Z

This week at Minsmere we’ve been bittern and marsh harrier watching, as well as carrying out our first bearded tit survey of the year (as well as my first ever!).

The bittern watch revealed slightly more activity than in previous weeks with a few chases of females by males being seen but no actual nesting activity observed. Meanwhile during the marsh harrier watch we have observed eight harriers that are currently nesting.

The first bearded tit surveys were also carried out this week, and with it being my first ever bearded tit survey I was keen to get started! The survey involves waiting at certain predetermined points for an hour at a time in the hope of seeing bearded tits either carrying food to the same specific location (within about a 10x10m area) on 3 or more separate occasions or if they are seen carrying faecal sacs, this would then mean that a nest could be confirmed. A probable nest could be present if the adults are seen returning to the same location on 3 or more separate occasions or if there is an accumulation of adult sightings or calls. We drove our tractors in convoy out onto the reedbed, parked up in different locations and waited; 10 minutes in and I was concerned that I was missing them but suddenly I heard the distinctive ‘pinging’ call and then a subsequent flight! There is definitely some skill involved as the birds fly so fast that it is difficult to determine what (or if!) they are carrying but with a bit of practise you start to get the hang of it!

Male bearded tit by Jon Evans

Species News

We have a pair of stone-curlew in the field behind the visitor centre that are currently sitting on eggs, as well as other birds nesting on other areas of the reserve. This week has also seen large numbers of swallow, swift, sand martin and house martin present. There have been 4 spoonbill present on lucky pool and 1 on west scrape. Interesting species seen this week include a Savi’s warbler heard singing at the south belt crossroads, a cattle egret briefly seen on the south levels, a spotted flycatcher near bittern hide and a Temminck’s stint on the scrape. There have been 70+ common tern, up to nine little tern, thirteen dunlin, two knot, a curlew sandpiper, sanderling, and two sandwich tern seen on the scrape. We currently have roughly 125 avocets on the scrape. Non-avian species include a black adder seen near bittern hide, whilst the otter is still making an appearance at island mere.

Farmers of the future

2013-05-16T13:23:18Z

Guest blog by Sue Rendell-Read, Minsmere Warden

This week we were pleased to welcome Otley College students back to the reserve to help erect a scrub exclosure. The students - Jordan, Brian, David and Tom - are second year agricultural students, currently working locally on a variety of different farms. The fencing work they carry out on our reserves helps them gain experience in practical estate management skills. John, their tutor, has brought his students along on several occasions and we are really grateful for the extra hands to help in our work, while providing this training opportunity for the college. In addition, it is of course a great way to exchange information; enabling us to chat about conservation work and to hear all about farming issues from the farmers of the future.

The scrub exclosures are being erected in a former arable field, where they will keep rabbits out of areas, thus allowing the vegetation to generate naturally without grazing. Eventually scrub, such as dense blackthorn, will develop and this will provide habitat for insects and new areas for birds such as nightingale. Nightingales require areas of dense scrub and undergrowth, and are declining as these habitats are often overgrazed or cleared as waste land.

We look forward to working with more students from Otley and Easton Colleges in the future, and to continuing our links with other local education groups.

One day wonders

2013-05-15T16:13:40Z

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 seen by only a few people, usually when flying over the reedbed from one pool to another. With up to six spoonbills, and the usual bitterns (now eight booming males), little egrets and grey herons, it was possible, with a bit of luck, to see six different species of heron in a week.

The real excitement started on Saturday morning when, shortly after I'd completed a tour of all the hides, reports came in of a cattle egret on the Levels - a seventh heron and, in Minsmere's terms, the rarest. Sadly, barely had the news broken of this rare visitor from the Mediterranean it was reported flying south over Sizewell. It was spotted later that day at RSPB North Warren, just a few miles to the south, but had gone by the following morning.

Hot on the heels of the cattle egret, came news of a singing Savi's warbler in the reedbed near South Belt Crossroads. This is an increasingly rare visitor to the UK, and proved very popular as it sang on and off all day. Frustratingly for me, it had not been present the previous morning when I had led our third dawn chorus walk of the year, and, liek the egret, it was gone the next day. Savi's warblers are common in wetlands in central and Eastern Europe, and sound very similar to the grasshopper warbler, which has, sadly, disappeared as a breeding bird at Minsmere in recent years.

Then on Tuesday another difficult to see species was found on the Scrape: a Temminck's stint. One of our smallest wading birds, this species likes to hide in vegetation around the edge of wetlands, so can be hard to spot, but once again, it seems to have been a one day visitor, with no reports so far today. Another passing visitor yesterday was a common crane seen flying over the car park at 9 am.

There have, of course, been a few more obliging migrants for visitors to see, including knot, sanderling, grey plover and bar-tailed godwits on the Scrape, hobbies over the reedbed, little terns, cuckoos and the usual mix of commoner warblers, plus a whinchat in the North Bushes on Saturday. We had reportts of our first spotted flycatcher of the year this week too.

Among the resident species, lapwings, oystercatchers, redshanks and avocets are now nesting on the Scrape, as can be seen from Jeffrey Eagle's photo of an avocet below, a tawny owl is regularly seen near South Belt Crossroads and the great spotted woodpeckers are often on the visitor centre feeders.

We also had an unusual sighting of a water shrew near the Wildlife Lookout this week (photo below by Ian Clarke), where it was seen feeding on common frogs, while water voles are often seen in the pond near the visitor centre. We've also finally begun tosee the first large red damselflies of the year, and a selection of butterflies including orange tip and small copper.

The Koniks are back!

2013-05-06T16:21:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

Another busy week here at Minsmere (I think there’s a bit of a theme here?!) including moving Koniks, bittern watching, territory mapping and stone-curlew nesting.

At the beginning of the week another pair of stone-curlew arrived so we quickly erected an electric fence in order to protect their nesting attempts from potential predators. Elsewhere on the reserve stone-curlews also continue to arrive, with some beginning to nest. We carried out another bittern listening survey and heard good numbers , and we did the first bittern watch of the season. As it is still early days we didn’t see much action in terms of nesting activity but there were a few flyovers on the reedbed and North marshes so watch this space!

Some of the Konik ponies that have been grazing North Warren over the winter have been moved to Minsmere last week, so you can look forward to seeing them out on the reserve. We rounded up one herd of six, which includes five mares and a foal, and moved them to Meadow Marsh. The 12-strong breeding herd moved to Abbey farm, near Snape. The whole process went smoothly and fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your sense of humour) there were no incidences to report.

We also completed another territory map, and heard some nice species including three nightingales, two lesser whitethroat (the first I’ve managed to identify unassisted!), and sedge, willow and Cetti’s warbler. Here’s to hoping I pick up a golden oriole before my last survey is completed... too much to hope for?

If you'd like to get more regular updates of what's been seen, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

Last but not least, an excellent shot of two bitterns! Thanks for sharing it, Pete!

©Pixellence (pete) from the RSPB community

All they have to do is breed, breed, breed

2013-05-02T07:45:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

It’s been quite varied this week with a variety of survey and practical tasks being carried out, as well as a few college visits.

At the beginning of the week we had Eastern College come in to assist with cutting pines near a footpath that were smothering some heather, whilst nine students from Otley College came in to see the work we are doing here and how we manage the reserve, with the trip ending with a visit to Island Mere.

Practical tasks that were undertaken this week include more fencing over at Dingle being completed, whilst here at Minsmere we have continued to put up stone-curlew fencing.

Now the weather has picked up, the number of surveys has really increased which has meant a lot of early starts and late finishes! We’ve done some more listening for bitterns, with good numbers being heard. We carried out the first breeding wildfowl count, as well as the breeding wader transects. As the name suggests, these surveys aim to identify the number and types of wildfowl and waders we have breeding on the reserve. Both surveys require three visits over April, May and June, and to kill two birds with one stone as it were, we also record passerines present such as reed bunting and warblers. We also did some butterfly transects, as well as some moth trapping.

On a personal note, it’s been a very busy week! I have completed (and passed thankfully!) my 4x4 and brushcutter courses. These courses were very enjoyable albeit challenging and I’m looking forward to using them in a real world situation. I’ve also heard my first nightingale this week, which has decided to take up residence near the chalet! This is yet another reminder of how privileged I am to be able to work and live in such a fantastic place.

Eastern College students hard at work ©Sue Rendell-Read/RSPB

Recent sightings

If you'd like to get more regular updates of what's been seen, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook. It's been another interesting week for species!

Two black terns, a hobby and jack snipe, water vole and otter at Island Mere
Wheatear north of the sluice
A pair of garganey on the South levels
The female ferruginous duck still behind South hide
Interesting flyovers include an osprey at Dunwich heath circling on the thermals and a red kite flying south
A few hares have been seen on chapel field.
Common and sandwich tern on the Scrape

Waders seen this week include:

two wood sandpiper on the Konik field
a common sandpiper, ...
black and bar-tailed godwit, ...
spotted redshank, ...
turnstone, ...
grey plover, ...
and dunlin on the Scrape

Let's get gardening

2013-05-01T15:48:00Z

Guest blog by Heather Carroll, Minsmere retail manager

As the evenings are drawing out and the sunshine is pouring down on us, spring is the ideal time to get out in the garden. Perhaps you're planting this season's fruit and vegetation, or refreshing the flower border. Maybe you're helping give nature a home by planting a wildflower patch or herb garden for the bees and butterflies.

Whatever your plans, if you need new tools to tend to your plants, you need look no further than Minsmere’s shop which has a range of Sophie Conran tools all on special offer. Especially designed for smaller, female hands, Sophie’s tools are made from natural waxed FSC beech and mirror-polished stainless steel. The range includes a compost scoop, potting sieve, weeder, dibber, hand trowel and hand fork and all come in a lovely box so make ideal gifts too. Originally priced at between £14.99 and £16.99, they are now all on offer at only £12.99 each. So if you are sowing seeds and planting nectar rich plants to attract wildlife to your garden why not treat yourself to these high quality hand tools!

A spinning coin

2013-04-30T16:18:35Z

Early on Saturday morning I arrived at Minsmere to lead the first of our regular spring dawn chorus guided walks. It was crystal clear night with a huge full moon casting shadows over the reserve. As we met at 4 am the nightingale at the car park entrance could already be heard, and the first bittern boomed shortly afterwards. The tawny owl in South Belt was very vocal too.

As we arrived at Bittern Hide the reedbed began to spring into life with reed, sedge and Cetti's warblers in full voice and several bitterns vying for our attention, while a water rail squealed somewhere nearby. Leaving the hide, the woodland chorus had begun too. Wrens, blue tits and great tits led the way, along with the monotonous coo-ing of the woodpigeons, before the chaffinches, robins and eventually chiffchaffs joined in.

As the light increased, the full moon over Island Mere was particularly impressive (photo below), as we joined the other group in the hide to learn that they'd seen a spoonbill flying past the moon and an otter swimming across the mere. We weren't so lucky, but did enjoy wonderful views of marsh harriers, a kingfisher whizzing past, and a large flock of swallows and sand martins.

Walking back to the visitor centre we added blackcap, blackbird and song thrush in the rhododendron tunnel, nuthatch and a drumming great spotted woodpecker at Canopy Hide, garden warbler near the work centre, and whitethroat, lesser whitethroat and willow warbler in North Bushes.

After such an early start, the breakfast in the cafe was very welcome.

I then marched quickly around the Scrape, being rewarded with a flyover whimbrel, two dunlins, five turnstones and a common tern on the Scrape, nine yellow wagtails in the Konik Field and several swifts and house martins over the reedbed.

Later that morning, news came in of a wood warbler singing near South Belt Crossroads. The song, which sounds like a coin spinning on a table, is one of my favourites, so I popped along to listen. Sadly I didn't hear it, but did get a good view of this lovely little warbler high in a pine. Wood warblers are scarce birds in East Anglia, being more associated with the western oakwoods, so it quickly proved popular iwth visitors. Luckily for many, he remained until Monday, often singing in the same area, but sadly it appears to have moved on now.

Their have been a few other passage migrants over the last few days, including ring ouzels on the dunes and along the bridleway across Saunders Hill (off the Westleton entrance road), a firecrest in South Belt, a great white egret in the reedbed yesterday, and several wheatears durin gthe showers on Friday.

Away from birds, there were sightings of Chinese water deer, harbour porpoise and common seal yesterday and of adders today - including a black adder. Peacock butterflies are also seen in many areas.

A spring in my step

2013-04-23T16:31:07Z

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 emerged en masse this week, and I had the first honeybee of the year in my garden yesterday. I've finally seen my first butterflies of the year this morning - a couple of peacocks - and have been told that commas are on the wing too. There were also a lot of bee flies around over the weekend. We haven't had any dragonflies yet (a dragon on St George's Day would be good) but they should be out by the end of the week.

Many of the migrants are now here, although not in their full numbers yet. After the late arrival of many of the species that we typically expect in late March - sand martin, swallow, blackcap, sedge warbler, chiffchaff - some of the later species have arrived ahead of schedule. The first cuckoos, for example, arrived last week, and we even saw a swift last week. Nightingales are now singing outside the office most of the day - just in time for our first dawn chorus walk this Saturday. While that walk is almost fully booked, there are several speaces on the remaining walks on 5, 11 and 19 May. Give us a call on 01728 648281 if you'd like to book. We also have several nightingales and warblers walks over the next two or three weeks which are great for starting to learn birdsong.

Out in the reedbed, bitterns are booming well now, and marsh harriers are displaying and nest building. With the arrival of the sedge and reed warblers the reedbed is becoming a much noiser place to birdwatch. Talking of noise, the growing cacaphony of the sound of Minsmere in spring - the black-headed gull and avocets colony on the Scrape - is a sure sign that breeding is getting underway. In fact, I've just seen my first greylag goose goslings. There's been a good passage of yellow wagtails all week and a selection of waders including spotted redshank, black-tailed godwit, ruff and whimbrel, and the first common and Sandwich terns are now here.

Theres been a couple of rare visitors this week too. Four common cranes flew over on Friday and a female ferruginous duck has been behind SOuth Hide for a few days. There have also been several sightings of red kites and a short-eared owl was present yesterday.

Why don't you put a spring in your step and visit Minsmere - or your nearest RSPB nature reserve - to see which migrants you can find for yourself?

A peacock butterfly feeding on buddleia (not taken this week, of course)

Fencing for wildlife

2013-04-22T12:04:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

We’ve been listening for bitterns this week, with the aim being to try and determine potential territories. Listening for bitterns requires a very early start! More specifically it’s ideal if you can start listening an hour before dawn, which means getting up at 4 am. The aim is to try and pinpoint where the males are booming from, which is very hard to gauge by listening alone. To overcome this a compass is used to mark the perceived position of the bittern, then another bearing taken from a different angle, with a third bearing sometimes taken to increase the accuracy. These are then triangulated to determine the location. As well as locating the bittern, it is also important to learn individuals, so tone and frequency of the boom are also recorded. Overall we heard 7 different males this week, so a good start! We will continue to monitor over the coming weeks and should hopefully get an increase in numbers.

This week has been quite varied in terms of work undertaken, starting with a visit from Otley College to undertake some scrub enclosure fencing. This was a very educational day for all involved, with skills learnt including tools and equipment needed, working out post distances, straining and more!

We’ve also started to put up the electric fencing around the stone-curlew plots with the expectation that they will arrive soon. More fences will be put up in the coming weeks.

Wednesday saw more fencing being completed, this time at Dingle. The fence being erected here was stock fencing, more specifically for cattle, which meant that barbed wire was used. This was a training exercise for us, meaning that we can undertake more fencing ourselves in the future.

Otley College students putting up fencing ©Sue Rendell-Read/RSPB

Recent sightings

The drake and two female garganey are still with us at Island Mere, with the jack snipe also being seen there. Migrants that have come in this week include wheatear at North wall and the dunes, sedge warbler near South hide, willow warbler near North bushes, reed warbler in the main reedbed, two nightingales singing in scrub opposite the car park entrance, lesser whitethroat in North bushes, Yellow and ‘channel’ wagtails (a hybrid between yellow and blue-headed wagtails) in Konik field, and swallow, sand martin, swift and house martin seen over various parts of the reserve. Also this week we’ve had a ferruginous duck and a little ringed plover on west scrape. Some interesting birds of prey seen this week including a merlin seen from the Wildlife Lookout and a peregrine and hobby seen over the South levels. Out on the Scrape there has been a second year Caspian gull, little gull, Mediterranean gull, spoonbill, common sandpiper and sandwich tern. Offshore a blackthroated diver has been seen.

If you'd like to get more regular updates of what's been seen, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

The first butterfly transect, but...

2013-04-12T11:59:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

This week started with the last of the water rail surveys being completed for the season and the first of the butterfly transects being undertaken. Unsurprisingly we didn’t see much in the way of butterflies!

We’ve also been doing a bit of marsh harrier surveying, which involves trying to locate nesting territories. It’s early days still at the moment but there has been a bit of displaying and a few birds have been seen carrying potential nest material. Marsh harriers will make a few nests before deciding which one to actually nest on, with the remaining nests being used as feeding platforms. The actual nest can usually be determined against feeding platforms by the females prolonged stay in the potential nest area, as well as the male bringing food, which will indicate that she is incubating eggs.

Bittern activity has also ramped up a gear, with evening visits out resulting in a quite a bit of activity! At the start of the week ‘grunting’ was heard from the 3 different locations, (this is basically the male ‘warming up’ for the actual booming) as well as some chasing of males after females across the reedbed (also a good sign!). There have been regular sightings of the bitterns at one of the recently cut and subsequently drained pools between west and south hide, with 3 being seen on some occasions. While towards the end of the week we actually heard our first boom, albeit a slightly half-hearted one but a boom nonetheless!

Outside of Minsmere, we’ve been over at Dingle doing a much needed beach clean up. This was very much a joint effort, involving Suffolk Wildlife Trust, Natural England, RSPB and local residents. The area covered ran from just below Walberswick in the north to below Dunwich in the south. This was a whole day affair and a very successful one at that!

The beach clean team ©Sue Rendell-Read/RSPB

Recent sightings

The species that deserves a definite first mention and which has been much talked about this week is the white-tailed eagle which flew south, high over Island Mere on the 6th! Picture below!
The pair of garganey are still with us at Island Mere
As are the smew on the Scrape

Welcome migrants that have recently been seen include:

A chiffchaff by the Rhododendron tunnel
A wheatear on the Konik field
A sand martin that flew in off the sea
A swallow that flew north over the dunes

Birds being seen on the Scrape include:

Green sandpiper
Spotted redshank
Dunlin
Mediterranean gull
Bar and black-tailed godwit
Knot
Ruff
Turnstone

And of course there's more than birds here... there were several sightings of the otter at Island Mere, and a stoat near Bittern Hide.

If you'd like more regular updates, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.

White-tailed eagle flying over Boyton Marshes, one of the South Suffolk RSPB reserves ©John Richardson

Ready for predators!

2013-04-09T10:39:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

Last week began with a check of the Scrape's anti-predator fence. We checked that the voltage was at the correct level and whether any trees had fallen onto the fence in the strong wind we have been having, as well as checking for any holes which had been dug by otters or foxes. This has been an issue in previous years and we did find a few holes, which were then subsequently repaired before the breeding season really kicks in!

After completing pesticide training mid week, myself and the intern from Old Hall Marshes, Chris Morphew, undertook our first Scrape Fallowing Bird Monitoring Survey. This survey consists of identifying which ducks and waders are feeding or roosting and in which section of the Scrape they choose to do this in, i.e. do they have a preference?

This will add to the information already collected regarding the fallowing project. The project involves drying off a compartment every summer, allowing vegetation to grow, which will then be rotivated in the autumn, with the hope of improving invertebrate numbers, which in turn will improve habitat for a plethora of bird species. We set off with some trepidation; would we be able to identify all the species? We came to our first hurdle in North Hide, with an unknown wader, but after some deliberation decided we were looking at a ruff! The rest of the survey went slightly smoother, albeit slowly, with some interesting waders being seen, including redshank and spotted redshank, turnstone and ringed plover. This was another great learning experience and really enjoyable to undertake.

Recent sightings

We’ve had some interesting species visit us this week, including:

A common crane was seen briefly on the field behind the visitor centre!
A pair of garganey at Island Mere
Two red kites flying west
Ringed plover, knot, ruff, dunlin, bar- and black-tailed godwit on the Scrape
A jack snipe has been seen at North Hide
Water rail have also been showing well at Island Mere
The marsh harriers have been seen displaying over the reedbed and gathering nest material
Some interesting gulls seen have included a little gull at Island Mere, Caspian gull and a second year yellow-legged gull on the Scrape
And last but not least, a stoat at North Hide

Is spring finally around the corner?

2013-04-02T15:46:31Z

After one of the slowest starts to spring migration on record, we finally heard our first chiffchaff of the spring yesterday. This is almost three weeks later than the usual first arrival date. Given the cold weather that's probably not a surprise, and providing they start to flood in over the next few days it may not impact on their breeding season.

Similarly, we heard our first blackcap yesterday and finally saw a sand martin. Both are about ten days later than usual. Before the sand martins arrive en masse we are carrying out some essential repairs to the electric fence around their nesting bank. These repairs will hopefully prevent rabbits burrowing underneath, thus blocking access for the stoats that devastated the colony a few years ago.

The pair of garganeys at Island Mere were joined by a second drake on Sunday and the black redstart remains near the sluice. Another sign of spring was a red kite passing overhead this morning. In the reedbed, the marsh harriers are nest building and displaying regularly, giving superb views.

The daffodils are beginning to open up around the visitor centre, while roadside verges elsewhere on the Suffolk coast are now studded with lemon-yellow primroses in a clear sign that spring is indeed around the corner.

Having said that, we still have no fewer than seven smews on the Scrape, including two impressive drakes, and the family of whooper swans were still present yesterday. A jack snipe at North Hide on Saturday was a typical late winter migrant. April is often a good time to look for these elusive wading birds as they begin the journey back to nesting grounds in the northern forests and marshes of Europe. As ever, though, this jack snipe was a master of camouflage among the short vegetation on the edge of the Scrape, where it fed with three of its commoner cousins. Another winter visitor seen this weekend was woodcock, with one feeding near the visitor centre on Saturday and another noted this morning.

Otters are still being seen most days, especially at Island mere and Bittern Hides. However, sometimes visitors can be lucky and spot them elsewhere. For example, one ran across the path in front of a group of Wildlife Explorers near the Wildlife Lookout on Saturday, while another crossed the North Wall this morning. Stoats are also being seen regularly.

A lovely drake garganey by Jon Evans

Winter meets spring

2013-03-27T17:17:02Z

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 and easterly winds have encouraged them to stay longer. At least six smew - a drake and five females - remain on the Scrape, though they can be mobile and typically spend much of their time diving.

Garganeys are the only species of duck that visit the UK for the summer rather than the winter, giving them the old English name of cricket teal. They are often among our first spring migrants to arrive in late March, and a pair have been seen in front of Island Mere hide on Monday and again today. At times they've been so close to the hide that some people have missed them.

There are still good numbers of the commoner ducks on the Scrape and Levels too: shelducks, wigeons, gadwalls, teals, shovelers, mallards and tufted ducks, plus a handful of pintails, while up to 35 pochards have been on Island Mere.

Apart from the garganeys, summer migrants have been very slow to arrive this year. A female black redstart has been at the sluice for a few days, but that's about it. Unusually there have been no sand martins or wheatears yet. More surprisingly there have not even been any chiffchaffs yet. They usually arrive at least two weeks earlier than this! It's probably not a surprise given the weather. Talking of the sand amrtins, we'll be repairing the predator proof fence around their colony this week to improve their chances of nesting successfully.

Avocets have begun returning to the Scrape again as water levels recede - all paths are now fully accessible. There's also the odd ruff, bar- and black-tailed godwit and dunlin on the Scrape, and lapwings will soon be displaying at North Hide. The black-headed gulls have begun returning too, but only occasional Mediterranean gulls have been seen so far. Among the gulls this week our guides have found kittiwake, little gull, Caspain gull and yellow-legged gull - but you might need an expert to help you pick them out!

In the reedbed, bitterns are being seen more frequently, and one group of visitors reported watching a pair mating near to the Eastbridge footpath this morning. It's very rare to witness this behaviour, and particularly surprising as they've barely started grunting yet, never mind booming! Marsh harriers are displaying now, while otters, water rails and bearded tits are seen most days. Barn owls are regularly seen from Island Mere Hide too.

In the woods, long-tailed tits are already starting to nest, tawny owls are occasionally seen in some of the older trees, and flocks of siskins are roaming widely, with several visiting the feeders at the visitor centre. With no leaves on the trees this is also a good time of year to see bullfinches and treecreepers in the woods and scrub.

A treecreeper by Jon Evans

Family fun for Easter

2013-03-27T16:21:52Z

Spring is a great time to visit Minsmere, even if it is a bit late arriving this year. Unusually, our earliest spring migrants are yet to arrive, but the daffodils outside the cafe are finally bursting into bloom, while the bird feeders remain a hive of activity, with constant comings and goings from flocks of tits and finches, including a few marsh tits, siskins and goldfinches.

With most schools breaking up tomorrrow for the Easter holdiays, we've an exciting range of activities available for families over the next couple of weeks. We don't have any special events planned fo rthe Easter weekend itself, but don't worry as there's always plenty to do at Minsmere. The Wild Zone is extremely popular with visitors families. Children love the cahnce to become sand martins for the day as they clamber through our tunnels, or to sit on a bittern egg in the beautifully crafted willow nest. Mums and dads enjoy relaxing in our skywatching chairs, but beware: they are so comfortable you may just fall asleep. Nearby, the den building is great fun, and brings out the competitive nature in many parents. (Dads, look out for our den building competition on Father's Day later in the year.)

Skywatching seat and sand martin tunnels in the Wild Zone

Many families also love borrowing our Explorer backpacks from reception. These free backpacks (we just need your car keys as a deposit) include binoculars, identification booklets and a bird bingo sheet on which to check off some of your sightings. Some also include a bug box to allow you to search for minibeasts around our nature trails. If you're visiting with children, don't forget to ask for a backpack on arrival as demand can be high.

Our exciting events programme kicks off on Tuesday 2 April with the chance to make sugar feeders in the shape of flowers. When placed in the garden these are great for attracting butterflies or bumblebees.

On Thursday 4 April you can make a home for your garden bumblebees too. Both events are repeated the following week.

On Wednesday 3 April we have a series of short introductory family walks to look for signs of spring (which we hope will be arriving by next week). These walks are repeated on Friday 12 April.

On Wednesday 10 April, the short walks are focusing on learning a few of our common bird songs.

We'll be pond dipping on Monday 8 April.

We have a completely new event for Minsmere on Friday 5 April when you can join Nick on a walk in search of Minsmere's snakes and lizards (weather permitting). The following day we are joined by the Suffolk Amphibian and Reptile Group to learn more about Suffolk's reptiles at our Live nature: snakes and lizards event.

Adder by Pat & Robert White

Also, over the weekend of Friday 5 to Sunday 7 April, artist in residence Liz McGowan returns to Minsmere for a hand's-on art activity exploring the wonder of migration.

Looking further ahead, we have a family event on Saturday 20 and Sunday 21 April, including pond dipping and a bird ringing demonstration by the Waveney Bird Club (the first of several this year). Saturday's activities are planned jointly with the Suffolk Ornithologists' Group and Suffolk County Council.

If you are visiting with the family, don't forget that the cafe offers children's portions of many dishes, there's a great selection of goodies in the shop, and, of course, there's some great wildlife to look out for too.

Full details of our can be found at http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves/guide/m/minsmere/events.aspx

Water rails on tape

2013-03-26T12:54:00Z

by Lana Blakely, conservation intern

We have got off to a good start regarding surveying, with two water rail and a harrier survey being undertaken this week. Water rail surveys involve two people, tape playback, and getting up just before dawn!

This was my first survey so with much anticipation of hearing my first water rail, I stood holding a tape player facing towards the reedbed, whilst Katy (warden) stood 20 metres away from me. After playing the recording (a call made by both males and females called ‘sharming’) for 60 seconds, we waited with baited breath for any responses. Sure enough as soon as I hit the stop button we had a return call! This was then recorded on our map, which on this occasion was a lone water rail, but we were also looking to identify pairs. Each location required listening for the birds for a total of 60 seconds and if nothing was heard we would play the tape for a further 30 seconds and listen for 30 seconds. We then moved briskly onto our next point (every 100 metres) and repeated the process. This was a great learning experience for me (I think I could now confidently identify a water rail call, as well as a few others) as well as being a great way to see different areas of the reserve at a wonderful time of day. Yes it was worth getting up at 5 am!

Also this week saw a few trees being removed on the way to Island Mere hide to open up views, as well as a visit from Great Yarmouth College. The students had all learnt a different bird song so the day involved visiting different points and listening for their respective birds with the trip ending with a visit to the Scrape. The students found the bird songs challenging but rewarding and really enjoyed learning to identify birds out on the Scrape.

Recent sightings

This week we have seen a slight drop in water levels, however flooding is still widespread across many areas of the reserve. The majority of the trails are now accessible, with the exception of the Sluice trail, which although open, can only be accessed if wearing wellies.

This week we’ve continued to have some good views of the drake smew
A family of whooper swans seen at North Hide
leucistic greylag goose
a spoonbill which has been mobile between the North and South Levels
Mediterranean gull
ruff
The return of a few avocets on the Scrape
We’ve also heard some ‘grunting’ (pre-booming) from the bittern in the latter part of last week