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Male marsh harrier by Jon Evans Weekly update: This week we’ve continued to observe a few chases and flights during bittern watch but still have yet to see any evidence of nesting activity. Marsh harrier numbers remain at 8 nesting pairs, but sadly earlier in the week we had some sad news...

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...

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...

From Island Mere

One of several around Island Mere today

Hunting over Island Mere

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...

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...

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...

It seems hard to believe that little over a week ago we had several centimetres of snow and nightime tempertures plummeting below minus five. Daytime temperatures are now exceeding ten degrees - it was a positively balmy 13 degrees Centigrade yesterday, although the gale force wind made it feel cooler...

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...

Male Marsh Harrier hunting over the reeds in front of the Bittern Hide, Minsmere 8 May 2012.

Male Marsh Harrier flying fast and low in front of the Bittern Hide, Minsmere 8 May 2012.

Taken from Island Mere hide.

She has caught at full grown rat

Hi Liz Island Mere does it again! I wish I had more time just to sit and watch from there as it never fails to inspire. Otters are the real bonus, but just watching gadwalls mugging the coots for weed can be just as much fun - oh, life must be hard for a coot! Your memory reminds me of the occasion...

Taken from bittern hide