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Now that the clocks have changed, it can be frustrating that it's dark before I go home in the evening. This means I can't pop into Island Mere Hide or down to Bittern Hide to check for roosting harriers, bitterns or starlings - unless I go at dusk and stay in the office later instead. However, it doesn't mean that there are no wildlife watching opportunities after work.

Last night was a great example. As I left the office at 5.30 pm, two tawny owls hooted from the nearby woods. Everyone loves owls, but tawnies can be among the hardest to see as they are strictly nocturnal. But their distinctive hooting call gives away the presence of these otherwise silent hunters, and November is probably the best time to hear them.

This is because tawnies stay on their territories all year and about now they are starting to strengthen their pair bonds ready to start breeding in January! Yes, as early as that. Tawny owls are probably the earliest nesting birds in the UK.

Despite being so difficult to see, a hooting tawny owl is one of the most distinctive and familiar sounds in our countryside, and may be heard in many gardens too. Yet the familiar "two-whit-too-woo" is not actually given by a tawny owl, but by a pair. One bird calls "ke-wick" followed immediately by a reply of "hoo-hoo". Last night, I heard just the hooting "hoo-hoo", although there were certainly two birds calling.

My night time wildlife watching didn't end there, as a short distance along the entrance road I slowed down as a large, hairy shape bumbled along the verge. The distinctive backside belonged to one of our most exciting mammals. A badger! We know there are a couple of setts at Minsmere, and we often see signs of their presence, but like the tawnies, badgers are usually nocturnal, so any sightings are a bonus. This was only the second time I'd seen a badger at Minsmere this year, after bumping into a mother and two cubs in broad daylight at our Springwatch weekend in June.

A night time drive home is often a good time to search for wildlife. Rabbits regularly scuttle from the verges, seemingly on a suicide mission. More frightening is the sudden appearance of a red deer in the headlights - not a creature you'd want to hit unless you can afford an expensive repair bill. As last year, the red deer rut viewpoint was incredibly popular, with superb views of these majestic beasts. The viewpoint is now closed, but if you're visiting Minsmere keep an eye open for deer at any time. There were four close to the path at lunchtime.

The leaves have fallen from most of our trees in recent gales - a sure sign of winter's coming. Yesterday's weather, though, wouldn't have been out of place in the tropics, but for the cooler tremperature. We had several showers of monsoon-like proportions, resulting in a rapid rise in water levels in the reedbed. The Scrape's looking superb too, so the long dry summer already seems a distant memory. Winter is very definitely on its way. I usually consider my first sighting of a Bewick's or whooper swan to be a sign of the changing season, and I saw both on Island mere on Friday, and again on the Scrape today.

Roll on the first frosts, and the arrival of winter proper, with its accompanying abundant ducks, glorious sunny evening and birds coming in to roost (though not starlings yet at Minsmere - Snape Maltings is the place to see them at present). Come along and see them for yourself.

There are some days when I feel so lucky to work at Minsmere. Most people who I meet say things like "you're so lucky to do your job" to which I invariably reply, "it's a shame I spend so much time int he office". Today though, things were different.  For a start, I managed to find time for a stroll at lunchtime. The first surprise was watching a male sparrowhawk chasing a kestrel above the car park - not something you see everyday! Although at first glance the North Bushes trail seemed quiet, there were a few goldcrests around, and a superb view of a treecreeper. Careful checking through the vegetation revealed a late lesser whitehroat feeding, while a calling chiffchaff refused to reveal itself. A few swallows flew overhead, but the highlight was an incoming viistor: a stunnign male brambling. My first of the year.

A few minutes later, I was watching small groups of brent geese heading south offshore, with a red-throated diver on the sea. Winter is clearly approaching, and there was a definite nip in the air.

Soon after returning the office, Adam Rowlands relayed a message over our radios that one of our guides had found a red-flanked bluetail in the Sluice Bushes. This is an extremely rare autumn visitor to the UK. Tiny numbers breed in Finland, with the rest spread across the Siberian taiga forest. They usually head southeast to spend the winter in SE Asia. However, a few drift the opposite way and if conditions are suitable they may arrive in the UK. Until three years ago, there was only record in Suffolk, then one was found at Thorpeness. There has been one in each of the last two years too, but there had never been one at Minsmere. Until now. The wardens all rushed out in hope of finding this much-sought after visitor. The bird was very mobile in thick scrub,and being hassled by robins and wrens, but it did eventually show itself, leaving msot fo the staff very happy.

As usual with lost migrants, this is a young bird, so not as colourful as an adult male. However, it is still a gorgeous lttle bird, with a blue tail, orange-red flanks, and a white chin, plus a white ring around the eye. You might not even find it in your field guide, as they are such rare visitors tot he UK. Many people will probably ask red-flanked what?

It's not just rare birds that I've been watching recently, as last week I took four people on another Minsmere deer safari. We had superb views of our red deer, including an impressive 20-pointer stag. It's amazing how close we can get to these impressive beasts in our vehicles. The deer safaris have been so popula rthat they are now fully booked, but if you want to watch the deer, then please visit our viewpoint on Westleotn Heath. It is open on Friday, Saturday and Sunday this weekend, then daily from Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November, from 3 pm to dusk. Why not come and visit?

The dry weather continued throughout September, but this week there is a change in the air at last. Yesterday and today we've had some strange wet stuff falling from the sky. I think they call it rain, but I almost can't remember what it's like.

So far, the rain hasn't been much more than drizzle, but I'm sure that we'll finally start to get some proper rain soon, as the autumn weather fronts move through. Several of the local and national media have picked up on the story that Minsmere's Scrape looks like a desert, but this is a bit unfair really. True, East Scrape is dry and sandy rather than being squidgy, oozy mud, but we have got water on both West and South Scrapes.

The lack of soft mud has had an effect on migrant wading bird numbers, with only the odd wader seen most days. This is disapointing for birdwatchers, and frustrating for staff, and seems to have the case at several other coastal sites this year. It should have little impact on population levels though, as many of the waders will have stopped at other sites instead (maybe inland or further south), or chosen to use the local estuaries.

Long term, we are not too concerned about the impact on the Scrape's wildlife. A natural coastal lagoon will periodically dry out, and our management is actually aimed at allowing small areas to dry out each summer. As soon as water returns to the Scrape, invertebrates will start to breed, and within a few weeks there will ample food for the birds using it.

Of course, there's much more to Minsmere than just the Scrape, and the reserve is really heaving with good wildlife spectacles at the moment.  Autumn is always the best season for watching bearded tits, as family parties erupt from the reedbed, especially on calm mornings. These tiny birds switch their diet from insects to seeds at this time of year, so can often be seen feeding on the reed seed heads, or on fallen seeds at the edge of the reedbed. There have been some stunning views on our temporary reedbed trail and from Island Mere Hide. With bitterns, marsh harriers, singing Cetti's warblers, and even a great white egret in the reedbed, Island Mere Hide has been one of THE places to sit recently.

Red deer are another autumn highlight. The annual rut has started, and there have been some stunning views from our viewpoint on Westleton Heath. As well as red deer, visitors have already been treated to close views of rabbits, a red fox, little owls and up to nine stone-curlews. The latter are secretive wading birds that have recently returned to nest at Minsmere. They are too senstive to disturbance to show them to visitors while they are breeding, but having finished breeding they've formed a small flock close to the viewpoint. Why not come to see them for yourself? The viewpoint is open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays this month, from 3 pm till dusk. It will also be open throughout half term (23 Oct to 1 Nov). It is signposted from Westleton.

Finally, of course, the autumn colours are simply stunning, and worth a trip to the countryside in their own right this year. Minsmere's heaths and woodlands are a kaleidoscope of colour, with every shade imaginable of yellow, gold, orange and brown, mixed with the remaining green and the odd bit of red. Many bushes are laden with berries, simply waiting to be eaten by hungry thrushes, starlings and woodpigeons. Come along and see them for yourself.

The title might seem strange to many of you, as listening to news and weather reports there seems to be barely a day that's gone by this summer without rain being mentioned. All we seem have heard is reports about 2009 having been a wet summer, after ealy prediction for a 'barbeque summer' failed to come true.

Not here on the Suffolk coast! Far from it. We've had one of the driest summers on record. Apart from a couple of showers, usually during the night, it's been incredibly dry all summer. This is not good news for Minsmere's wildlife.

Anyone who has visited us this summer will know how dry the reserve is. The Scrape has looked more like a desert than a thriving wetland for most of the year. While we try to control the water levels, it's impossible to move water onto the Scrape if there's none to move. South Scrape has remained wet, as this is salty so we can let water flow in at high tide, but salt water would kill the invertebrates on the rest of the Scrape. Luckily, water has remained in the reedbed, so the Konik Fields have continued to attract migrant waders and wagtails, but the Scrape has at times been alomost devoid of birds.

There are some benefits to the lack of water though. It has been easier to carry out the annual vegetation cutting programme on the Scrape this summer. Most of the islands and banks have now been cut, and we are rotovating parts fo the Scrape to revistalise the nutrient supply once water levels start to rise. The sunny, dry weather during the summer holidays encouraged families to attend our very successful programme of children's activities - without getting wet for a change.

We've also opened up two new temporary trails to help visitors to spot Minsmere's hidden wildlife gems. The North Bushes Trail, as last year, has provided close views of various warblers, chats and flycatchers as they refuel on blackberries, elderberries and flies before continuing the journey south to Africa. The new Reedbed Trail, behind South Hide, gives stunning views across the reedbed, and has offered the chance to watch bearded tits taking grit from specially placed trays. This grit helps these tiny birds ot digest seeds, which form the bulk of their diet for the winter.

We've also focussed our attention on spotting some of the other widlife highlights at Minsmere, not just birds. It's been a good year for butterflies and dragonflies. Our wildflower walks have proved popular, and their have been interestign moths caught in our traps. Soon, we'll be ready for our red deer viewpoint to open again. It opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 25 September to the end of October, plus throughout half term (23 - 31 October), on Westleton Heath. Look out for more details soon.

I hope you'll forgive me asking for rain, but we really do need it - my garden is looking very parched, and I'll be glad when I can stop watering the veggies, quite apart from Minsmere's transformation into the Sahara.

Best wishes, I'll write again soon.

Whether you're watchng garden wildlfie or visiting the best wildlife locations in the world, watching wildlife is always unpredictable. Even at soemwhere with as many eyes watching as we have at Minsmere, smething unexpected is just around the corner.

This month the surprise as come from butterflies and moths. After the huge influx int he spring, it's perhaps not surprising that there are thousands of painted ladies around now. And peacocks. Red admirals have been well and truly outnumbered, but it's been good to see a few small tortoiseshells after last year's dismal showing. Perhaps the commonest butterfly recently though is the familiar, and to gardeners perhaps unwelcome, large white. There was an incredible influx last week. It's amazing to think that many of these butterflies have flown all the way form Africa!

Among the flocks of butterflies have been a few notable moths. We've been watching broad-bordered bee-hawkmoths and hummingbird hawkmoths on the buddlieias. These impressive insects are always a joy to see.

The biggest surprise, though, has been the arrival of a purple emperor butterfly at Canopy Hide. They've never been seen at Minsmere before. These large butterflies love to stay in the tops of the oak canopy, joining our regular purple hairstreaks, so Canopy Hide offers a rare chance to get close views at eye-level. It's likely that the purple emperor originated form a recently introduced local population, but it's still a treat to see it.

I had my own surprise a couple of weeks ago at our Snape Maltings Information Centre. Looking upstream from the tidal sluice, I noticed a movement at the base of reeds. As I stood, an otter swam out from almost beneath my feet and played int he weed for five minutes! As I left, elated, a barn owl fluttered over the adjacent field. All this at 10 am.

Returning to the centre, my colleague was annoyed to have missed the otter. His frustration grew when a visitor reported one walking across the path later that day. Otters are so elusive, so it really was a lucky day for both of us.

Why not visit us during August for our busy programme of events for all ages and abilities. Look at the events pages for details.

Did you enjoy Springwatch? Our event was very successful, despite the rain. Typically, it started raining about five minutes before Chris Packham arrived, and stopped shortly before he left. Despite thios, the crowds gathered to meet Chris, who chatted to them from the BBC marquee, pointed out warblers and nightingales in song, then had a go at pond dipping wit the many families who visited that day.

I had my own Springwatch moment that weekend, when a female badger and two half grown cubs trotted across the path just ten metres in front of me in the middle of the afternoon! Wow! I've only once before seen a badger in broad daylight, have only once got closer to wild badgers, and have never seen such small cubs before. The frustrating part of this experience was that I had my camera with me but didn't react quickly enough to take any shots, and it all happened away from the visitor paths so no-one else could see them!

The following weekend, while taking my wife, baby son, sister-in-law and her husband on a Minsmere safari, we had a couple more Springwatch Minsmere moments. While on the heath we watched a large herd of red deer as close as 20 metres away, complete with several tiny calves. (Look out for details of this year's deer rut watching events that will take place in October.) Later, just outside the office, we watched a stoat carrying an entire family of baby rabbits, presumably to cache them soemwhere to eat later. If you watched Springwatch, you'll have seen the Pensthorpe stoat doing exactly the same thing. It was a great way to finish the day.

After all the hard work organising all the Springwatch activities, it was great to take a short holiday, during which we got as close to wildlife as it's possible to get in England, being literally pecked by defensive arctic terns on the Farne Islands. Nothing beats getting a huge seabird colony for the spectacle of noise, smell and constant bustle, so it was with both surprise and pleasure that I returned to Minsmere to discover our very own huge tern colony.

In my absence, Minsmere had become home to an incredible 1000+ Sandwich terns, with about 400 pairs nesting on the Scrape. This is the first time since 1978 that more than a handful of Sandwich terns have nested here. As they arrived late in the season, we assume they have deserted a colony elsewhere, presumably in North Norfolk, and have been attracted to Minsmere by the record numbers of breeding black-headed gulls. We also the most common tern nests since 1974.

The Scrape is looking pretty impressive with all these gulls and terns, yet there is very little water remaining. The last significant rainful we had was while Chris Packham was here, almost four weeks ago, so the Scrape is looking a little dry. Even with the dwindling pools, the terns look at home, and have been joined by migrant wading birds, returning south from their Arctic breeding grounds. The stars are the spotted redshanks, looking especially dapper in their spangly black breeding dress. These will be females, returning early having left the males in charge of the family. There are a few early ruffs and increasing numbers of black-tailed godwits too, so why not visit Minsmere this month to see the amazing wildlife on offer?

Have you been enjoying Springwatch on the TV?

It's been great to watch the action from so many different nests at Pensthorpe, but there's nothing that really beats the chance to see wildlife up close and personal. And Minsmere is a great place to do just that!

We've been enjoying our own mini-Springwatch at Minsmere this week. BBC Radio Suffolk's Lesley Dolphin has been broadcasting her afternoon show from Minsmere for the last three days. We showed her some of the hidden parts of Minsmere, including the heath, livestock and reedbed. She even managed to spot a bittern, albeit only briefly.

We learnt many interesting facts from some of the guest speakers. For example, did you know that crayfish can crawl for up to one mile across land, or that prehistoric dragonflies were the size of black-headed gulls? Lesley also spotted dragonflies, butterflies and red deer, as well as avocets, mute swan cygnets and great spotted woodpeckers, showing just how varied Minsmere's wildlife is.

 This weekend we have our special Springwatch event. Guides will be around the trails showing you nightingales, swallows, avocets, bitterns (hopefully) and ponies. Warden Paul Green will be runnign his new dragonfly roadshow at the pond, showing you Minsmere's dragonflies and damselflies. Robn Harvey will show you some of Minsmere's moths in the mornings.

Families can join in with pond dipping, face painting, seed planting and craft activities, as well as iscovering more of Misnmere's wildlife on the Kid's Quiz Trail, which takes you round the Scrape.

On Sunday, we are pleased to be welcoming Springwatch's new presenter, Chris Packham, to Minsmere. He will help our guides, and answer visitors' questions, as well as finding time to talk to Lesley Dolphin, who will be here once again.

If you want to meet Chris Packham, we suggest you arrive early. If you'd prefer to enjoy the Springwatch atmosphere without the crowds, Saturday is the day to come. The weathe rforecast is better, too, although you may still need your waterproofs to avoid the showers.

Why not get out and experience nature for yourself this weekend, then sit back and watch the rest of Springwatch ont he TV next week? It's a great way to spend a few hours. See you at the weekend!

Are you looking forward to the return of Springwatch on Monday? If so, we've got a treat in store for you on the Suffolk coast.

 Minsmere is well known as one of the best palces ot watch wildlfie at any time of year, and is at its best in spring. Many of our popular speices can be easy to see at this time of year, with avocets nesting in front of the hides among hundreds of black-headed gulls, bitterns starting their feeding flights, marsh harriers soaring over the reedbeds, and little terns nesting on the beach. Even nightingales sometimes show themselves between bursts of outstanding melody.

Dragonflies are attracting a lot of attention this year, as birdwatchers finally realise that they are not so hard to identify after all. The interest is certainly helped by a beautiful booklet on Minsmere's dragonflies that is now for sale in the Minsmere shop. Written by one of our wardens, Paul Green, this guide tells you where and when to look for each species found here. This week Paul found a newly emerging Norfolk hawker to final confirm with absolute certainty that they are now breeding here, while eagle-eyed visitors showed him variable damselflies behind Bittern Hide - a new location for this difficult to identify species.

We are now gearing up for our popular Sprinwatch event on Saturday 6 and Sunday 7 June. We'll have guides around the trails to show you everything from little terns and shingle flowers on the beach to dragonflies in the pond (as Paul's dragonfliy roadshow rolls into Minsmere). Guides will also show you our livestock, swallows nesting at the sluice, avocets, bitterns and much more. The fun doesn't stop there, as there will be pond dipping, face painting and other children's activities.

We are expecting a busy weekend, so I suggest you come early. Especially on the Sunday, when new Springwatch presenter Chris Packham will be visiting Minsmere. We are not sure of his exact plans yet, but there will be a chance to meet him - watch this space for more details.

Enjoy Springwatch on the TV, and why not get out and enjoy watching wildlife close to home, but best of all, if you can, come and see us at Minsmere.

 PS: you can meet the RSPB at the Suffolk Show on Wednesday 27 and Thursday 28 May, or visit us at Snape Maltings to watch great tits nestign in a drainpipe on our new Information Centre.

Hi

 Sorry it's been so long since my last post. I've been busy setting up and opening a new RSPB Information Centre at Snape Maltings. This is a really exciting opportunity, as Snape Maltings is a major destination for visitors to the Suffolk coast, offering a mix of high quality retail and food outlets, art galleries and a world famous concert hall, home ot the Snape Proms and Aldeburgh Festival. It is located on the beautiful Alde Estuary, and is adjacent to one of newest RSPB nature reserves at Abbey Farm. We'll be creating a superb new reedbed at Abbey Farm, to replace future expected losses to the sea elsewhere on the Suffolk coast. The new Information Centre has already given visitors the chance to watch hunting marsh harriers, kestrels and barn owls, see little egrets, grey herons, curlews and oystercatchers flying up the valley, and listen to chiffchaffs, Cetti's warblers and skylarks singing. If you're in the area, why not come and visit us.

 Meanwhile, here at Minsmere, it's been an exciting few weeks. Since mid March the migrants have been arriving, and we've welcomed back the first nightingales, sand martins and sedge warblers among other species. At least ten bitterns are boomng in the reedbeds, and have showed well at times in front of Bittern and Island Mere Hides. Marsh ahrriers and lapwings are nesting and avocets are displaying. Perhaps the most exciting species at the moment though is Mediterranean gull. Numbers have been high on the Scrape this year. About three weeks ago wardens counted a record 24, but that has now been surpassed in style with an incredible 44 birds present this morning!

 We also had a record attendance at our children's Easter Egger event last Wednesday, when 71 children and their parents and grandparents took part in activities to make Easter cards, make their own nests and have their faces painted. Everyone had a great time.

It's now dawn chorus time, and for my sins i'll be at Minsmere bright and early on Saturday for the first of our ever popular dawn chorus guided walks - starting at 4.30 am! These walks are fully booked for this year, but there is an extensive programme of guided walks throughout the spring and summer - see the events pages for details. Why not join us for our Spring Celebration on 25/26 April, when our guides will show you many of Minsmere special spring species.

 Bye for now.

Hi again

Many apologies for the delay since my last post. It’s been a busy time recently. And a wet one, too!

We missed out all the snow earlier in the month, except for a few millimetres at the start of the cold snap. Much of the reserve did freeze for a few days though, concentrating the ducks into small ice-free patches.

After the snow came the rain, and boy did it rain. Water levels rose rapidly and the New Cut burst its banks, leaving much of the reserve underwater. Several sections of the nature trails were inaccessible for most of the half term holiday, and the Scrape water levels were the highest ever recorded!

One consequence of the flooding was that we had to move most of the remaining koniks ponies to North Warren. Another was a superb winter gathering of waders on the Levels, where they enjoyed extensive shallow floodwater pools.

In the reedbed, marsh harriers are now actively displaying on sunny days, but we are yet to hear the first bittern of the year. This is probably due to a combination of high water levels and the recent cold weather. Booming should start any time.

I was busy offsite last week, which I spent at nearby Snape Maltings. Here I was showing visitors redshanks, mallards, barn owls and kingfishers from the quayside as we tried out a few ideas prior to opening a new information centre there. This popular retail complex is opposite our newly acquired nature reserve at Abbey Farm, where we will soon be creating another fantastic reedbed for bitterns. Look out for more information about Snape soon.

Half term at Minsmere is always a busy time for families, and on Tuesday 17 February we ran our popular nestbox making event. Amazingly, 70 children came to make their own nestbox during a four hour event. I was at Snape, but I’m sure that for those on duty in reception there may still be the sound of banging hammers echoing through their head! 

Spring is getting nearer every day. The daffodils are almost out, and birdsong is increasingly varied. The woodpeckers are drumming, and the first pipistrelles have been reported, so we’ll soon be welcoming the sand martins back. Will you be here to see them? My guess is that first ones will be seen around 17 March, give or take a day or two. Will I be right? Come along and look for yourself?

A belated happy new year to you from RSPB Minsmere. I trust you had an enjoyable break.

Winter arrived with a bang over the New Year period, and with the freezing temperatures came a host of good birds. It’s always good to see a smew, especially a stunning drake, so we were pleased when three turned up in early January. A few goldeneyes also arrived, and pochards finally came back onto Island Mere bringing a female scaup with them. This is a good bird for Minsmere.

The white-fronted geese from nearby North Warren moved to Minsmere to find more sheltered feeding during the easterly winds, while a family of whooper swans and more Bewick’s swans also arrived. Better still, a drake green-winged teal, all the way from North America, joined the hordes of teal on the Scrape, and three waxwings flew over today.

I led a guided walk on Monday to look for Minsmere’s wildfowl, and actually caught up with all the species, except for the whooper swan. A nice bonus.

Minsmere’s konik ponies are always popular, but some of them were moved to nearby RSPB North Warren last week. Here they will help to create idea conditions for nesting lapwings in the spring. The koniks are sure to prove just as popular at North Warren as they do here at Minsmere.

It may seem a long way off, but I’ve been preparing for the spring already, planning the events programme and starting to think about family activity days for this year. Watch this space for more details.

Talking of events, are you ready for the Big Garden Birdwatch? This year sees the 30th anniversary of the first survey, which I remember taking part in. Help us to celebrate this milestone by taking part yourself. The dates are Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 January, and you can find out more at www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch. Keep your eyes peeled for something special. I saw my first garden reed bunting 30 years ago! What will you find?

Are you in the Christmas spirit yet – and I don’t mean the Famous Grouse whisky either! Talking of which, why not help the UK’s black grouse by buying some of the special black grouse whisky this year?

I’m really excited this year as it’s our new baby’s first Christmas. It’s just a shame that the weather forecast suggests that we’re in for a dull and dreary couple of days. It always feels more Christmassy if it’s cold and frosty.

Never mind! The birds certainly find it easier to survive when it’s a bit milder. Even so, the feeders outside the visitor centre continue to attract a constant stream of chaffinches, greenfinches, goldfinches, and tits – blue, great, coal and marsh. The odd great spotted woodpecker and regular magpies and grey squirrels ensures that there’s never a dull moment when watching these feeders!

Now that we’re past the shortest day, the days will slowly start to lengthen, and this is the cue for many species to start preparing for spring. The first great spotted woodpeckers have already started drumming – if they pick a really good hollow branch the sounds echoes around the woods. The first thrushes will be singing soon too, and ducks on the Scrape will be beginning their courtship.

Why not visit us over the holiday period? There’s plenty to see. Just remember that Minsmere is closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day, although you can still view the Scrape and reedbeds from the public footpaths around the perimeter.

Have a fantastic Christmas. And don’t forget t keep your feeders and bird baths topped up over the festive period. I’ll write again early in 2009 – let’s hope it’s as exciting as this year has been.

Merry Christmas and a happy New year from all at RSPB Minsmere.

There’s been a real wintry feel to the last couple of weeks. We did have snow during the third weekend in November, but have missed the worst of the weather suffered in many parts of the country. There have been some cold frosts, cold winds and lots of rain though.

Luckily, the weather wasn’t as bad as expected for our recent Christmas crafts and carols event at Minsmere. This was the first time we’ve held a special Christmas event, and it was a great success.

One of our volunteers, Jon Gibbs, organised a small choir, which filled the air with popular Christmas carols. The tearoom staff put on a special festive menu, including local butternut squash soup, mince pies and mulled wine. There was even a lovely Christmas cake on offer!

The Minsmere field teachers laid on a selection of craft activities for families, and even went as far as dressing up in Christmas-themed costumes. Many of the children, and staff(!), also had their faces painted. The unlucky few had to make do with the substitute face painter – me – when Louise Gibbs took her lunch.

Two lucky visitors successfully guessed the names of our huge cuddly bear and sheep to win these gorgeous soft toys. Everyone enjoyed themselves, and most took the opportunity to do a bit of Christmas shopping.

Out on the reserve, the ducks on the Scrape are looking fantastic. A party of 19 Bewick’s swans have started feeding in fields about 3 miles north of the reserve, so I can see them on my way into work each day. At least nine marsh harriers are roosting the reedbed each evening, and the water rails are particularly vocal at dusk. Two weeks ago we were treated to the fantastic sight of seven common cranes flying low over the office, the low afternoon soon highlighting every detail of their plumage against the stormy black sky. Magic!

I’m now really getting into the festive spirit, although I’ve still got loads of presents to buy. Tonight I’m going along to the RSPB Lowestoft local group Christmas party, then tomorrow it’s the Minsmere Wildlife Explorers’ party. Next week Minsmere’s volunteers have their annual Christmas get together, after which the countdown to Christmas will really feel like it’s begun.

I’ll write again before Christmas. Speak soon!

It’s a boy! For those of you anxious to hear my news, Thomas was born on Halloween. Mother and baby are doing well. I’m doing pretty well too, despite the expected lack of sleep.

I’m sure if won’t be long before I introduce Thomas to the joys of birdwatching. I like to think that his first bird was a waxwing on our housing estate, but obviously at just ten days old he couldn’t see this stunning Scandinavian invader.

Waxwings have arrived in the UK in force much earlier than usual. There have been several sightings at Minsmere over the last two weeks, including 40 on 7 November, but none of them have stayed for long.

After such an exciting autumn, what will the winter bring? There are plenty more signs of winter already, with regular sightings of snow buntings, bramblings and short-eared owls, six Bewick’s swans and the first white-fronted geese all being seen in recent days.

Autumn 2008 will go down as one of the most colourful in recent years. The various tones of gold, orange and bronze leaves adorning our trees have slowly turned to brown and fallen to the ground. But one colour will be particularly associated with this autumn at Minsmere: red. The red deer rut viewpoint attracted an incredible 4500 visitors during the 18 days that it was open! That’s about five times more than we expected! It just goes to show how popular our wildlife is. Bring on winter!

This time last year, I was enjoying the delights of a South African safari on my honeymoon. This year, I’ve swapped giraffes, zebras and white rhinos in Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park for red deer, rabbits and foxes on Westleton Heath.

It’s amazing, but I’d go as far as saying that Minsmere’s deer have been an even bigger draw than the African big game.

In Africa, they always refer to the Big Five, and at Minsmere we’ve got our own Big Five. Ours are avocet, bittern, marsh harrier, bearded tit and nightingale, with nightingale replaced in autumn and winter by red deer. It’s these species that generally attract the biggest interest, and on the evidence of the last month I think red deer may have shot to the top of the pile.

They say a year is a long time in politics, but it seems only yesterday that we marvelled at the majesty of black-browed, shy and yellow-nosed albatrosses in the Southern Ocean on our once-in-a-lifetime pelagic out of Cape Town.

A year on, and Lindsey and I are preparing for another once-in-a-lifetime experience. This one promises to be even better, and the prospect is both scary and exciting. Any time now we are expecting our first child, so it will be a few weeks before I write again – when I’ll let you know how we’re getting on.

In the meantime, I’d like to welcome Louise Gregory to the Minsmere team as our new Volunteer Development Officer. You may have heard from Louise via this year’s Osprey Diaries from Loch Garten, and she’ll soon be sending you her thoughts on life at Minsmere on these pages.

Watch this space for more news on the exciting comings and goings at Minsmere.