Minsmere

If you're like me then I'm sure that you often your lunch on the hoof, especially when birdwatching, though it's always better if you can find a perch to sit on while you eat. That perch might be a cafe table, a picnic bench, a corner of a hide, or simply a convenient log. Whatever it is, it allows us to sit and chill for a few minutes whilst eating lunch.

However, a different type of perch has been used by…

Regular readers will know that the Waveney Bird Club visit us every Thursday from April to October to run their popular Bird Ringing Demonstrations, weather permitting. These events are free, and do not need to be booked.

At these events, specially trained ringers, following strict guidelines set out by the BTO (British Trust for Ornithology), set up rows of special nets in which they catch small birds. After carefully…

It's been another superb week, with many of our regular star species putting on a fantastic show, and a few surprises in store.

Bitterns are always popular in April, whether it's watching them feeding close to the hides, catching a glimpse in flight, or hearing their wonderful deep boom from deep within the reedbed. Perhaps that's why Bittern Hide has been very busy all week. Don't forget, though, that you are at…

There's so much happening in the spring that it's sometimes hard to know which way to go, and where to look next. Sightings are changing virtually by the day on the Scrape, while the reedbed hides are throwing up some superb views of a variety of species.

Don't forget to keep looking and listening as you walk between the hides, too. Sand Martins have arrived in bigger numbers this week, and have been seen around…

You may have seen or heard in the news this week that last year was another record for booming Bitterns across the UK, with an incredible 283 males recorded across the country, including a record 17 males here at Minsmere. After plummeting to a low of just 11 booming males in the UK in 1997, it seems hard to believe that less than 30 years later we could be possible reach 300 booming males in 2025.

With Bitterns featuring…

Volunteers are important to the RSPB. Without them, we’d be unable to undertake most of the work that we do.

Volunteers help us to greet our visitors, serve in the café, count Bitterns, manage the reedbeds, clean the hides, lead guided walks. And that’s the just the tip of the iceberg, as they say.

Some volunteers have been with the RSPB for a long time, and none more so that Pete Etheridge, who recently…

It's not every day that a report of a rare bird at Minsmere leads to everyone rushing outside to catch a glimpse. But then, it's not every day that an eagle flies over, either.

Yes, you did read that correctly! We saw an eagle at Minsmere on Wednesday! A White-tailed Eagle. AKA Sea Eagle.

Until a few years ago, reports of White-tailed Eagles were real red-letter days anywhere in England. Then, we typically saw…

This week's sightings are a  veritable A-Z of some amazing wildlife.

A is for Avocets. They have returned in force this week, with numbers increasing rapidly from 17 on Monday to 56 on Tuesday and 140 today. They look absolutely spectacular bright sunshine and clean blue skies that we've experienced this week, especially when the flock is disturbed by a predator as they were on my walk this morning.

Avocets in…

Bore dar! Happy St David's Day to our Welsh supporters. Welcome to the first day of spring to everyone. What a glorious sunny day it is in Suffolk, too (once the early fog cleared). To celebrate both of these events, here's a lovely Daffodil, flowering just outside the cafe.

In fact, the Daffodils aren't the only signs that spring is on its way, with Gorse flowers adding a further golden glow along the dunes…

There is definitely a green takeover on the Scrape this week. Green Plovers that is. AKA Peewits. AKA Lapwings.

Whilst we can see varying numbers of Lapwings throughout the year, there are some particularly impressive numbers present at the moment, with counts exceeding 1000  throughout the week. Lapwings are gorgeous birds with their bottle green upperparts reflecting varying tones of bronze and purple depending on the…

Last week, I was honoured to be asked to participate in the funeral of a former colleague, Doug Ireland.

I first met Doug about 25 years ago when I joined the RSPB staff, and our paths crossed again when I moved to Minsmere three years later. By then Doug was the RSPB's Health and Safety Advisor. He lived at Minsmere, and one of his interests was the weather. It was in this capacity that I got to know Doug.

Doug…

As we move into February, it's great to see the days lengthening, hinting at the coming of spring. After a few months cooped up inside, avoiding the cold, dark and wet days of December and January, February brings new hope, and the first signs of new life emerging around us.

Snowdrops are already carpeting many a garden or churchyard, and the Daffodils behind the Minsmere Visitor Centre are close to blooming (will…

When you think of Minsmere, what habitats or wildlife come to mind? I'd hazard a guess that the answer, in most cases, will be related to wetlands. The Scrape, reedbeds, water, the coast, Avocet, Bittern, Marsh Harrier, Water Vole, ducks, gulls. Yes, Minsmere has dry habitats too - woods, heath, acid grassland - and their associated wildlife, but for most visitors, it's our wetlands that are most attractive.

I hope you are all safe and well after yesterday's storms that affected many parts of the country. Here in Suffolk we avoided the worst of the weather, though it was certainly a dull damp day yesterday. What a contrast with today. A visit to Minsmere is so much better when the sun shines!

Looking south from the North Wall towards the Scrape

There's certainly been a lot to see over the past few days. Birds of prey…

The return of some milder weather this week has brought with it some superb sightings of some of Minsmere's more popular and often elusive species.

Bullfinches are beautiful birds, but despite the males' vivid red breasts, and the obvious white rump in both sexes, they can be frustratingly difficult to spot. Later winter and early spring is usually the best time to look for Bullfinches, as the absence of leaves makes…

There are several song titles that I could have used as the headline for today's blog, but given that we've got away quite lightly this time, I decided to keep it simple. It is certainly cold, with the temperature barely climbing above zero for the last three days, but at least we've not had the snow that many of you will be experiencing.

The cold weather and clear blue skies make for some spectacular scenery…

Can you remember what you were doing in early January 2003? I know, 22 years is a long time ago, so I'll forgive you if you can't. However, the date, 3 January 2003, is firmly etched in my brain. Why? Because that was the day that I started my dream job as Marketing and Publicity Officer here at Minsmere.

It's hard to believe that 22 years later I'm still doing more or less the same job, though my job title changed…

As I was about to start writing this week's update the radio crackled into life and Peter announced that he had refound the White-rumped Sandpiper. This was something of a surprise, as this scarce visitor from across the Atlantic hadn't been seen for more than a week. Where had it been in the meantime? On a local estuary? Out on the South Levels? Or perhaps simply hiding in plain site on the Scrape, overlooked as a Dunlin…

Before I get the spelling police contacting me, the spelling in the title is deliberate, because one of the more unexpected sightings this week was of a Little Auk.

Little Auks are one of the world’s commonest seabirds, breeding in vast colonies on cliffs around the edge of the Arctic ice, but they’re quite scarce birds in the UK.

As the name suggests, they are tiny birds, being barely half the size of that…

As we move into December thoughts usually turn to planning for Christmas. For birdwatchers it's always a little different. Some will be looking to add one or two more birds to their final year list for this year. Others will be thinking about where to visit in the first few days of January in order to start next year's list off a high. Perhaps they'll even be trying to spot 100 species on New Year's Day.…

After all the excitement of last week's Hoopoe, things have settled down into a more normal late autumn pattern this week. Even the weather has followed that pattern, with dull wet days followed by crystal clear blue skies and morning frosts. Those clear bright days, like yesterday and today, have really shown off the reserve and its wildlife to the best effect, and like many photographers, I was busy with my camera yesterday…

Minsmere has been a migration crossroads this week, with arrivals from North, South, East and West. We expect arrivals from the North and East in winter, while visitors from the West are scarce but not too surprising. However, it was the bird from the South that really stole the show in more ways than one.

It is unusual to have birds from southern Europe visiting Minsmere as late in the year as this - they should by now…

There's always a risk when going on holiday that I'll miss something exciting at Minsmere while I'm away. Unusually, while I was Spain for half term (missing the worst of the flooding, thankfully), there weren't any rare birds spotted at Minsmere, though I did miss a murmuration of about 10 000 Starlings. Sadly, these seem to have dispersed just as quickly as they arrived, but we'll keep you posted if they return. I also…

I may sound like a stuck record at times, but as regular readers will know, I love Island Mere Hide. There is something magical about sitting quietly, scanning the reeds in the hope of spotting some of the amazing wildlife found there. Even a quick visit usually produces something interesting, but allow an hour or two and you are almost certain to be rewarded.

That was certainly my experience on Tuesday when walked around…