It's our Christmas shopping weekend, and the reception is filled with the wonderful aroma of hot spiced apple juice, sparkling Christmas tree lights, and staff wearing funny hats. There's a complimentary glass of the apple juice for all visitors. In the shop we have RSPB Love Nature chocolate, fudge and biscuits to taste, racing robins from the Christmas crackers, a tombola and our friends at Viking Optical with the full range of RSPB and Viking binoculars, telescopes and accessories to try. Why not join us tomorrow for some early festive fun.
There's a real Christmas feel to the visitor centre today, and the wildlife has been joining in. Although not the right species of partridge, and despite the lack of the pear tree, we were joined by two red-legged partridges feeding under the feeders this afternoon.
Photo: red-legged partridge by Ian Barthorpe
The feeders themselves saw a constant stream of blue, great, coal and marsh tits vying with chaffinches and greenfinches for a chance to steal a seed or two - we had to fill them three times today. The brmabling was seen beneath them again too.
Out of the reserve, the cold northerly wind brought the first real chill of winter to the air, and saw the arrival of five goosanders, (one male, four females) and two female goldeneyes on Island Mere. The former is a rare bird at Minsmere, so was a welcome surprise. Surprisingly there was no sign of any Bewick's swans today, and the great white egret wasn't reported either (has it gone, or was it keeping low in the wind?) but six marsh harriers were seen hunting around the reedbed. An otter put in several appearances at Bittern Hide this morning too.
A sparrowhawk was hunting too, and caught a robin close to Bittern Hide - clearly not entering the Christmas spirit, but more intent on a meal for survival.
The wild weather certainly made for a stormy sea, and many seabirds were on the move. Large numbers of gannets were seen flying south, and several brent geese flew north. Various species of ducks and wading birds were caught up in these movements too. Several small flocks of starlings were seen coming ashore. The scarce little auk often accompanies these starling flocks, and while none were reported at Minsmere, several were seen elsewhere along the Suffolk coast today. A grey phalarope flew south on Thursday too.
Photo: a stormy sea at Minsmere this afternoon