We always know that the seasons are changing from winter to spring when we arrive at work in late February or early March and are greeted by the sound of gulls. So it is in mid July when a sudden eerie silence descends on the Scrape as the gulls depart en masse following the end of the breeding season.
It's been a good year for many of the species on the Scrape, with record numbers of Mediterranean gulls - 28 chicks fledged from an incredible 35 nests - and the first successful breeding by Sandwich terns at Minsmere since 1978. Black-headed gulls, common terns and lapwings have had a successful season too, and there are still broods of fledged shelducks, mallards, greylag, Canada and barnacle geese. But, with the breeding season drawing to a close, many of these birds have moved on.
Although it may seem strangely quiet without the raucous gulls, there are still plenty of birds to see. A few late broods of black-headed and Mediterranean gulls remain, and they've been joined by a growing flock of little gulls. This diminutive gull is a regular late summer visitor to Minsmere following post-breeding dispersal from colonies in NE Europe, and up to 30 can currently be found on the either West or South Scrape. They usually associate with the remaining common terns, which this week have also attracted one or two little terns, a roseate tern on several dates (most recently on Tuesday) and a brief adult black tern on Tuesday.
Little gull by Jon Evans
There are still good numbers of avocets on the Scrape, with several pairs still nesting for a second time and three or four broods of chicks feeding on West and South Scrape. They've been joined by an increasing variety of migrant waders this week. The star bird, for those lucky enough to see it, was a moulting adult Temminck's stint on East Scrape on Tuesday evening - a rare passage migrant in Suffolk, especially in mid summer.
The best of the rest so far have been up to three wood sandpipers and a stunning summer plumaged curlew sandpiper on West Scrape today. Other counts on the Scrape this week have included five green and 11 common sandpipers, 11 ruffs, 17 spotted redshanks, two greenshanks, 100+ black-tailed godwits and one or two ringed and little ringed plovers and dunlins. Lapwing numbers are starting to build up, a few curlews are roosting on the scrape, and there's been a good passage of whimbrels today.
Common sandpiper by Jon Evans
A couple of female pochards were increasingly scarce visitors to the Scrape yesterday - the first I've seen at Minsmere for two years! Two garganeys were on the North Levels this morning, so it's worth checking carefully through the growing flocks of teals for this summer-visiting duck.
Probably the best bird this week, though, was not seen on the Scrape, and sadly was only seen by a lucky few. During their weekly Constant Effort Site ringing yesterday, the Waveney Bird Club caught and ringed a marsh warbler in North Marsh. This species is common in central and Eastern Europe but is a scarce breeder in the UK, more frequently seen on migration. It's not annual visitor to Minsmere, although one was singing near the pond for a day in June. We assume this is more likely to have been an early autumn migrant. Marsh warblers are very similar to the much commoner reed warbler, and when not in song it's very difficult to identify them in the field, so sadly it's unlikely that this bird will be relocated. However, it's a good portent for the forthcoming ringing demonstrations that the Waveney Bird Club will be running on the next six Thursdays.
Elsewhere in the reedbed there have been regular sightings of bitterns, bearded tits, marsh harriers and hobbies. [Advance notice: Island Mere Hide will be closed all day on Tuesday 8 August so that the windows can be serviced.]
Of course, there's still a superb collection of butterflies, dragonflies and other insects to look for and some beautiful flowers, so even if birds aren't your thing, a visit to Minsmere is guaranteed to turn up something good.