One week of Springwatch left, one great tit chick left, one great spotted woodpecker chick and one water vole baby! On Monday I blogged about how difficult it was to tear myself away from the Springwatch live cameras and how I was struggling with deciding where to go around the reserve. It has only got harder! I am now like most of the country completely rooting for the last remaining great tit chick to successfully fledge the nest and avoid the fate which its brothers and sisters met. I was thrilled this morning to see the great tit chick still there and it’s amazing blue tit mum still dutifully feeding it. If I was the chick I would not be too keen to leave the nest either as she has done such a fantastic job of caring for them.
There has been a lot of drama happening on the reserve this week and quite a bit of heartache as the result of predation in the battle for survival. On my walk today I decided to visit the great spotted woodpeckers nest again (it has been a bit of a favourite for me along with our visitors). This has been an exciting and successful story which many of our visitors have been able to watch unfold. The great spotted woodpeckers have been incredible parents and two of the great spotted woodpecker chicks fledged the nest successfully yesterday. It is the father who has been the real star of the story and has religiously been feeding the chicks throughout the day, doing so many infact that he is looking a bit bedraggled now and has worn away most of his red patch at the back of his neck from sticking his head into the hole so often. The mother has been great too but is a little shy and cautious of some of the visitors disappearing up into the canopy when there are lots of people about. With two of the chicks successfully fledging there is now only one in the nest. This little character is beginning to limber himself up to fledging and keeps popping his head out. Like the great tit chick I am addicted to watching this nest and hope I am there when the last one fledges.
Peekaboo!
Elsewhere on the reserve there has been great sightings of otter and bitterns again from Island Mere Hide. A red kite flew over Island Mere and hobbies were seen over the car park and also from Bittern Hide. A buzzard was seen in the stone-curlew field on the ground eating something which was not identified and a sparrowhawk was seen over the North Bushes from North Wall. On the scrape there has been the usual hive of activity with the gulls, avocets and other waders. Four spotted redshanks were seen on East Scrape along with nine knot. The pond has been a great attraction again today with many visitors enjoying sightings of a grass snake in the pond and ‘Wesley’ the water vole with a baby (yet to be named!)
Spotted redshank by Jon Evans
I am greatly looking forward to the final week of Springwatch here at Minsmere and I am certain that the spectacular wildlife will provide us with an amazing finale!