Have you heard of a cricket teal? It's one of the traditional names used for the only duck that is typically a summer visitor to the UK - hence the "cricket" part of its name. It's also small duck - hence teal. You may know it better as a garganey.
Garganeys are scarce visitors, never common, but occurring in many shallow wetlands across the UK. They are best seen in late March and April, when newly arrived birds can sometimes be seen displaying around marshes, reedbed pools and small lakes. Once they start nesting, they disappear into the longer vegetation, becoming very elusive until August, when moulting birds often join flocks of teals, but can be hard to locate as they lack their bright colours.
Armed with this knowledge, when three garganeys were reported on the Scrape on Thursday morning, I tried in vane to locate them. So, when our guides radioed this morning to say that they were showing well from Wildlife Lookout, I had to go to have a look. And there they were, two drakes and one female sleeping on an island alongside several similarly-sized teals.
The left hand bird is one of the drake garganeys, alongside two pairs of teals
The drakes are simply gorgeous: a jigsaw-like pattern of chocolate brown, grey and white, with a thick white eyebrow bisecting the brown head and neck. If you get the chance to see one, take it. You won't regret it! The females, as is typical with dabbling ducks, are streaked brown, differing from the teal in subtle ways: a more distinctive head pattern, slightly different markings on the flanks and scapulars, different wing markings.
Better views of a drake a few years ago, showing the intricate markings
Of course, the garganey and teal are not the only ducks on the Scrape, with good numbers of wigeon, gadwall, shoveler and shelducks still present, and a few remaining pintails. The three species of feral geese - barnacle, Canada and greylag - are starting to pair up too.
Wader numbers are definitely starting to pick up: I saw 10 different species in a quick look at the Scrape on Thursday. Avocets are by far the most numerous, with oystercatchers, lapwings, redshanks and ringed plovers already pairing up. A few dunlins, turnstones, snipe and curlew are passing through and black-tailed godwits are starting to move through. There have been a couple of jack snipe in front of North Hide, though these have been almost impossible to spot. A grey plover was more obliging on Thursday.
Avocet
There's also a notable increase in variety among the white and grey birds on the Scrape, with the first Sandwich terns and kittiwakes joining black-headed, Mediterranean, common, herring, lesser and great black-backed gulls. It's always a sure sign that spring is on the way when the terns begin to return from Africa. An immature spoonbill has been seen on the last few mornings too, but seems to head off elsewhere to feed during the day.
Other summer migrants are trickling in too. The first sedge warblers and blackcaps were reported this week, joining the growing throng, just in time for the first of our weekly Sounds of Spring birdsong guided walks on Tuesday. One or two swallows are feeding over Island Mere, and sand martins peaked at more than 30 this week. Other summer migrants seen during the week included wheatear in the dunes and black redstart in the North Bushes. How long will it be till the first nightingale is heard?
A female black redstart
Perhaps the most distinctive sound of Minsmere in spring is the deep resonating boom of the male bittern. They've been slow getting going this spring, but you should be able to hear at least one on any visit for the next six or seven weeks. They've also become easier to spot, especially at Bittern Hide, where at least one bittern is often fishing in the open for long periods at a time. Water rails and little grebes have been putting on a good show there too, while great crested grebes and water pipits are often seen at Island Mere.
Even the rain hasn't dampened the enthusiasm of birdwatchers enjoying prolonged views of these reedbed skulkers. It helps when a marsh harrier, sparrowhawk or red kite flies past, too, though I don't think the lapwings and oystercatchers were too keen when a red kite made a low pass over the Scrape on Thursday!
Red kite, on a brighter day than today
Of course, you should never visit Minsmere without spending a bit of time watching our feeders, where this morning I enjoyed great views of nuthatch, great spotted woodpecker, marsh and coal tit, as well as blue and great tits, chaffinches, pheasants and grey squirrels.
The adders have continued to put on a good display (but not in today's rain), with both males below the sand martin back getting close to sloughing their skin ready for when the females emerge from hibernation. We've also had various reports of stoats, red deer and otters, including one of the latter that caught a black-headed gull at Island Mere!
Finally, you may have seen the large herd of koniks that featured on Wild Isles last week. Our koniks are always popular, but are a bit harder to spot at the moment as they are feeding in fields between the Sluice and the ruins of Leiston Abbey. These three did, however, pose nicely for me this week.