On my way to Minsmere this morning the sun was streaming through the windscreen making it quite hard to see the road ahead and a Christmas song came on the radio, the first I had heard this season. My mind was busy thinking about the day ahead when it had to do a bit of a double take to realise that yes it was in fact a late November morning and Christmas is just around the corner.
As I got out of the car I was greeted as I often am by a familiar voice singing from his or her usual spot. The robin is one of my favourite birds (as it is one of the nations) and it is hard not to love being a constant presence throughout the year and a continually joyful character singing all year round as well. As I walked to my desk I could feel eyes on me and noticed that my friend was indeed following me.
Lunchtime came and I decided to take a stroll down to Island Mere because I had not visited that hide for a while choosing to take my lunchtime walks around the scrape and beach to see if I could catch up with the flock of snow buntings as they had left such an impression on me after our first encounter! As I walked down the hill by the adder trail towards Island Mere I saw two jays fly up into the trees and noisily make my presence known to others. At the bottom of Whin Hill I was met by another robin and although lovely I did not spend long appreciating him as I hoped that there would be a little more on offer from the hide.
As I walked up the board walk towards Island Mere hide there was already a small crowd intensely looking at the pool to the right of the hide. I joined the admiring crew and was delighted to see a bittern beautifully camouflaged amongst the reeds only a few meters away (not the famous Limpy that has featured in many a recent blog and forum post). He was cautiously doing some fishing at the very edge of the nearby pool his detailed feathers reflecting beautifully in the still water and then he took a short low flight almost like a big jump to the clump of reeds on the other side of the pool with his incredibly large feet dangling down. According to other birders in the hide this had been his routine now for the last few hours.
I decided to enjoy what I think is one of the best aspects of the reserve and look out over Island Mere at the panoramic view. As I was scanning the scenery I spotted three marsh harriers in flight over the reedbed, a very picturesque grey heron, many cormorants making delightful reflections in the water in their statue like poses and then a bittern in flight on the other side of the mere. What a treat!
My luck had not ended there as a kingfisher whizzed past the hide and dazzled the visitors with its spectacular colouring. In today’s sunshine it really did look a picture. Unfortunately I was too slow to snap a picture. My lunchtime was nearing an end when the cormorants and gulls in front of the hide were spooked. Davene one of our guides suspected that there may well be an otter around and therefore this was no time for me to be leaving the hide! She spotted some rather large ripples coming from an inlet to the left of the hide and it was indeed an otter! He (or maybe a she) swam to the middle of the mere and then moved further towards the other side to carry on his hunting.
The bittern clearly was fed up with the attention being elsewhere so decided to show himself again. I was back to watching him again but my head was constantly turning to see if the otter had come up again and was any nearer. My head must have looked like I was watching a tennis game because I just didn’t know which way to turn, there was stunning wildlife everywhere! A group of lapwing gathered over the reedbed as if to come and have a look at what all the fuss was about too!
It was at this point I left the hide and returned to my desk a very happy lady, what a lunch break and what a fantastic hour of wildlife!
In addition to the many great sightings I had at lunchtime today our guides had sightings two Bewick’s swans at Island mere and three otters, the later scaring away the Bewick’s swans. Pairs of stone chats were also seen at Island Mere, twelve marsh harriers and a peregrine falcon over the south levels.