It was a bit of a surprise to wake up to a snowy scene in North Suffolk today, though there was no sign of the white stuff on the ground once I arrived in Suffolk. It has been a cold day with regular showers and some bits of sleet mixed in. Not enough to put me off a lunchtime stroll to look for otters at Island mere though.
After a weekend of incredible otter sightings (as Amy wrote about on Saturday), and with several prolonged views this morning, I was hopeful that I might finally break my 2016 duck. Sadly it was not to be - they clearly have a little snooze at lunchtime. I'll have to wander down before work one day instead, I think.
However, my walk to Island Mere was far from wasted - as if that was ever possible? Within seconds of entering the hide I was treated to a super-close flypast by a bittern so that I could almost see every feather detail.
Out on the mere itself, no fewer than six great crested grebes kept us entertained, with one pair carrying out their famous weed dance just a few metres from the hide. This impressive courtship display involves both birds diving below the surface to emerge with beaks full of weed, before "standing" breast to breast on the water and swinging their heads from side to side. They were just beyond the range of my camera for a good photo, but i was quite pleased to get this one.
Great crested grebes weed dancing today
In fact, Island Mere almost resembled the set of Strictly Come Dancing, and while the grebes were probably worth a score of seven (they didn't perform for long enough for more than that), the other contestants definitely deserved a score of ten from Len. They were the marsh harriers, which performed a very impressive tumbling sky dance just to the right of the hide, accompanied by almost constant high-pitched calls. When not dancing, they soared to a good height above the reeds, or took time our resting on bushes within the reedbed. With at least eight birds present even the showery weather isn't putting them off their courtship.
There was also a brief bit of courtship from our lingering pair of whooper swans on the mere, while a swirling flock of 100 black-tailed godwits over pools near Eastbridge also put on a rather balletic performance. The water rails were very vocal, and did put in couple of brief sightings in between squealing calls, while a pair of little grebes whinnied to the right of the hide. I could also hear Cetti's warblers, but sadly, like the otters, the bearded tits, kingfishers and snipe refused to come out into the open. I did, however, manage to catch these mallards very close to the hide.
As I left Island Mere I headed back via the Rhododendron Tunnel where the firecrests were again showing really well. I was able to watch at least two birds, including one very showy male, but one of our volunteers had earlier seen three, and there might even be as many as five of these dainty little birds.
I didn't get round to any of the Scrape hides today, but it sounds like it's getting pretty exciting out there too. The two redhead smews remain on East Scrape, though they can be elusive at times. All of the common duck species remain too. Numbers are generally starting to fall as they begin the return journey to their breeding grounds farther east, but the double figure counts of pintails are quite notable.
Despite the wintry weather, there are clear signs that spring is just around the corner as avocet numbers are quickly increasing: 45 of these elegant waders were on the Scrape today and they will soon be indulging in their own courtship dance. There are some good counts of dunlins, black-tailed godwits and oystercatchers too, but the black-headed gulls have yet to settle on their nesting islands.
Storm clouds over the reedbed from Island Mere Hide this afternoon