As usual, autumn is a key time for our wardens and volunteer work parties to undertake some of the vital habitat management work required to ensure that Minsmere continues to be a special home for nature - and to you, our visitors.
While much of this work takes place away from the main visitor areas, sometimes it's much more visible. As mentioned previously in these blogs, for example, we were busy cutting vegetation around the Scrape's islands and banks during late summer. We now need to keep that vegetation short through the winter, ready for the nesting gulls, terns and waders to return next spring. We have help to maintain this short vegetation in the form of some of Minsmere's most popular residents - our Konik Polskis. Five of these beautiful ponies were moved onto the Scrape on Monday and will be easily seen from the Scrape hides throughout the winter.
Konik Polskis by Jon Evans
Also out on the Scrape are around 1000 teals and several hundred mallards, wigeons, gadwalls and shovelers. The latter put on quite some display on South Scrape earlier int he week as they spun around in groups, sifting seeds from the water. Spotted redshanks and little egrets took advantage of the disturbed water, picking insects off from among the ducks. Although wader migration is tailing off, there are still a few greenshanks, grey plovers, dunlins and turnstones present, as well as a late little stint for the last three days.
Drake shoveler by Jon Evans
If you have visited over the last month or so you may have seen a digger at work in the reedbed - initially behind South Hide, now on the North Levels. This is one of our contractors, who is creating new ditches and pools to improve the structure and quality of the reedbed and increase feeding areas for bitterns and water voles, as well as other reedbed wildlife.
The next stage of our reedbed management is to clear the pools in front of Bittern Hide, opening up better opportunities for watching bitterns, water rails and kingfishers. Our wardens have been lowering the water levels in recent weeks so that they can get into this area with brushcutters, and we hope to cut these reeds next Monday (24 October). Depending on how quickly this job is completed, we'll move on to Island Mere and cut in front of that hide, though that job may be delayed until the following week.
Island Mere continues to provide quite a spectacle to those patient enough to wait for otters to put in their regular appearances. Whilst waiting , you'll be entertained by the black swan which insists on chasing some of the 40 or so mute swans present. Bearded tits and water rails have been showing well too.
There's also some exciting news from the reedbed. We have a roost of about 5000 STARLINGS gathering in front of Bittern Hide in the evenings. Hopefully they'll remain for several weeks, and numbers will continue to increase.
Most of the these starlings will be conitinental birds and have arrived the the 1000+ fieldfares that can be seen feeding around the North Bushes/North Wall area. Among them are several redwings and song thrushes and at least one ring ouzel.
Other notable migrants this week have included two shore larks that briefly settled on East Scrape on Monday, the red-backed shrike on Westleton heath until at least yesterday, a great grey shrike on Westleton Heath again today, and tantalizingly brief reports of calling yellow-browed warblers around the work centre.
Families coming to Minsmere over the half term holiday next week can keep their own gardens special places for wildlife by making frog and toad homes to take home with them, and helping us to make hedgehog homes that we'll donate to local schools.
And you can buy something special for the ladies in your life on Saturday 29 October when we welcome Suffolk-based jewellery maker, Alex Monroe, opens a pop-up shop for the day. He's also running some demonstrations during the day, but these must be booked in advance by calling 01728 648281. Alex will donate £35 of each sale to the RSPB, and has made an exclusive RSPB collection fo items.
Some of Alex Monroe's jewellery