Man hunt

I was informed early this morning that it was International Women’s Day and with that in mind I decided that today I would head out onto the reserve on a man hunt. I had a particular male in mind that I have been meaning to catch up with for over a week now and I wanted to appreciate his physical form for myself. The man in question was indeed the male out of the pair of smew we have had around the Scrape at Minsmere. There have been two pairs of smew at Minsmere this year which have been quite mobile around the site but it was important for me to see the male of the species as they are simply spectacular looking and I have seen a lovely female smew before.

Drake smew by Jon Evans

I went up to the offices to prepare for my man hunt, not in the usual style of donning high heels and some make-up but to grab my waterproof, bins and camera. As I headed down from the offices the rain drizzling in my face I could hear on our radios that the smew could be seen from East Hide. I picked up the pace and stomped off towards the sea. As I went through the gate to East Hide I stopped and spoke to a couple of visitors that informed me if I was looking for the smew then they were still there but I would have to be quick. I decided to run towards the hide not caring as I splashed through the puddles getting wet feet and muddy trousers.

I went up the stairs inside East Hide and sat next to one of our guides. She had got her eyes on them and told me where to find them. They were a long way away but nevertheless I could see them popping up to the surface, lying low in the water and appreciate what beautiful birds they are. The male simply striking in appearance and the female displaying an air of elegance and beauty. They did a lot of diving, coming to the surface almost in sync and then swam along the top next to each other for a few moments. They then took off and hopped over a bank to another pool out of my sight.

Look closely!

And off they go again!

I'm sure if I had had a better camera my pictures would have looked something like this...

Pair of smew in flight by Jon Evans

I made the most of being in East hide for the next few moments observing black-tailed godwits, avocets (around 40 counted this morning), black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, and distant dunlin and ringed plover along with many teal, mallard, gadwall, shoveler, tufted duck and shelduck. As I was looking around the Scrape and admiring all the males I got to wondering whether there were any bird species where the female is more striking looking than the male? I failed to think of any examples and then got to thinking of the reasons why. Females have to sit on their eggs and remain unseen by predators; an invaluable job to ensure the success of their species. The males have to be showy to impress the females who ultimately get the choice out of the males with the best form and colour showing their health and vitality.

As I walked back to the offices I got to thinking about the inspirational women in my life and who I would name as the most inspirational famous women. I didn't have to think long before thinking of the brave few women who founded the Society for the Protection of Birds in 1891 to counter the barbarous trade in plumes for women's hats. These few women Emily Williamson, Eliza Phillips and the Duchess of Portland (the Society's first President) founded the society which formed the RSPB as we know it today and that has contributed to 126 years of conservation, protection of wildlife and inspiring change to give nature a home.

Happy International Women's Day!