Records tumble

The early indications are that we're set for one of the best breeding seasons at Minsmere for a long time. Indeed several records look like being broken.

One record that has been broken this morning is for the biggest ever flock of bee-eaters to be seen in Suffolk. Adam Rowlands, our Senior Sites manager, was lucky enough to see an incredible flock of ten of these stunningly beautiful birds flying low over the Levels at 8 am this morning. Sadly, unlikely Monday's bird, they didn't hang around and flew quickly north, being seen by only one or two other people. Will they return? Where will they turn up next?

It seems like a good excuse to use this lovely bee-eater photo again. Photo by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

Our survey work so far this year has revealed some impressive figures for some breeding birds too. For example, we've found a staggering 125 singing male Cetti's warblers - one of the species featured in the recent BBC Springwatch series. It was only in the 1960s that this essentially Mediterranean species first colonised the UK, and as recently as the mid 1990s it was still a scarce breeding bird in Suffolk.

It's been a record year for bitterns nesting in the UK, with more than 150 booming males counted for the first time. This includes about 40 males in Somerset, and 80 throughout East Anglia. We had 12 males here at Minsmere - the best total since 1976 and more than the entire UK population in 1997! We've already found ten nests too, so there are good signs that the bittern population will continue to rise.

Marsh harriers have had a good, if not spectacular, season, with nine nests found, and the 33 pairs of bearded tits found is the bests for several years - though the latter is only likely to represent part of the entire population as it's hard to count this species accurately. 

It's been a great year on the Scrape too. The 60 pairs of avocets have already produced 56 chicks, many of which are close to fledging. This is already the highest count since 1987, and many pairs are currently have second attempt after failing with their first brood. There are 133 pairs of common terns, with many chicks now hatching. Black-headed gulls have many chicks too, though the number of pairs is significantly down on recent years. There were 20 pairs of redshanks, and several adults are still displaying which suggests that chicks may still be lurking in the long vegetation. Even better news, is that the 41 pairs of lapwings was also a reserve record.

A lapwing on the Scrape yesterday by Ian Barthorpe

Also on the Scrape this week are the first signs that autumn is approaching (even before the longest day on Sunday!) There were three juvenile little ringed plovers yesterday, which have not been born here, as well as three spotted redshanks and a wood sandpiper returning south from the Arctic. One or two Sandwich terns and an Arctic tern are probably failed breeders from elsewhere around the North Sea too.

For many visitors, the first birds they see at Minsmere are the sand martins that nest close to the cafe. While not quite a record year, the 220+ occupied burrows is slightly up on last year and the highest total since 1987. It's great to see so many feeding over the Scrape and reedbeds. While the hobbies are still feeding on dragonflies at the moment, they may be on the lookout for fledgling sand martins soon.

A juvenile sand martin by Jon Evans

Talking of fledglings, there are large flocks of tits and finches around the reserve. I'm pleased to say that the great tits fledged successfully from the cone this morning, and I've seen family parties of long-tailed tits roaming through the woods.

We haven't been able to check on the barn owl chicks since the cameras were removed, but Spineless Si is still busy fanning his eggs.