Some roses, of course, are red, but the wild roses that are blooming in proliferation in scrubby areas around Minsmere are shades of pink or white, depending on species. Along with the white flowers of Brambles, they are providing many important nectar sources for our butterflies and bees, especially in the North Bushes and around the Bittern Hide area.
Mid June is a superb time to look for flowers, and I don't think I've ever seen such an incredible display of Foxgloves as there are this year. Their beautiful pink flower spikes stand proudly in clumps in many woodland clearings, providing a fantastic contrast tot he green Bracken and Bramble below them.
Foxgloves by Pete Etheridge
North Wall looks very colourful, too, with yellow Common Bird's-foot Trefoil, purple Greater Knapweed, vivid pink Grass Vetchling and white Oxeye Daisy and White Clover among the many flowers. These, in turn, attract a wide variety of bees, wasps, beetles and butterflies, which are, themselves, food for the Sand Martins and Swallows that swoop low above the reeds.
These martins, in turn, may become food for the ultimate aerial predator, the Hobby, although their preferred prey tends to be the abundant supply of dragonflies and damselflies. Hobbies can be trickier to spot while they are nesting, being much more obvious in May when they first arrive and from August onwards when the young are on the wing, but some visitors are still lucky enough to enjoy some spectacular views of these slender super-fast predators. Bittern Hide is definitely the best place to look for Hobbies at the moment, and our volunteer Les Cater has been treated to some fabulous views this week, as you can see from these photos.
These photos show a young bird, born last summer, which is lacking the typical "red trousers" of an adult Hobby. This is probably a non-breeding bird, taking advantage of the abundant food at Minsmere, while the adults are nesting somewhere within the woods.
I particularly like the fine strands of cobweb strung beneath the branch, and the subtle patches of yellow lichen that really give this photo something extra.
But back to the roses, are rather rosies. A pair of beautiful Roseate Terns, sometimes referred to as rosy terns, has joined the large colony of Common and Sandwich Terns on the Scrape. This is the rarest species of tern that nests in the UK. They nest regularly on only on RSPB Coquet Island of the Northumberland coast and two or three colonies in Ireland, as well occasionally around Anglesey in North Wales. Although they are annual visitors to Minsmere, Roseate Terns rarely stay for more than a few days.
Roseate Terns are extremely pale terns, appearing almost white on the upperparts, with almost entirely black bills and bright red legs. As you can see from Les Cater's amazing photo. they are even paler than the Sandwich Terns that they're accompanying, and have almost contrast between the white breast and grey back, unlike in the much commoner red-billed Common Terns (photo below by Steve Everett). At the height of the breeding season many of the Roseate Terns will acquire a subtle pink wash to the underparts - hence the name.
Just to complicate things further there are currently a couple of Common Terns with entirely black bills at Minsmere. These are immature birds, born last year. This plumage is quite scarce in the UK, as they tend to remain off the West African coast for their first summer, not returning to the UK to breed until they are two years old. In this immature plumage, Common Terns can easily catch out unwary birdwatchers. We've also had reports of a very similarly plumaged young Arctic Tern, and there's a lot of discussion about whether one of the Common Terns could be of the Eastern race, which is exceptionally rarely seen in the UK.
While terns might prove tricky to ID, gulls can be equally challenging for beginners. It's worth putting in the effort, though, if you can pick out a lovely Mediterranean Gull, with its jet-black head, or Kittiwake, complete with black legs, from among the hordes of nesting Black-headed Gulls. Again, young birds could catch you out, with the fledgling Black-headed Gulls looking very brown and wader-like. There are still one or Little Gulls present too.
Avocets remain numerous on the Scrape, while other waders seen this week include Lapwing, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover and Black-tailed Godwit, plus the odd Dunlin, Sanderling and Grey Plover. I'm expecting the first Spotted Redshank to be reported by this time next week, too, as they return early from the Arctic.
Apart from the Hobbies, highlights within the reedbed continue to include regular sightings of Bittern, Great Egret and Marsh Harrier, at least one Glossy Ibis and two Common Cranes, plus Little and Great Crested Grebes with young at Island Mere and a couple of drake Pochard.
Little Grebe by David Naylor
With most of our small birds busy feeding young, birdsong is now much reduced, making the warblers, tits and finches harder to spot unless you encounter a busy flock of fledglings in the woods.
It's also been a good week for spotting some of our more elusive mammals. A Water Vole has been seen several times at the pond, one of my colleagues watched a family of Stoats scuttling across the path, and some visitors have been lucky enough to see a Weasel.
If you'd like help with identifying some of Minsmere's wildlife, look out for our volunteers in the hides, or book onto one of our excellent guided walks at www.events.rspb.org.uk/minsmere