Have you been keeping up with the excitement from week one of Springwatch? There are so many stories unfolding, with drama at every turn. Will the stone-curlew egg hatch? How will the single parent blue tit fare? Did the sparrowhawks catch the female swallow? How will the avocet on the Scrape get on? And then there's the puffins and shags on the Farnes, and the golden eagles in Scotland, as well as the many stories of conservation heroes around the UK that have featured on Unsprung and the red button.
One nest that has not been featured on camera but is proving very popular with visitors is a great spotted woodpecker nest very close tot he South Belt Crossroads. The chicks in the nest are very vocal, and mum and dad are frequently bringing in food, so stand by the sign at the junction and wait and it won't be long before you spot them. We often have a volunteer guide positioned there to help you to get a better view.
Bitterns are always popular, and many visitors have been lucky enough to spot these usually elusive birds from either Island Mere Hide or Bittern Hide. Occasionally they'll walk around in front of the hide, but most views are in flight, with one female nesting quite close to Island Mere Hide so offering excellent views.
Another species of heron is playing hard to get though. A purple heron was first seen in the reedbed on Saturday and is still present today, but it's only been seen a few times each day, usually in flight west of Island Mere. Purple herons are scarce visitors to the UK, but much more widespread on the continent. Minsmere is a regular place to find overshooting migrants in the spring, though they are never easy to spot.
Purple heron at Island Mere by Dene Carter
Minsmere's other reedbed birds are behaving quite well, with bearded tits, reed warblers and marsh harriers all quite easy to see at Island Mere if you sit quietly for a while. Hobbies are becoming a bit harder to see, but there are also occasional sightings of kingfisher and water rail too. Otters are also still being seen every day - I finally managed to see one on Wednesday after they had eluded me so far this year.
The Scrape has also hosted some scarce visitors this week. The long-tailed duck remained until yesterday, but has finally moved on. Our regional reserves manager was volunteering at Minsmere today and managed to locate a lovely roseate tern on East Scrape, alongside an Arctic tern, several Sandwich terns and the breeding common terns. There are also up to 26 little terns visiting the Scrape, as well as second year little gull, two or three Mediterranean gulls and an occasional Caspian gull.
A roseate tern at Minsmere, taken a few years ago by Jon Evans
A pair of pintails on the Scrape today were unusual for June, while there are still a few northbound waders passing through, including dunlin, knot, bar-tailed godwit and turnstone this week.
Finally, although the weather has been far from springlike, and certainly not conducive to insect watching, our Learning Officer, Chris Ford, found a new species for Minsmere inside the Discovery Centre this week. This was a predatory bug called a fine-streaked bugkin, Miris striatus. The nymphs (as this individual was) are said to resemble ants, possibly as a defensive camouflage.
Minsmere's first fine-streaked bugkin by Chris Ford