As last week, the star of this week's species of the week blog is better known as a spring migrant, yet is featuring in early autumn. Cuckoos have sadly been declining in the UK for several years, and have become increasingly scarce in many parts of southern and eastern England - though they may actually be increasing in parts of Scotland. So much so, in fact, that I failed to hear a single cuckoo at Minsmere this spring, though odd birds were regularly heard by our visitors and volunteers.
As anyone who remembers the old folk-rhyme about cuckoos will know, "he changes his tune in the middle of June and then he flies away." This is indeed true for the males, which migrate back to West Africa as soon as they've completed the importance business of mating. The adult females follow soon after, once their eggs are laid - if you follow their migration via the BTO website then you'll know that some swallows are already back int he Congo rainforest.
However, it's not unusual to see young cuckoos feeding around the reserve in late July into mid August, before they head south, aided only by the in-built navigational skills possessed by many birds. It is more unusual for cuckoos to linger into September, but at least one juvenile still seems quite at home on the Scrape, where it is presumably finding a good supply of caterpillars to help it to build up its fat reserves. I was lucky enough to spot this cuckoo twice last week, and snapped this photo of it close to East Hide on Saturday. It has been seen again this morning, too. So, if you haven't added cuckoo to your 70 species challenge list yet, there may still be a chance for a day or two.
My reason for being in East Hide on a Saturday lunchtime was to follow up earlier reports of a pectoral sandpiper, in the hope of spotting this trans-Atlantic wader. No luck with this bird, which was not seen after it's initial report, but there were several other waders to spot including 100+ black-tailed godwits, 20 avocets, six ruffs, six spotted redshanks, 12 dunlins and six ringed plovers. Lapwing, teal and gadwall numbers are increasing too, and a few wigeons are starting to return.
While I was in East Hide, news came over the radio that a first winter citrine wagtail had been photographed there during the morning. Citrine wagtails are rare autumn migrants, mainly along the east coast. They breed in eastern Europe and winter in India, so like others seen in the UK, this bird had initially migrated in the wrong direction - a phenomena known as reverse migration.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find the bird among the pied wagtails - or so I thought - and returned to the visitor centre slightly frustrated. My frustration only increased after a bit of internet searching when I saw several photos of first winter citrine wagtails and realised that I had, in fact, seen the bird at lunchtime, but had not been familiar enough with the key ID features, having never seen one in that plumage before. So, when Paul radioed to say that it was showing well from East Hide at about 4.30 pm, I knew I had to try again.
Luckily, Matt knew that I'd like to see the wagtail so he agreed to lock up and I headed back out to East Hide, this time half running, half walking. I was in luck, as Paul, Dave and several of our regulars still had the bird in view and I was able to confirm my first sighting of a citrine wagtail in the UK. Better still, it was coming closer to the hide. And closer! And closer! So close, in fact, that despite the limitations of my camera compared to many birdwatchers, I was able to snap a couple of photos of it feeding on the closest island to the hide.
In this plumage, citrine wagtails are difficult to tell apart from young pied and yellow wagtails, but note the white lores (the small area between bill and eye), the pale supercilium (eyebrow) extending into a pale curve behind the cheeks, clean white underparts lacking yellow under the tail, and the bold white wingbars. They also have a distinctively different call, and this bird was very vocal.
Once I heard the bird calling, I realised that I had actually heard it last Thursday as it flew over the Konik Field with two pied wagtails, but I had not been familiar with the call. In fact, the bird has almost certainly been present since last Sunday, when one of our volunteers was sure he'd seen a citrine wagtail on East Scrape but it couldn't be relocated. The bird is still present today, but can be elusive at it is very mobile around the Scrape, often hiding among the mares-tail on West Scrape, but patience has been rewarded for many visitors.
Another scarce visitor on Saturday was a very early male hen harrier seen flying high over the Scrape late morning. We don't usually expect the first autumn migrant until the end of September. Other birds of prey that are more expected at this time of year include marsh harriers, buzzards, hobbies, kestrels and sparrowhawks, and all are seen every day. Little egret, grey heron, bittern and otter are also seen every day.
For many visitors, kingfisher is a target bird from a visit to Minsmere, and September is a good month to see them. Two birds are often seen around the Scrape, especially in the ditch in front of the Public Viewpoint. Likewise, water rails are popular, and can often be seen around the edge of the Scrape at this time of year.
Despite the showery weather, when the sun shines there are still a few insects to spot, including good numbers of common darters (photo below) and migrant hawkers, willow emerald damselflies, several brown argus, small copper and red admiral butterflies, and various beetles.
As more and more migrants begin to arrive later this month, who knows, perhaps we'll find another rare visitor in the coming weeks.