It's that time of year when birds are no longer the main topic of conversation at the Minsmere reception desk. Instead, many visitors are asking about our mammals. As part of our 70 species to spot challenge, we've set you the target of finding six species of mammals this year, some easier than others.
Of these six, rabbit and konik Polski are by far the easiest. The former are common and relatively easy to spot in grassy areas of the reserve, such as Whin Hill, the North Bushes, and even the car park. In fact, few visits to Minsmere will go by without spotting both rabbits and grey squirrels. Konik Polski translates as little Polish horse, and some of these beautiful ponies are currently grazing the area in front of North Hide, alongside our Highland cattle. While not strictly wild animals, their popularity with visitors made them essential to include in the 70 species list.
Konik Polski
The other four mammals in the list are all easier to see in certain seasons, and can be very difficult at other times. Water voles can be easy in the spring and early summer, especially in the pond near the visitor centre, alongside the much scarcer water shrew, but both become harder later in the year as they vegetation grows thicker and provides more cover. They are, however, still being reported there. Another of the 70 species was, surprisingly, seen in the pond on Saturday when a kingfisher was spotted fishing there, but they are generally easier around the Scrape and at Island Mere.
Any encounter with a stoat is always exciting, and these sleek predators can be very elusive, but they are usually easier to spot in late spring and early summer when the females have a nest of hungry kits to feed - many of you will remember the "super-mum" stoat during BBC Springwatch in 2016.
Otters are even more tricky to spot, so any sighting is a surprise and highly memorable. With patience and luck (especially the latter) they can be seen at any time of year or day. Most sightings are at Island Mere or Bittern Hide, but one trotted in front of North Hide on Saturday, too. Early mornings are generally more productive for seeing otters, but your chances will be greatly enhanced by a mid winter visit to Island Mere. The closely related badger is even harder to find, as they are almost entirely nocturnal, but there have been a couple of recent sightings around the Rhododendron Tunnel at dusk.
The final species of mammal in the 70 species perhaps the most impressive. Red deer stags are the largest native land mammal in the UK, and late September through October sees them return to Minsmere for the annual rut. The rut seems to have started early this year, with at least two stags already bellowing across the heath, although several more will arrive over the next couple of weeks as the action really heats up. The red deer rut is one of the best wildlife spectacles in the UK, and always very popular with visitors.
The best place to watch the rut from is the footpath along the southern edge of Westleton Heath, accessed via a track south of the main Westleton to Dunwich road, about two miles from the visitor centre. From here, you should be able to see the deer about 300-500 metres away. If you are unsure of the location, then pop into the visitor centre first and we'll provide you with a map showing you where to park and walk. Visit around dawn and dusk for the best action.
The heather and gorse still look pretty impressive on the heath too - this was taken in late October
During October we also run several 4x4 tours to see the deer rut from closer quarters. Although these are all fully booked already this year, we are planning to add a few extra tours, so keep an eye on these pages, as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages for details. Once advertised, any extra safaris are sure to sell quickly, so don't delay.
Of course, there are still lots of birds around too. It looks like the citrine wagtail may finally have gone, having been last seen close to East Hide for ten minutes on Saturday afternoon. However, shortly before that a gorgeous juvenile red-necked phalarope landed on East Scrape. This tiny wader breeds in the high Arctic and spends the winter out at sea in either the Arabian Sea or the Pacific Ocean. They are excellent swimmers and often spin around rapidly as they pick insects off the surface. It was still present this morning.
Other notable sightings over the weekend included the first (very early) snow bunting of the winter among a flock of linnets on the dunes, a little stint on the Scrape, and the returning drake mandarin among the ducks on the Scrape. Numbers of ducks have increased rapidly in recent days, with several hundred teals now present, and at least 50 wigeons whistling away. Other waders include a few avocets, spotted redshanks, bar-tailed godwits and ruffs, several dunlins, ringed plovers and snipe and good numbers of lapwings and black-tailed godwits.
Birds of prey have been prominent too. At least 20 common buzzards passed over on Friday morning, and at least seven hobbies were over South Belt later in the day. I watched one of these catching dragonflies at the rate of about one every 20 seconds. The sheer numbers of common darters on the wing no doubt helped this hunting prowess. Other birds of prey to look out for at the moment include sparrowhawks, marsh harriers, kestrels and peregrines, while a tawny owl is often heard calling by day in South Belt.
Jays have become much more obvious as they find and store hundreds of acorns for the winter. So too have coal tits, marsh tits and nuthatches around the feeders, and bearded tits in the reedbed.
Jay by Peter Simpson (blueskybirds.co.uk)