Winter is officially here, at least in meteorological terms, when winter starts on 1 December - unless you follow the lunar calendar, in which case it doesn't start until 21 December. I use a different measure for recording when winter starts, and this date varies from late October to mid December. My measure is the first time I see a winter swan - by which I mean whooper or Bewick's swan.
For me, winter this year started last Thursday when I managed to spot four Bewick's swans on East Scrape, albeit seen distantly from the North Wall. The Bewick's have subsequently moved on, probably to the Fens or Severn Estuary, but with the arrival of cold weather this week we can expect more to head our way. Bewick's swans breed in Siberia, at least 3500 to the east, and make the long migrations in stages, via the Baltic states, Denmark and the Netherlands. They are small swans with back bills that have a small yellow patch at the base. This patch is usually blunt tipped, though can be slightly pointed, and never extends beyond half way down the beak.
In contrast, the whooper swan, which is our latest species of the week, is similar in size to the more familiar mute swan, and the yellow on the bill extends about two thirds of the way along the beak, always ending in a point. One way to remember this is to say "a blob of butter and a wedge of cheese" (b=Bewick's, w=whooper). Most our wintering whopper swans migrate from Iceland, flying non-stop to NW Scotland, before dispersing further south. A few, possibly including those that winter at Minsmere, will have migrated from Scandinavia instead.
A party of seven whooper swans has been at Minsmere for a couple of weeks now, though I haven't managed to see them yet. They favour the pool behind South Hide, but often feed on the North or South levels during the day. I haven't seen them myself yet this winter (this photo was taken in February), but have heard their bugling calls from within the reedbed. Swans usually remain in family parties throughout the winter, with the young birds being distinguished by their pale grey feathers and pink-based bill - as int he right hand bird in the photo. Young Bewick's are similar, but young mute swans are brown, rather than grey.
We usually have small flocks of both species of wild swan at Minsmere during the winter, but we can guarantee to see large flocks of several other species of wildfowl. Wildfowl is the collective term for ducks, geese and swans, so having covered the swans already, let's look now at the geese. Three feral species are usually present throughout the year - greylag, Canada and the diminutive barnacle goose. All have originated from captive stock, so do not migrate to the Arctic to breed.
The wild geese that winter in the UK are, generally, scarce birds at Minsmere. Dark-bellied brent geese (from Svalbard) regularly fly past offshore, occasionally resting on the Scrape, on route to estuaries farther south. Up to 400 European white-fronted geese and a handful of tundra bean geese (from western Russia) spend the winter at RSPB North Warren, and may come to Minsmere to roost on the Scrape. They are yet to arrive this year. Although very common in North norfolk and the Broads, pink-footed geese are rare here.
Six species of ducks are common at Minsmere, and you should have no problem seeing any of these between now and late April, especially on the Scrape. Teal are the smallest and most numerous, with counts of more than 1400 already this winter. Mallard are the most familiar. Shelducks are easy to spot, even from a distance, with their mainly white plumage, chestnut breastband and red bill. You'll often hear wigeons whistling before you spot them, and are most likely to see them grazing on the banks, rather than dabbling in the shallows. Shovelers are distinctive, too, with their huge flattened bills with which they filter seeds from the shallows - I was very pleased to get a picture of a drake with its bill out of the water today, even if it was trying to hide in the best picture! The final "common" duck is the gadwall, which is probably the most understated of the six.
Among these hordes of ducks, you may be lucky enough to spot the odd elegant pintail or one or two of our diving ducks. Tufted ducks are usually the commonest of these, but have become elusive of late. A female pochard has been seen a few times recently, while a lovely drake scaup has taken up residence int he pool behind South Hide, although it occasionally moves to the Scrape.
Also among the ducks are several wader species, included several hundred lapwings. Up to 20 black-tailed godwits, a dozen or so dunlins and up to six avocets should be present, along with odd turnstone or golden plover. There are lots of snipe here too, but they are often so well camouflaged that they can be hard to spot - though they were showing very well today. The gull flocks will probably include black-headed, herring, lesser and great black-backed gulls, but look carefully and you may pick out a Caspian, yellow-legged or common gull too.
There have been good numbers of red-throated divers on the sea this week, but the highlight for seawatchers has been a very unusual sighting of a puffin. there's been a guillemot or two too.
Up to three Dartford warblers and several stonechats can be seen in the dunes, while the berries int he North Bushes are attracting several redwings, fieldfares, song thrushes and blackbirds - many of the latter are continental migrants.
Although our bitterns have become more elusive of late, one was feeding close to Island Mere again this morning, until it was scared away by three otters! The great white egret conitnues to be seen occasionally in North Marsh, and a ringtail hen harrier has been spotted most afternoons. Marsh harriers should be easier to see, and the calm morning today was perfect for spotting bearded tits.
Finally, we're still waiting for the arrival of our starling murmuration, and are not sure where they are currently roosting on the Suffolk coast. We'll let you know when they return.