Despite the title of this blog, we're not expecting a visit from pop princess Kylie, but we have been treated to visit from a creature that habitually spins around. The species in question is a tiny wading bird that breeds in the high Arctic of Canada and Siberia and migrates south to spend the winter at sea off the coasts of West Africa and South America: a grey phalarope.
In the UK we know it as a grey phalarope, but in North America it's called a red phalarope. This may sound strange, until you consider how their plumage changes between seasons. North Americans see grey phalaropes during the breeding season, when the females are a gorgeous deep red, while in the UK we see them in their pale grey winter plumage.
Whatever the plumage, one distinguishing feature is a narrow black mask through the eye, often referred to as a phalarope mask. This feature is shared with the red-necked phalarope which breeds in tiny numbers in Scotland and also occasionally arrives at Minsmere on migration, when they can be easily confused with grey phalaropes. Red-necked phalaropes tend to occur at Minsmere in May-early June or August-September. Grey phalaropes are more likely to arrive here in late September to November, especially after autumn gales, so today's bird is quite a late arrival.
Grey phalarope by Jon Evans
Although they are waders, phalaropes spend most of their lives swimming, where they feed on tiny aquatic insects. Both species regularly feed by spinning in tiny spirals, which is thought to help them stir up invertebrates from deeper down and bring them to the surface. They are tiny birds, being similar in size to a dunlin - or a starling - which makes their aquatic lifestyle even more remarkable.
The grey phalarope spent most of the day feeding on West Scrape, where it could be watched from Wildlife Lookout. Other birds on West Scrape included ten black-tailed godwits and good numbers of wigeon, gadwall, shelduck, shoveler, teal and mallard, as well as herring and great black-backed gulls and a very wind-blown male pheasant. A similar mix of species can be seen from the other hides overlooking the Scrape.
Teal and gadwall by Ian Barthorpe
In the North Bushes and woodland areas there were large mixed tit flocks, including great, blue, marsh, coal and long-tailed tits as well as treecreepers and goldcrests. Other sightings here included redwings, migrant blackbirds, robins and a couple of bullfinches.
At Island Mere there were the regular marsh harriers and bittern sightings as well as a jack snipe, two common snipe and a flock of nine Bewick's swans. The latter flew towards the South levels, where two peregrines were hunting yesterday. The most unexpected bird seen yesterday was a raven that flew over Eastbridge in the morning - we only see one of two ravens each year at Minsmere, and they have always eluded me. One day I'll see one here!