It may only be the end of January, but there are already plenty of signs that spring is just around the corner. You only have to set foot outside, whether here at Minsmere, at home or int he office, to notice the increase in birdsong. Robins are particularly vocal, and you may be lucky enough to have a song thrush or mistle thrush singing locally. Our woods are full of singing blue, great and marsh tits, wrens and dunnocks, while Cetti's warblers can be heard within the reedbed. Blackbirds and chaffinches are likely to join the chorus soon, too. How long will it be until we hear the first bittern?
This is perhaps the best time of year to learn birdsong, with fewer species singing and a lack of foliage making them easier to spot, and therefore identify. It's worth taking the chance to learn our commoner garden and woodland birds now, before the migrants begin to return in mid March. By April, the volume and variety of birdsong will be much higher, and they'll be harder to see. Don't worry, though, as our volunteer guides will be ready to assist. Why not book onto one of our Sounds of Spring or Dawn Chorus guided walks to benefit from their expert help. We even include a breakfast.
Another clear sign of the changing seasons and lengthening days is the start of courtship behaviour. Most of our ducks are already beginning to pair up, long before they return to breeding grounds in Siberia or Scandinavia. Courtship is quite ritualised in many species, and includes head thrusts, puffed out chests, tail flicks, aerial chases and splash-diving. It's worth spending a bit of time in one of the Scrape hides and watching their antics. Among the hordes of wigeons, gadwalls, teals, shovelers, mallards and shelducks, you should spot several pintails - at least 50 were counted this morning. A few tufted ducks are present on East Scrape, and the odd goosander continues to drop in now and then. The redhead smew and drake green-winged teal are both still here, but take a bit more effort to find. Two drake goldeneyes spent a couple of days at Island Mere over the weekend, bringing the total number of duck species up to 12, and that's not including the small flock of common scoters that can often be spotted offshore!
Drake shoveler by Steve Everett
There's still time to book a place on Sunday's Winter Wildfowl Walk, celebrating World Wetlands Day. Your guide, Margaret, will help you to learn your ducks, geese and swans (the latter still includes up to seven whooper swans), as well as pointing some of the other wintering waterfowl on the Scrape: lapwings, avocets, black-tailed godwits, turnstones, little egrets and moorhens.
There's courtship above the reedbed, too, where marsh harriers can often be heard calling, and on sunny days you may spot them starting to skydance. They're not fully into the swing of courtship yet, though, with up to 30 marsh harriers continuing to join the communal roost. A dusk visit to Bittern Hide or Island Mere to watch the harriers may be rewarded with a hunting barn owl, sparrowhawk, or even merlin, as all have been seen recently. A peregrine was chasing lapwings over the North Wall this morning, and at least three buzzards can often be seen in the Whin Hill/Island Mere area.
Buzzard over Whin Hill yesterday
Perhaps the best indication that spring is around the corner is when our flowers begin to bloom. I spotted my first daffodils more than two weeks ago, and those behind the visitor centre are coming into bud. In contrast, the snowdrops and crocuses in my garden only appeared this weekend, and I was pleased to see several snowdrops flowering close to the car park entrance today.
One of my favourite early spring flowers is best seen by looking up, rather than down, though, and hazel catkins can be seen dangling, tail-like from trees throughout the woods. The areas around the pond and the foot of Whin Hill are good places to look for them.
Please note, that the Woodland Trail and Canopy Hide will be closed for the next few weeks while our contractors undertake some tree thinning work, which will benefit ground flora and invertebrates and help other trees to gain a competitive advantage.
It may still be a bit early for much insect or reptile activity, but we usually see the first adders, brimstone butterflies and buff-tailed bumblebees in early February. It is, however, a good time to look for mammals, with two otters putting in regular appearances at Island Mere and Bittern Hide, several grey seals offshore, and regular sightings of red deer around the reserve. In fact, you have a very good chance f seeing three species of mammal within a few metres of the visitor centre reception, where a very tame muntjac, several rabbits and a few grey squirrels vie for visitors' attention as they try to beat the tits, finches and pheasants to the birdfood!
Finally, a reminder that you can find details of all our guided walks, family activities and other events on our website, and latest news about sightings and habitat management work on Twitter and Facebook.