After almost two months with barely a drop of rain, the last three days have been a bit of a shock to the system. The rain, though, was much needed, as it brought much needed relief to gardens, and more importantly to wetland habitats that were looking decidedly dry for the time of year.
Rain may not be so welcome for human visitors, but the weather systems that bring the rain are often responsible for bringing unusual birds with them - or at least for bringing in commoner species in good numbers. And so it has proved this week.
The first significant rain on Wednesday coincided with a visit by most of the Minsmere team to our wonderful reserve at Lakenheath Fen, in West Suffolk, where we were sharing ideas and experiences in order to try to improve both reserves. Of course, the rain meant that our visit was less productive for some of the wildlife, with only a couple of hobbies seen, but we did manage to spot their long-staying glossy ibis, loads of dancing mayflies, a couple of lovely banded demoiselle damselflies and a couple of kingfishers, all the while accompanied by calling cuckoos - something that has been sadly lacking at Minsmere this year.
With so many staff away from Minsmere, it was perhaps inevitable that something unusual would arrive here, so we weren't really surprised to hear that a black-winged stilt had been found on West Scrape. This incredibly long-legged wader from southern Europe is an increasingly regular visitor to the UK, but still somewhat of a rarity at Minsmere. A few staff members did mange to relocate it on the North levels in the evening, but sadly it had moved on again by Thursday morning.
The stilt was perhaps even more of a bonus this year, for those lucky enough to see it, as we've generally had a quieter spring than usual for wader migration, but there are still a few bar-tailed godwits, common sandpipers and turnstones passing through.
The first avocet chicks were reported this week, but don't appear to have survived for long. There are lots of black-headed gull chicks appearing on the Scrape, and still several pairs of Mediterranean gulls, common and Sandwich terns nesting on the Scrape. Barnacle, greylag and Canada goslings are also present, while the bar-headed geese are still nesting and the mandarin remains.
Canada geese with goslings
Another surprise visitor was a black kite reported over Westleton Heath this morning, with nightingales, turtle doves and Dartford warblers also on the heath. Similarly brief was a first summer male red-footed falcon over the poplars south of Island Mere this afternoon - sadly spotted a few minutes after Matt and I had left the hide after watching a hobby hawking low over the mere.
Juvenile bearded tits have been seen along the North Wall this week, and at least one bittern nest has been located, increasing your chances of spotting a bittern. The showery weather today also brought huge numbers of swifts and house martins in low over the reedbeds.
During a break in the weather yesterday, water voles, water shrews and a grass snake were all seen at the pond, alongside various dragonflies, while another water shrew was seen at East Hide today.
With more, although fewer, showers forecast over the weekend, perhaps some more unusual visitors may arrive.