As Springwatch draws to a close for another year, the wildlife can once again return to centre stage at Minsmere, and many species are already vying to steal the limelight.
Bitterns in particular have been very popular, with one male continuing to parade around in front of Bittern Hide, even booming out in the open at times. The female that is nesting near Bittern Hide is also easy to spot (with some patience) as she returns regularly with food for her young.
Competition at Island Mere is provided by the sticklebacks fanning their nests beneath the boardwalk, with regular sightings of reed warblers, reed buntings and bearded tits around the hide. Marsh harriers, hobbies and a red kite have almost been playing second fiddle, while the otters play a cameo role.
Another headline act is the water vole, which has been showing really well in the pond, with a supporting cast of water shrew, grass snake and Norfolk hawker dragonflies.
The stoat family that has featured so prominently on Springwatch have become ever tamer, and today they took up residence in a rabbit burrow within the car park.
Out on the Scrape the cast have almost become also rans, despite the presence of avocets, 150 black-headed gulls, Mediterranean gulls, a little gull, a Caspian gull, shelducks and a few returning ruffs and spotted redshanks.
For me, though, the stars today were the insects, with sightings of Norfolk hawkers, broad-bodied and four-spotted chasers, blue-tailed damselflies, brown argus and small heath butterflies, cinnabar moths and several species of butterflies. As it is National Insect Week, it therefore seems very apt to show you photos of some of these species.
Brown argus, underwing and upperwing (below)
A bumblebee on birds-foot trefoil