There is something really special about the early morning and late evening light at Minsmere, which is why you'll often find our volunteer photographers burning the candle at both ends, and this week they've sent me a selection of their favourite images which perfectly sum up why they get up so early, or stay long after I've gone home. So good, in fact, that I feel that I have to feature a few in this week's blog.
The action at Island Mere is often best very early in the day, and David Naylor has certainly made the most of the early morning light this week, capturing some incredibly crisp images of a couple of white birds, in particular. As any photographer knows, it can be easy to overexpose white birds, but David has achieved the perfect balance of white bird against plain background with this stunning Great Egret coming in to land in front of the hide.
This is just one of four species of white heron-type bird that has spotted this week, with the usual Little Egrets also joined by a couple of Cattle Egrets, and up to seven Spoonbills present on the Scrape. In fact, it shows how many fish there are in the reedbed as there are also still several families of Great Crested Grebes at Island Mere, as well as the expected Cormorants.
Among the moulting ducks on the mere, look carefully and you should spot Pochard and Tufted Ducks, plus perhaps a Little Grebe or two. With luck a Kingfisher might fly past, or a Hobby might dart past in pursuit of a hapless dragonfly. You are perhaps more likely to see a few Marsh Harriers, or maybe a Buzzard or two. This Buzzard, also beautifully photographed by David Naylor, is an exceptionally pale individual, looking at first glance like an Osprey. The latter is always a possibility in September as they head south for the winter, and one was briefly spotted at Minsmere last weekend.
Another bird of prey, the Kestrel, is one of my favourite birds, and I was absolutely blown away by Les Cater's incredible images of a Kestrel catching Great Green Bush-crickets on the beach last night. I just have to share these two pictures here, as an example.
Les also recently sent me a few more unusual images of the life and death struggles on the reserve, including this wonderful picture of a spider devouring a damselfly.
Survival is the name of the game for many of our birds, too, with hundreds of wading birds pausing on the Scrape to refuel in the shallow water and muddy margins before continuing their long journeys southwards. Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits remain the most numerous, but with a bit of patience - and perhaps the expert help of our volunteer guides - you might spot some or all of the following other waders species (or even something different): Ringed, Little Ringed or Grey Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Dunlin, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff, Snipe, Whimbrel, Curlew, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Green or Common Sandpiper or Turnstone.
As well as waders, there are various ducks, geese and gulls to look for on the Scrape, including Barnacle, Greylag, Canada and Egyptian Geese, Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Little Gull, Herring Gull and both black-backed gulls.
While most of us are quite happy to sit and watch and marvel at the shear numbers and variety of birds, photographers like Les, David and Steve Everett (whose photos I regularly share with you) spend hours waiting for THE shot. The one (or two or three) photo that makes you sit and say, "Wow!" Yet again, Les came up trumps with this beautiful Avocet in the golden glow of the sunset.
Finally, I can't let this week's blog finish without mentioning the Nightjar that wowed visitors last Sunday. Nightjars are typically tricky birds to see, being active almost exclusively at dusk and through the night. It is very rare to see one at all during the day, so you can imagine everyone's surprise when our volunteer, David Staff, spotted this one roosting on a low branch just a few metres from the visitor centre! Incredibly, it remained in the same spot until early afternoon, before eventually flying off, presumably to continue it's migration.
As you might expect, we had many photos of this superb bird sent to us via our social media channels, including this one by visitor, Michael Dyson.
If you have any photos of Minsmere, especially in the golden hour or two at either end of the day, we'd love to see them, either here or on our social media channels. You can find us on X/Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @rspbminsmere.