Guest blog by Ryan Deal, regular Minsmere visitor and sometime volunteer guide
The great thing about Minsmere is, no matter how many times you visit, it’s never the same. My visit today was no exception. With all the recent firecrest furore, I couldn’t resist a trip to the Rhododendron Tunnel to see what all the fuss was about. This meant breaking my usual habit of looking for Wesley (the water vole) on the pond, before rummaging for winter thrushes in North Bushes and eventually getting around to exploring North Wall and The Scrape. It all made a nice change though; despite the wintry chill in the air, the early morning sunshine still shone through, giving the entire reserve the familiar warmth I’ve missed so much.
Naturally, the firecrests were playing hard to get. I waited for a while. Goldcrest after goldcrest appeared just to tease us as we scanned through the thick, green foliage. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lovely bird in itself, but I had never seen a firecrest and the ‘dynasty’ of mischievous little creatures kept getting in the way.
A rear view of one of the goldcrests was the best Ryan could manage as they flitted about.
It wasn’t long, however, until the keen ears of David, the wildlife guide, showed up on the scene and heard the firecrest’s sharp, ascending call. And what an incredibly smart looking bird it turned out to be, once we finally managed to get a decent view of it! Business end of the trip: Complete.
For me, this time of year, no trip to Minsmere is complete without stopping in at Island Mere hide, especially to see the flirtations of the marsh harriers over the reedbeds. The spirit of spring seems to have well and truly set in, and the sky-dancing harriers were just the beginning. Out on the mere I could see the great crested grebes were already coming into summer plumage too. This is great news. One of the best things about March is seeing the elaborate courtship displays of the great crested grebe, ‘weed dancing’ and contorting their necks into unimaginable shapes. I sat in here and watched for an hour or so, chatting to some of the lovely visitors. It’s always so very relaxing.
As today’s was only a brief visit, I only had time for a quick cheese scone before a trip to the other side of the reserve. There was no sign of Wesley as I passed over the pond but there was plenty to see from North Hide, despite looking south into the weak springtime sun. Two ‘redhead’ smew proved elusive on The Scrape, whilst a flock of siskins foraged behind the hide. A pair of what appeared to be common (mealy) redpoll also came down to The Scrape for a quick drink, before being spooked by a few of the larger dunlin that were scurrying around.
My first ever firecrest and the redpoll on The Scrape were enough to make this trip, seemingly just like every trip to Minsmere, unique.
While Ryan didn't see Wesley, here's a lovely water vole by Jon Evans