Up from the depths

As regular readers of these blogs will know, Minsmere has an amazing variety of wildlife, from majestic red deer to minute fungi, but some species remain hidden from view, below ground of beneath the water. Just occasionally they may leave the safety of their burrows or pond, affording visitors a rare glimpse.

During a Father's Day visit with my family on Sunday we were lucky enough to find one of these soil dwellers on the surface. Just outside the visitor centre, we paused to look at the antlion larval pits when my wife spotted something moving across the surface. Scooping it up for a closer look I quickly realised it was an antlion larva.

An antlion larva by Ian Barthorpe

It was a rare opportunity to look carefully at a creature that we talk a lot about but rarely see. These larva usually remain below ground, digging themselves a shallow conical pit in loose sand. They remain buried at the base of this pit, waiting for a hapless ant to fall in, then flick grains at sand at it until it falls to the bottom. They then use those impressive pincers to grab the ant and eat it - hence the name. Many of the larva were flicking grains of sand on Sunday as they enlarged their pits. The adult antlions, when they emerge, are nocturnal so also rarely seen, except in a moth trap.

Another species whose presence at Minsmere is obvious but it is rarely seen itself is the mole. Although mole hills are found in most of Minsmere's habitats, it's a species that few people get to see. This morning one of our wardens was lucky enough to spot a mole crawling along the ground close to the Wildlife Lookout. It stayed out long enough for her to get a quick photo before disappearing ointo the more familiar habitat of a dark underground burrow.

Mole by Christine Hall

Some of our hole-dwelling species are easier to see, of course. As well as the numerous rabbits, there's the sand martins nesting close to the visitor centre. Watch carefully and you may spot the chicks waiting at the entrance hole of their burrow for their parents to bring them a meal. Close to here, the water vole is continuing to show well at times in the pond, even when school groups are pond dipping.

Another rare observation on Sunday was a damselfly larva swimming close to the nesting sticklebacks in the ditch near Wildlife Lookout. Although we often catch these while pond dipping, we don't often see them at other times. The sticklebacks themselves are still attracting a lot of attention - and there is a sign at Island Mere pointing out where Spineless Si is fanning is fry.

There's a good variety of adult dragonflies and damselflies to spot now. I saw my first emperor dragonfly of the year - our biggest species - on Sunday, as well as hairy dragonflies, norfolk hawkers, broad-bodied and four-spotted chasers, black-tailed skimmers and several damselfly species.

Large red damselfly by Ian Barthorpe

Then, of course, there's the birds. With wader migration getting underway, recent sightings on the Scrape have included common sandpiper, knot, dunlins, juvenile little ringed plovers and some very dapper summer plumage spotted redshanks, as well as redshank, avocets and oystercatchers all with chicks and up to 300 black-tailed godwits. There are several little gulls and the first Sandwich terns and little terns are beginning to return from colonies elsewhere. If you stay until dusk there's a good gull roost on the Scrape too, with highlights including at least 50 Mediterranean and five yellow-legged gulls - some of which may be spotted by day.

Cuckoos are still calling around the reedbed, and a turtle dove was heard in the North Bushes yesterday. Families of tits, finches and warblers can be spotted flitting around the woods or among  the reeds, and bitterns continue to show very well at Island Mere and the North Wall.

With so much variety, why don't you plan another visit to see us soon.