I certainly picked a good time to go on holiday, with the bee-eater turning up on the first day of my break! While it was obviously disappointing to miss such a stunning bird, I was at least able to find a few species that are hard to come by in Suffolk: chough, raven, Manx shearwater, shag and what could be the first ever wild Dalmation pelican in the UK were among the wildlife highlights of my week in Cornwall.
In my absence it seems that a lot has been happening here at Minsmere too. One of the most significant things has been the replacement of the steps over the seawall into East Hide. I remember helping to replace a previous incarnation of steps here when volunteering at Minsmere many moons ago!
Another significant event was the opening of our seasonal North Levels Trail. This path, which is 3/4 mile long, takes you along the north side of the New Cut, via the edge of the Konik Field, to a series of pools that usually remain hidden from view for visitors. The walk itself can be a great place to watch butterflies - with regular sightings of clouded yellow among others - as well as flocks of goldfinches feeding on seeding thistles.
However, for many visitors the real reason for the walk is to look for wading birds on the pools at the far end of the trail. These pools are always good for watching herons and little egrets, and this week they've been attracting a good variety of waders too. The waders can be mobile between these pools, the Scrape (especially South Scrape at the moment) and the pool south of the Chapel Field, so it's difficult to predict what you might you see, but the walk is certainly worth it.
Waders seen over the past week or so have included maxima of: nine avocets, little ringed, 12 ringed, two golden and one grey plover, 15 lapwings, two knots, one sanderling, ten little stints, an impressive 38 curlew sandpipers, 120 dunlins, 22 ruffs, 24 snipe, 121 black-tailed godwits, one whimbrel, three curlews, 25 spotted redshanks, 29 redshanks, 15 greenshanks, 19 green sandpipers, six wood sandpipers, 17 common sandpipers and a turnstone.
Little stint by Jon Evans
It's not just waders either, with increasing numbers of teals, gadwalls and wigeons, a couple of garganeys, bitterns and bearded tits seen along the trail too. It's also been a good place for watching birds of prey, including nine buzzards, a red kite, peregrine, marsh harriers, kestrels and an osprey today - the latter fishing over Island Mere. The honey buzzard continues to make occasion visits too.
Osprey by Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com)
For those not wanting to trek down the North Levels Trail, many of these birds can also be seen from the Scrape hides. Other highlights on the Coast Trail (via the Scrape) include the stone-curlews, still with chick, from the North Wall watchpoint, several common and lesser whitethroats in the North Bushes, a pied flycatcher nearby today, the bee-wolfs in North Bushes and wasp spiders along the dunes, bearded tits, water rails and various dragonflies and butterflies.
A brown hawker dragonfly eating a wasp, by Ian Barthorpe
The Island Mere trail has produced bitterns, otters, bearded tits, kingfishers and more all week too.
We also have the final Waveney Bird Club ringing demonstration of the summer on Thursday, so if the kids haven't gone back to school yet why not bring them along for close views of various tits, finches, warbler and even the woodpecker or two.