"Watch where you step!" A phrase you might hear on Digger Alley, as concerned visitors and volunteers urge you avoid stepping on a burrow, or worse on an unsuspecting insect.
Fortunately, the Beewolves, Green-eyed Flower-bees, Pantaloon Bees and other residents of Digger Alley are a resilient bunch. Being small, it's rare for us to squish them, even with my big feet. They're well used to re-excavating their burrows after heavy rain, or disturbance by a Rabbit (in fact Rabbit scrapings are ideal substrates in which to start digging), so everything will soon return to normal, even if we do step on burrow entrance.
I love the names of some of the residents, too. As if Pantaloon Bee wasn't a cool enough name, how about seeing a Pointy-bum Bee (AKA Sharp-tailed Bee). I was pretty excited to have my best ever sighting of one on Monday, but not quick enough to grab a photo, so here's a library picture instead.
Pointy-bum Bee by Steve Everett - it's easy to see where the name comes from!
"Watch where you step!" Walk slowly as you cross the pond boardwalk and take a minute to look along the supporting timbers beneath your feet, as the Water Voles often sit there to chew on a juicy leaf or stem.
"Watch where you step!" I wish someone had shouted that at me this morning when a snake slithered beneath by sandals as I walked to the Visitor Centre. I was only two steps behind one of our volunteers coming down the steps, when I glimpsed the snake in my peripheral vision, just as I was about to stand on it! I just had time to react by skipping into the air - probably the lightest I've been on my feet for a while - and shouting something unrepeatable in shock. Looking round, I was relieved to see that it was a large Grass Snake, not an Adder, but also disappointed not to have time for a photo.
"Watch where you step!" Twice in one day, this is getting ridiculous. I was midway between Wildlife Lookout and South Hide on my lunchtime walk, when a Stoat darted from the reeds just a metre in front of me, before darting quickly back into cover. I guess it was just as shocked to see me towering above it as I was to see it. Again, no time for a photo, so here's another library image.
Stoat by Steve Everett
Perhaps what's most surprising about these two close encounters, is that for once this week I wasn't looking carefully for some of the smaller species found at Minsmere, as insects have been a bit of theme of my walks now that the sun has finally deigned to put to put in an appearance for long enough.
July is typically the best month for some of our more exciting butterflies, and they have certainly been very active this week. The area behind Bittern Hide seems to a particularly good place to look for both White Admiral and Purple Hairstreak, and the first Purple Emperor of the year was spotted there last Sunday. White Admirals can also be seen along the Woodland Trail, where at least a dozen Silver-washed Fritillaries make for a truly spectacular sight, flitting among the Brambles and Bracken on huge orange wings.
Whin Hill is also a great area to look for butterflies, though these tend to be less showy species: smaller, mainly brown or orange, keeping low to the ground. Look out, in particular for Small Skipper and the almost identical Essex Skipper (the colour of the underside of the antennae is a key ID feature!), Small Copper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Gatekeeper, Small Heath and the tiny Brown Argus, which despite its name and appearance is actually one of the blue butterflies!
Brown Argus
It's also a good time for some dragonflies, including some of our bigger and more visible species, such as Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker and Emperor. Common and Ruddy Darters often perch on fences or benches, and Black-tailed Skimmers may be resting on the paths. Emerald, Blue-tailed and Common Blue are among the more obvious damselflies around at the moment.
Returning to the theme of avoiding where you step, one of our volunteers recently sent me this picture of a Norfolk Hawker that she rescued from the track. You can clearly see the yellow triangle on its back that gives us the second part of its scientific name (Aeshna isoceles), and the big green eyes from which we get the name most widely used across Europe: Green-eyed Hawker. Either name is probably now better that Norfolk Hawker as this once rare dragonfly is now widespread across SE England.
Norfolk Hawker by Jenny Anderson
Of course, there are birds to be seen too. Lots of them. Let's start at Island Mere, where hundreds of ducks are gathering to moult: Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard, Tufted Duck and Pochard. Among them are good numbers of Coots and several broods of both Little and Great Crested Grebes. One of our volunteers shared this gorgeous photo with us, and I had to include it in this week's blog.
Great Crested Grebe with a meal for its chick. Photo by David Naylor
I've featured many of David's photos recently, with good reason, many of which are the reward of hours spent watching from Island Mere Hide, often whilst monitoring Bittern nesting behaviour. While the Bitterns are becoming less predictable to spot now that most of the chicks have fledged, the juvenile Marsh Harriers are putting on a good show. Not the gingery crown and overall dark plumage compared to adult females (which have a creamy crown) or the three-tine males.
Juvenile Marsh Harrier by David Naylor
Moving onto the Scrape, Spoonbill numbers increased to 11 this morning, with both Little Egret ann Grey Heron often seen, too. Many Common Terns are now fledging, but the nesting Sandwich Terns have sadly failed. The first Little Terns have started to appear, having nested farther north, and at least a couple of Arctic Terns remain. Little Gull numbers are starting to increase, two, and several Mediterranean Gulls remain, but Black-headed Gull numbers are falling as bird move away after breeding.
Late July is one of the best times to look for migrant wading birds on the Scrape, which this week have included Spotted Redshanks, Ruffs, Dunlins, Green and Common Sandpipers, Ringed and Little Ringed Plovers and the first Curlew Sandpipers of the year. Many of these have already started to moult out of their breeding finery, as can be seen from the photos, below.
Spotted Redshank (above) and Ruff (below) moulting into winter plumage
By far the most numerous waders at the moment, though, are the flocks of Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets. The former may stay with us all autumn in various numbers, but Avocets usually start to move to estuaries along the south coast by the end of the August, so enjoy them while you can.
"Watch where you step!" This Avocet almost like it is admiring its beautiful long blue-grey legs.