They've been a long time in coming, but on Sunday we finally welcomed two smews to Minsmere for the winter.
Smews are scarce winter visitors to the UK, with only a few hundred present in most winters, but the mild weather this year has made them even rarer than usual, with very few present at event heir regular haunts. They are small diving ducks that breed in the high Arctic and spend the winter in wetlands throughout western and central Europe. It seems that most have decided to stay in countries such as Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands this year, rather than crossing the North Sea. We usually expect the first ones in mid December, with the last ones leaving in mid March, so there was a real possibility that none would arrive.
Drake smew are stunning black and white birds, known colloquially as white nuns. The equally attractive females and young birds are called redheads and have chestnut caps, white cheeks and grey bodies, and it's two redheads that have arrived this week. They are feeding on the Scrape, spending much of their time underwater, and can be quite mobile.
Redhead smew by Jon Evans
The Scrape itself is looking superb, with large flocks of ducks in their finest colours and courtship already well underway. A nice flock of about 50 dunlins is usually present on the Scrape, as well as a few ringed plovers, oystercatchers, redshanks and black-tailed godwits. West Scrape looks particularly good now that several of the islands and banks have been reprofiled, and the digger has now move to East Scrape to continue preparations for the coming breeding season.
The view from North Hide this week. Photo by Ian Barthorpe
In the reedbed there have been regular sightings of otters at Island Mere this week, as well as bitterns and an occasional kingfisher. At least nien marsh harriers are present, and already displaying, while two ringtail hen harriers were a surprise sighting for a few lucky visitors last night.
Four whooper swans continue to commute around the reedbed, and a few Bewick's swans are sometimes among the mute swan flock feeding on fields south of Island Mere - viewable from Whin Hill.
The other star attraction, for those lucky enough to spot it, is the firecrest that continues to reside around the Rhododendron Tunnel/Scotts Hall area - there are probably still two birds there. Flocks of long-tailed tits, goldcrests and siskins can also be seen in the woods.
Don't forget that you can also keep up to date with news on sightings and events on the RSPBSuffolk Facebook page, or @RSPBMinsmere on Twitter. You don't need your own accounts to view our postings - just click on the links.