It's not often that I start our sightings round up with mammal news, but then it's also not often that we see Stoats in their white winter coats this far south. Stoats are beautiful animals whenever you them, with their lithe bodies, shiny chestnut coats, white chin and black-tipped tail. In southern parts of their range, most will stay like this throughout their lives, but in the north they moult their coat in winter, becoming white but retaining the black tail tip. This white fur is known as Ermine and was very popular in the fur trade. Here at Minsmere, we occasionally see the odd Stoat that is partially white, but rarely wholly white. One such example has been regularly seen at Bittern Hide in the past week or so. Perhaps it's the same individual as this one that was photographed last winter by one of our visitors, Tommy Evans.
Bittern Hide has often been the place to be this week, with regular sightings of the ringtail Hen Harrier, upto 20 Marsh Harriers, regular Sparrowhawk, Water Rail and Bittern, and even the occasional Otter seen there. When I was in the hide on Wednesday I was also treated to the sight of a mixed flock of small finches: Siskins, Goldfinches and Lesser Redpolls.
Another finch that is often best seen early in the year is Bullfinch, with regular sightings around the North Bushes and Discovery Centre. Regular visitors will be pleased to know that the temporary North Bushes trail has dried out sufficiently to be reopened, giving you a better chance of seeing the Bullfinches. Nearby, there are now definitely two Firecrests in the large Holm Oak at the end of Digger Alley. I watched both a male and female flycatching in an adjacent Gorse bush yesterday.
Male Bullfinch
Out on the Scrape, water levels remain high, with the northerly winds this week encouraging many of the ducks to gather closer to North Hide than East Hide so that they can shelter on the banks and few remaining islands. The sight of hundreds of Teal, Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard and Wigeon clustered together is impressive enough, but if a harrier flies over and disturbs them then there's an almighty whirr of wings. Look carefully among the ducks and you should spot Shelduck, Pintail and possibly Goldeneye, Goosander or Tufted Duck, while a drake Scaup was a brief visitor on Tuesday.
It isn't just ducks on the Scrape, though. Up to eight Whooper Swans are now present (four adults and a family of two adults and two young), although they may be on the Scrape, Levels or Island Mere so aren't always easy to find. There are also several Mute Swans, varying numbers of Lapwings and one or two Snipe and Dunlins.
Whooper Swans
Our feeders are also proving popular, with regular sightings of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Marsh Tit and Coal Tit alongside the Chaffinches, Goldfinches, Blue and Great Tits, Magpies, Pheasant and Grey Squirrels. A pair of Muntjac also put in regular appearances.
Nuthatch
Finally, we are getting a lot of people asking where our Starlings have gone. The simple as is that we don't know. There are several other potential places for murmurations on the Suffolk coast, and some have limited parking or access, but if we locate them at an easily viewed spot then we will let you know.