Although the weather hasn't exactly felt spring like this week, the snowdrops are already blooming near the car park entrance, and the daffodils behind the visitor centre are in bud. It won't be long before they're bursting into flower too. There'll be further signs of the coming spring int he Discovery Centre this week as many of our younger visitors will be busy hammering nails into pre-cut planks of wood to make themselves a nestbox to take home as part of National Nestbox Week.
Out on the reserve, displaying ducks, sky-dancing marsh harriers and drumming great spotted woodpeckers all hint at spring being just around the corner, but this week's main highlights have kept the same wintry feel as the weather.
If you've been lucky enough to dodge the wintry showers, then the pair of smew have been the start attraction. They can be tricky to spot though as they've been quite mobile, but they seem to be favouring two small pools to the west of the Scrape. These pools were dug a couple of years ago to create a reservoir of freshwater in times of drought. It's not easy to look for wildlife on these ponds (we have plans to improve this in due course), but you can watch from two or three different places. One option is to look out of the back right hand window in North Hide, although the smew may be hidden behind tall reeds. A better bet is to watch these pools from beside the two picnic tables that are situated under the hawthorn bushes just beyond the pond. Option three is to walk onto the small sandy bank to the southwest of the pond (opposite the sand martin colony).
Drake smew by Jon Evans
The closely related goosanders remain on Island Mere - six were still present yesterday (although they've not been reported today, but that could be because we've not had any volunteer guides in). A handsome male hen harrier was seen over the work centre on Thursday afternoon and again from Bittern Hide yesterday, so it's certainly worth keeping an eye open for him this week. Similarly, the glaucous gull was seen flying along the beach again yesterday.
A few woodcocks, redwings and goldcrests in the woods are further reminders of winter, and our feeders have probably been busier than ever this week with a non-stop stream of blue, great, marsh and coal tits, chaffinches, goldfinches visiting the feeders and several robins, dunnocks, pheasants and grey squirrels hoovering up the split seed below.
Dunnock by Ray Kennedy (rspb-images.com)
The other big highlight (in every sense of the phrase) remains the great white egret. It's crisp white plumage and bright yellow bill shine like a beacon in the gloom as it feeds in it's favourite pool behind the Wildlife Lookout, often alongside it's smaller cousin. Two great white egrets have been seen at nearby Dingle Marshes for most of the winter - will they decide to stay around into the spring and possible breed on the Suffolk coast for the first time?
Elsewhere within the reedbed, despite the cold damp weather, visitors have been treated to good views of the typical reedbed species this week: otters, bitterns, bearded tits and water rails as well as marsh harriers. Out on the Scrape, a few dunlins, turnstones, redshanks, ringed plovers and black-tailed godwits have been present on most days alongside upto 1000 lapwings, while a female pochard was spotted among the hundreds of ducks yesterday.