I'm back from a superb week watching eagles, otters, dolphins and much more on the beautiful island of Mull, and it sounds like I've missed quite an exciting ten days here at Minsmere too.
I always consider that winter arrives with the first sighting of a "wild" swan. For me, that was last Monday when I saw four whooper swans on Mull, but here at Minsmere is was over the weekend when the first Bewick's swans returned form Siberia. Four Bewick's have been present on the Scrape all day today.
Bewick's swan by Ian Barthorpe
Other winter visitors have been seen too. The shore lark remained until Friday and both hen harrier and short-eared owl were seen on several dates. One of the wardens saw a jack snipe on Thursday, and another penduline tit was heard (but not seen) between Wildlife Lookout and South Hide on Thursday. The first goldeneye arrived on East Scrape on Friday too, while several flocks of fieldfares have been spotted.
There was good seawatching during the week too, with sightings of black-throated diver, sooty shearwater, goldeneyes, several red-breasted mergansers and a few guillemots offshore. The highlight, though, was a grey phalarope that flew south on Thursday.
There were several species of waders on the Scrape last week too, including golden, grey and ringed plovers, knots, dunlins, spotted redshanks and a greenshank, as well as the regular six avocets, 30+ black-tailed godwits, several snipe and up to 250 lapwings. The late curlew sandpiper was last seen on Thursday.
Also on the Scrape, among the increasing numbers of commoner ducks, up to ten pintails have been seen daily, while a drake mandarin was a bonus on Thursday. These beautiful birds occur in small numbers in the Ipswich parks, and are occasionally seen elsewhere in Suffolk, but we only see one or two per year at Minsmere. Among the gulls, both yellow-legged and Mediterranean gulls were seen today.
A male mandarin (photographed in the wild in Suffolk, but not at Minsmere) by Ian Barthorpe
The usual suspects continue to show well at times in the reedbed: bitterns, bearded tits, marsh harriers, water rails, kingfishers and otters, while Cetti's warblers can be heard in many parts of the reserve. Up to two peregrines may be spotted hunting over the reserve too.
Among the smaller birds, the highlight for many has been a beautiful male brambling under the the visitor centre feeders. Harder to spot, but no less attractive, were up to two firecrests in the sluice bushes, a Dartford warbler nearby, and five bullfinches in the North Bushes this morning.
Despite all the winter visitors, there were still sightings of swallows until the end of October, while ten stone-curlews remained on the heath on Thursday.
The fog for the last two days has made starling watching more tricky, but the large murmuration was still present yesterday. An unusual white starling was spotted among the pre-roost gathering on the Scrape on Thursday too. The best time to watch the starlings is from about 3.45 pm, along the North Wall.
Starlings at Minsmere last year by Ian Barthorpe