Apologies that our species of the week blog is a day late again this week - I was meeting a new journalist yesterday to introduce him to the amazing wildlife at Minsmere, before giving to a talk to the RSPB Norwich local group in the evening. Like last week, I have also chosen to break from the regular rules and choose a species that is not actually listed in our 70 species to spot challenge - though as last week it is…

I'm sure many of you will be planning to visit Minsmere next week, possibly more than once in some cases. Therefore, I thought that we should warn you that might experience some delays or diversions due to various roadworks that are anticipated next week.

According to local signage and the Suffolk County Council website, we expect the following roads to be closed for at least some, if not all, of next week:

• B1125…

Our weekly series focusing on a star species to look for continues the colour theme of my last blog by looking at one the UK's most popular flowers: the bluebell. This is only the second time in this series that I've picked a species that is not featured in our 70 species to spot challenge, but  with the displays that they are putting on at the moment it only seems to right to choose something different this week…

After another dull, dreary day yesterday, it was lovely to wake to sunshine this morning - and the wildlife has certainly responded too. What's more, with warmer weather forecast for the weekend, it looks like being busy this weekend, so if you are planning a visit, we recommend arriving early.

Despite yesterday's wet weather, the drake garganey put on a good show outside North Hide in the morning, allowing me to…

After a dull, damp weekend and a very wet Monday, today has been a gorgeous spring day - if a little chillier than last week. With the dawning of May, hopefully we've seen the last of the wintry weather and can really forward to spring, and a successful breeding season ahead.

Birdsong is beginning to fill the air, with garden warblers, blackcaps and both common and lesser whitethroats singing throughout the reserve…

After last week's beautiful warm weather, it feels decidedly cooler today - more like February than late April, in fact. However, the weather system that is passing over the UK has brought with some exciting birds - and brought them down low.

The main arrivals with the weather system were swallows and martins, with large flocks swooping low over Island Mere this afternoon. Sand martins have been numerous for several…

Gulls - you either love them or hate, but at Minsmere you certainly can't avoid them in spring and summer. In fact, the reserve would seem eerily quiet without them. To me, the first cue that spring has truly arrived is when you get out of your car and hear the distant squabbling of black-headed gulls on the Scrape. That cue is usually heard in late February or early March, after which numbers of birds, and the general…

Firstly, apologies for the lack of any blogs from me for the last three weeks, but if I'd written a species of the blog in that time it may well have featured three-toed sloth, scarlet macaw, eyelash pit-viper or yellow-throated toucan, rather than the usual Minsmere species. 

Of course, while I was away in sunnier climes, there was still plenty to see at Minsmere, as well as many families enjoying their Easter holidays…

As the Easter holidays draw to a close we’re looking forward to the busy breeding season here at Minsmere. Families taking part in our brilliant Wild Things activities will have heard some of the newly arrived songbirds – blackcaps, chiffchaffs and willow warblers – as they sing to attract mates to their territories. These birds have made the long journey back from warmer climates in the Mediterranean and Africa, and…

After a last minute change of heart last week, this week it is the turn of the avocet to take the spotlight in our latest look at our 70 species to spot challenge.

Avocets are synonymous with Suffolk, Minsmere and the RSPB, and with good reason. A few weeks after the RSPB signed an agreement to take over management of Minsmere in April 1947, local birdwatchers discovered four pairs of avocets nesting here. This was a…

There's definitely more of a feel of spring about the wildlife at Minsmere this week. Chiffchaffs are being recorded from various parts of the reserve, Mediterranean gull and avocet numbers are increasing, marsh harriers are displaying and bitterns are booming. Daffodils are dancing in the breeze behind the visitor centre, and catkins are dangling from the alder trees. Adders are seen daily, and the first peacock and…

Before I set off for my lunchtime wander around the Scrape this afternoon, I had intended to return to write my latest species of the week blog about avocets, but they'll have to wait. Instead, I'm going to focus another mainly white and black bird from our "70 species to spot at Minsmere" challenge: the shelduck.

Shelducks are large white ducks, with dark bottle-green heads, black wing markings, a…

Firstly, apologies for my tardiness in writing this week's species of the week blog. I know that you are used to these appearing on a Monday, and it's Friday today, so I haven't given you much chance to see this week's star species, but don't worry as I've chosen one that will become increasingly obvious as March turns into April.

In fact, this week's star species has actually only just arrived…

It certainly feels like Spring is finally on its way at Minsmere this week. Patches of ice left over from the infamous ‘beast from the east’ are slowly thawing, giving way to flowering daffodils scattered on the grass around the visitor centre. An assortment of waders such as avocet, black-tailed godwit and oyster catcher have been showing well this week on the scrape too, to add to the large numbers of wonderful wildfowl…

Guest blog by Colin Moyse, Volunteer Guide

Just thought I would tell you about my day on Tuesday.

I was in Bittern Hide, with a few members of the public present, when one lady said that she had never seen an otter in the wild before. Low and behold, within five minutes I managed to spot a dog otter for her! Much to everyone’s delight, it continued to give close views for five minuets or so.

Otter by Ian B…

After last week's freeze, it may seem strange to pick a reptile as the star species to look for from our Minsmere 70 species challenge, but March is always the best month to look for adders as the males emerge from hibernation.

As reported last week, before the big freeze, adders had been seen on several occasions both in North Bushes and along the Adder Trail in South Belt. With the arrival of snow and frost, those…

We may be in the midst of the bitter Siberian temperatures and heavy snowfall brought in by the so called Beast from the East that have forced us to close the reserve for at least a couple of days (we will be closed again tomorrow), but spring really is just around the corner, as witnessed by the emergence of the first adders last week.

One of the surest signs that spring is advancing is the increasing variety and volume…

Please note that Minsmere is closed today due to snow. We will update tomorrow when we know whether the access roads are accessible

With the arrival of bitterly cold easterly winds and regular snow showers, and the forecast for more snow over the coming days, I thought I'd brighten up everyone's day by featuring the golden yellow flowers of one of our most familiar native shrubs in our latest weekly focus on Minsmere's 70 species to spot.

European gorse is possibly the easiest of the 70 species to see as you only have to look out the…

This week I have to lead again with an update on our phenomenally popular starling murmuration. Regular readers will know how much I love starlings, and how often I've written about the amazing way these pre-roost flocks twist and turn in unison through the sky, but this year's performances have been on completely different level.

Starling murmurations occur at Minsmere at some point every winter - sometimes…

Our ongoing series featuring Minsmere's 70 species to spot challenge looks this week at one of the commonest species at Minsmere. A species that should be one of the easiest to tick of the list. However, our focus this week is not a bird or mammals, but a plant. In fact, it's a grass. Not just any old grass though, but a very distinctive, tall grass, that is in fact one of the most important species on the reserve.…

One highlight in any nature-lover’s calendar is coming very soon! National Nestbox Week 2018 is happening from the 14^th- 21^st February.

Nestbox by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

As soon as we’ve finished with our own valentine’s day, lots of our favourite feathered friends begin themselves to look for a partner and a safe nesting site to settle down in for the spring.

To coincide with this,…

It's Monday, so it's time for our weekly focus on one of the 70 species to spot at Minsmere. For those who are new to these blogs, we produced a checklist last spring as part of Minsmere's 70th birthday celebrations, encouraging visitors to look for 70 of our more interesting species. Some are Minsmere specialties, such as otter, bittern and bearded tit. Others are commoner, more easily seen species such as mallard, gorse…

There can be absolutely no doubt what our latest species of the week is, even though it's not one of the 70 species to spot that this series has been focusing on. This week I can't pick anything other than the starling.

Starlings have to be my favourite birds. I love the glossy sheen of their plumage, the comedy of their garden antics, and the incredible beauty and drama of their pre-roost gatherings, known as…

Yes folks, it''s the news that I know a lot of you have been waiting for. Our starlings returned during the middle of the week and have been putting n a great display in the evenings.

As of last night we estimate about 30 000 swirling and twisting over the the reserve before dropping into the reedbed to roost.

Starling murmuration by Matt Parrott

We recommend that you watch the spectacle from the North Wall…