Schools on Reserves – guest blog by Learning Officer Chris Ford

What a year 2016 was, for all sorts of reasons, some good, some not so, but for us here at Minsmere one of our highlights was the number of children that came to the reserve with their schools. It was a record year for the number of school and college students visiting us. That means more children experiencing inspiring days out of the classroom engaging…

After the weekend gales and surge tide did their utmost to damage the vulnerable east coast, the week started with pleasantly warming sunshine on Monday. I even felt it burning my face as the sun reflected off the water at Bittern Hide during my lunchtime walk.

Winter has returned with a vengeance today with sub-zero temperatures leaving most of the wetland areas frozen under a thick layer of ice. On the Scrape, hundreds…

Well winter certainly arrived in force over the last couple of days with sub-zero temperatures, wintry showers and gale-force winds that added a severe wind chill factor. These winds also combined with the highest spring tides of the current moon cycle to put the entire East coast of England onto high alert for a tidal surge.

Tidal surges happen when strong northerly or north-westerly winds funnel water into the North…

It has become a standard joke around the office that I am a non-birder after a magazine article referred to me before Christmas as a ‘non-birding member of staff’. Since then I have tried my best to prove myself as a birder but still feel I fall short in a few areas. Visitors and colleagues around me who I consider to be birders have recently been talking about how many they have on their 2017 year list and what birds…

Tonight is twelfth night. In the Christian calendar, this is the day that the wise men visited Jesus in the stable, and marks then end of the Christmas celebrations. It's also the time to take your decorations down and stow them away for another year.

Being twelfth night, it is also, of course, the twelfth day of Christmas, and on the RSPB Suffolk Facebook pages we've been celebrating the Twelve Days of Christmas…

Happy New Year everyone.

I hope you all had a relaxing, wildlife filled break. I was lucky enough to spend a day in the Norfolk Broads watching grey seals on the beach at Horsey then common cranes, marsh harriers and barn owls coming in to roost near Hickling Broad, and another day walking around the beautiful Suffolk coast at Covehithe. Then yesterday my family and I visited Minsmere in absolutely glorious weather …

But unlike the words of the famous poem, Minsmere is certainly not silent, though I haven't seen a mouse. I haven't seen any reindeer either, but the muntjacs and red deer are certainly still around, and a Chinese water deer was seen near Lucky Pool earlier in the week. Otters haven't been so visible this week, but two are currently eating a perch outside Bittern Hide.

The ducks, waders and greylag geese…

Are you counting down the days yet?

Yes folks, there's only five more sleeps till Christmas. That means only four more chances to visit Minsmere before the big day to stock up on some last minute presents, refill your dwindling bird food supplies, or sample the delicious cheese scones, fruit crumble or sausage butties in the cafe. 

Our delicious cheese scone - photo by John Chapman

Don't forget that Minsmere will…

As I sat in the office this morning with the sun warming my cheeks as it shone brightly through the window, the thought of a lunchtime stroll around the Scrape spurred me from one job to the next. Reports from our guides only served to heighten the anticipation.

By the time I did set out, the sun had sadly disappeared and a grey, slightly misty sky hung over the reserve. It was unseasonally mild though, with barely a…

More often than not, when talking about what can be seen at Minsmere, we focus on our wetland wildlife, but today I'll focus initially on the woodland. On a damp, dreary day, with poor visibility over the Scrape and reedbeds, our guides spotted an superb array of wildlife in the woodland scrub areas of the reserve.

You don't have to walk far to spot some interesting woodland wildlife, with marsh tits and coal tits…

...to the setting of the sun, there's always something special to see at Minsmere, and the beauty of winter is that you don't need either an early start of a late finish to enjoy both on the same day. 

Today was one of those magical days that both thrilled and frustrated but was guaranteed to provide some spectacular scenery even if some of the wildlife remained hidden.

The night's freezing fog was already burning…

As November winds down, and the countdown to Christmas begins in earnest - well it was Advent Sunday last weekend and it is 1 December tomorrow - it's really beginning to feel very wintry at last. We've woken up for the last two days to a thick layer of white frost on the lawns, frozen bird baths in the garden, and crystal clear blue skies, necessitating the need to find the scraper for the car windows before driving…

On my way to Minsmere this morning the sun was streaming through the windscreen making it quite hard to see the road ahead and a Christmas song came on the radio, the first I had heard this season. My mind was busy thinking about the day ahead when it had to do a bit of a double take to realise that yes it was in fact a late November morning and Christmas is just around the corner.

As I got out of the car I was greeted…

Earlier this week, I joined colleagues from across the RSPB Eastern England region for our annual regional gathering. This is a chance to share ideas and celebrate successes, both formally and informally.

We heard from RSPB Old Hall Marshes in Essex, where they are introducing new water management regimes to improve habitat for breeding waders.

We went back to our childhood making leaf and stick creatures as part of…

After a gorgeous sunny late autumn day on Saturday, we've had three days of typical wet, windy November weather. It hasn't put all our visitors off though, and our lovely volunteer guides are coming in to help you to spot some of the wildlife on offer.

And some of that wildlife has been pretty spectacular. Take this morning, for example, when a marauding peregrine caused chaos on the Scrape, putting 200 lapwings…

It seems to have been a day for all seasons at Minsmere today. Bright blue skies and a warming sun this morning hinted at spring, while heavy rain as I type confirms that we are in autumn. A swallow flew south along the dunes this afternoon, bringing memories of summer, but the wildlife generally had a more wintry feel about it, including some welcome surprises.

The day began in typical November fashion, with reports…

There's something really magical about autumn, especially when the sun shines, as it has done today. From clear blue morning skies to orange sunsets casting a golden light across the reedbed, the light it ever changing. Today was one of those, and the wildlife seemed to be enjoying it too. 

The view from reception on arrival this morning was very inviting.

My colleague, Matt, had already been out and about and…

The RSPB and the Green Light Trust have been working together on an innovative conservation woodland project in a quiet area of the woodland trail here at Minsmere.  For seven weeks Turning Point volunteers have been travelling from Lowestoft to the beautiful woodland spot near the Canopy hide to work on practical tasks to improve neglected coppice to benefit wildlife.  They have also designed and implemented a discreet…

No not the result from the American election, or X factor or Strictly Come Dancing, but the results from the Great British Beach Clean! On Saturday 17 September 2016 many volunteers strolled down to the rather blustery beach at Minsmere to take part in the Great British Beach Clean.

We conducted the 200m survey on the main Minsmere beach from the end of North Wall towards the sluice. I was a bit doubtful as to how…

They say that one swallow doesn't make a summer, but one cliff swallow certainly made for a fantastic autumn and a manically busy weekend. Having entertained the crowds all day on Saturday, including circling the coach parked in the coach bay until 4.20 pm, the cliff swallow duly emerged from its roost soon after first light on Sunday morning. Unfortunately for the gathering crowd of birdwatchers, it immediately decided…

When news broke yesterday afternoon of a "funny-looking swallow" over the car park, a small group of staff, volunteers and visitors gathered hoping to work out what it was. They weren't helped in their cause by poor light and steady drizzle, but eventually managed to confirm the identification. A CLIFF SWALLOW.

The first photos of the cliff swallow, in poor light, by Matt Parrott

Now, I'm guessing…

Guest blog by Hannah Jones, Learning Assistant

It's oh, so quiet...

Now that summer has well and truly passed - rather too quickly for my liking - I now find myself reflecting on the busy season just gone. 

Because as well as being a rather brilliant nature reserve, Minsmere has been the place of mud, magic and memories for myself and many other (marginally younger!) nature enthusiasts this year. 

For the last 8 months I…

As I type, the skies above the Scrape resemble a scene from Alfred Hitchcock's infamous film, The Birds as thousands of starlings arrive at their evening roost. It may be Hallowe'en, but there's no need to panic. Far from it. This is the perfect time to visit Minsmere to witness one of the most spectacular wildlife events in the UK - a large starling murmuration.

Suffolk's coastal reedbeds provide safe roosting…

Half term has been thoroughly heart warming with the number of families we have had visiting the reserve to take part in the making homes for nature event we held in the Discovery Centre. The visiting families were all really eager to make a frogitat or toad abode to take home to give nature a home in their gardens. We had some very talented and creative children produce some fantastic and very stylish homes using plant…

As usual, autumn is a key time for our wardens and volunteer work parties to undertake some of the vital habitat management work required to ensure that Minsmere continues to be a special home for nature - and to you, our visitors. 

While much of this work takes place away from the main visitor areas, sometimes it's much more visible. As mentioned previously in these blogs, for example, we were busy cutting vegetation…