Guest blog by Rhiannon Baker, Suffolk Little Tern Warden

Hello, my name is Rhiannon Baker. I am one of the Little Tern Wardens in Suffolk working as part of the EU Life funded project.

On a daily basis I monitor the colonies around Suffolk which includes Benacre NNR, Walberswick NNR and Kessingland.  This is my first year working as a warden in Suffolk and it has been an absolute joy. There are fantastic sunsets on most…

As is often the case in August, the buddleia bushes outside the visitor centre have been the centre of attention for much of the afternoon. There's been a great range of butterflies, including several painted ladies and commas as well as the more familiar red admirals, small tortoiseshells, peacocks, large and small whites. One species that always attracts discussion over its identity is the grayling. This heathland specialist…

It's certainly been a wet few days at Minsmere, as elsewhere in the country, and it pays to keep an eye on any approaching black clouds before deciding to move on to the next hide as showers continue ot rattle through on a regular basis. Some of them are pretty heavy too.

Storm clouds over the North Wall recently

It paid to keep your eyes to the skies for another reason yesterday as three different large birds…

When the radio crackled into life with news of the first sightings of the day, they announcement was almost (!) as much of a surprise as the recent records of bee-eaters and an albatross. Bearing in mind the date (23 July), the report of seven brent geese flying south was unexpected. We wouldn't usually expect the first brent geese to appear until the first week of September. To arrive this early suggests that they may…

Minsmere's wardens and volunteers carry out regular moth trapping throughout the year. The most commonly used technique for moth trapping is to set up a special trap with a powerful light. The light attracts moths which are then caught, alive, in the box beneath. Later at night, or early the following morning, the trap is opened and moths are identified, counted and released.

Over many years of trapping at Minsmere…

Guest blog by Allan Smith, Waveney Bird Club Ringing Group

The Waveney Bird Club have been ringing Minsmere's sand martins for the last two years, with the first ringing session of 2015 recently undertaken.

Sand martins feed on small aerial insects throughout the year. They are summer visitors in the UK, where they seek out low sandy cliffs for nesting. The sand cliff close to the Minsmere visitor centre is ideal…

After the buzz of excitement on Monday and Tuesday surrounding "the Minsmere albatross", reality has returned to Minsmere. That's not to say that there's nothing exciting to see. Far from it, as there's still an amazing variety of wildlife to spot.

With the buddleias coming into full flower it's worth spending a while looking for butterflies at Minsmere. Among the commoner species, look out for…

Even at Minsmere, with its superb variety of wildlife, every now and then something turns up that is so unexpected that it takes some believing.

Take, for instance, the amazing record of a humpback whale offshore in November 2013 - repeated again for one lucky group of observers last autumn. 

Even this, though, was surpassed for unexpectedness by yesterday's totally bizarre sighting of an albatross.

Albatrosses…

Minsmere is widely known as one of the best birdwatching sites in the UK, but it is, of course, much more than that. It is, quite simply, one of the best nature reserves in the UK - whatever type of wildlife you are interested in.

A quick look at some of the highlights from today's sightings board shows some of the variety here, with mammals, reptiles and moths all listed.

Our very popular water vole was seen again…

Today has probably been the best day of the summer so far with unbroken clear blue skies and a gentle cooling breeze making a walk around Minsmere's nature trails very pleasant - and much less oppressive than further inland. It was less comfortable in some of the hides, as they quickly heat up like greenhouses, but with so much wildlife to look for there's no need to spend too long in the hides.

One popular species…

The North Wall has been the place to be at Minsmere recently. Following on from the red-spotted bluethroat, then some incredibly showy bearded tits, we've had regular bittern sightings from there and then last week's bee-eater. Today, in a case of deja vu, a small crowd of staff, volunteers and visitors gathered again at the west end of the North Wall to look for the latest rare visitor at Minsmere. OK, so red-backed…

As regular readers of these blogs will know, Minsmere has an amazing variety of wildlife, from majestic red deer to minute fungi, but some species remain hidden from view, below ground of beneath the water. Just occasionally they may leave the safety of their burrows or pond, affording visitors a rare glimpse.

During a Father's Day visit with my family on Sunday we were lucky enough to find one of these soil dwellers…

The early indications are that we're set for one of the best breeding seasons at Minsmere for a long time. Indeed several records look like being broken.

One record that has been broken this morning is for the biggest ever flock of bee-eaters to be seen in Suffolk. Adam Rowlands, our Senior Sites manager, was lucky enough to see an incredible flock of ten of these stunningly beautiful birds flying low over the Levels…

Guest blog by Jesse Timberlake, Suffolk Little Tern Warden 

10…20…30...40... As I peered through the scope and slowly scanned the beach ahead of me looking for the little terns nesting on the shingle, I could not believe how many there were. Their tail feathers pointing up at an angle, a tale-tale sign of an adult sitting on eggs, and every few minutes a dutiful partner flies back with a sandeel or sprat in its beak.…

With the return of warmer sunny weather today, the reserve has been alive with buzzing, flitting, chasing and feeding insects. A quick walk this afternoon revealed a superb variety of butterflies, damselflies, dragonflies, hoverflies and bumblebees.

Possibly the best place to watch dragonflies and damselflies at the moment is in the ditch just before you reach Wildlife Lookout (when walking from South Belt Crossroads…

After another wonderful three weeks of Springwatch, I thought I'd look back at some of the wildlife stories from this year's series.

Where else can I really start than with the biggest star of this year's series: Spineless Simon. At just 5 cm length he's certainly not the biggest species at Minsmere, but our sticklebacks first came to prominence with our volunteer guides last year, and the TV cameras have certainly…

Question everything in nature. Question why things are the way they are. When I’m in nature I’m inspired to learn more.

“I was a naturalist since I could move. I remember camping with my grandparents in the New Forest and seeing the red deer. I loved beach walks too.  My family still tease me to this day about how when I was younger I thought a dead seas gull was a penguin.

I really enjoy watching…

“In 1999 I was diagnosed with M.E. Minsmere plays an important part in my management of the condition. All natural things help health and wellbeing. When I sit in the hides watching birds the only thing I think about is what I’m looking at and not day to day problems. It really helps to be here. I feel valued when I’m at Minsmere.”

“In 1999 I was diagnosed with M.E. or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome…

“At the age of seventeen, I was diagnosed with an illness (M.E) that forced me to stop doing many of the things I loved. I was completely stuck at home. It was during this time that the natural world became most valuable to me. I started to think of my garden in a new way – for a time the joys of the common species were all I could enjoy.

When I was able to get out, I appreciated the range of wildlife so…

Spineless Simon might be stealing the limelight for BBC Springwatch viewers, but although he continues to attract a crowd of admirers at Island Mere, the highlight for many visitors over the last couple of days has been the hobbies at Bittern Hide. These super-sleek highspeed falcons have been dashing low over the reeds just a few metres from the hide as they pursue hapless damselflies and dragonflies. If you watch them…

“If I hadn’t gone to Minsmere that afternoon we wouldn’t have met.”

Nature lovers- Humans of Springwatch a couples special!

You never know what might happen when you go to one of our reserves. There are numerous couples that have met at RSPB Minsmere. Some continue to help the RSPB and work side by side in the place their adventure together began. Here are just some of their stories!

Annette…

"We take so much of nature for granted, especially the little things. There are all these interesting and intelligent things going on but people just walk past.  I’d say we need to trust our instincts go outside, to a beach or reserve, close your eyes and breathe in and acknowledge that feeling. There is a reason for that reaction. Put your phones down and get outside in a green space.” 

Barney from BBC…

"When I was 8 years old I was diagnosed with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), I didn't leave the house for 3 months out of pure fear. There are few people that believe that one moment can change your life. But after two minutes of walking around Minsmere, something in my head just clicked. I wasn't afraid anymore, I felt completely at peace for the first time in a long time.  And I realised that I do have…

“I’ve been interested in wildlife since I was 3 and photography since I was really little. It’s great here because of the wild zone is interactive and helps kids connect with nature, which I think is so important.”  

“Mia loves photography she’s learnt from her dad. I’m always surprised she can lift the camera!” 

“We can’t wait to get to the wild zone! Mia loves it!”…

“When I grew up there were no computers and we had to make our own entertainment. So I used to like watching newts and water beetles in our old steel bath”

“Today I saw my first bittern. It’s the equivalent of a Lancaster bomber at an air show.”