“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.”   

Another week of Springwatch is over, with more amazing wildlife stories and footage to remind us all what an amazing place Minsmere is, and how much wildlife is out around the country, often unseen by even most observant wildlife enthusiasts.

From the incredible journeys of tiny red-necked phalaropes from Shetland to the Pacific Coast of South America (possibly via Minsmere after our recent sightings), to the sci-fi…

“We thought why not go to Minsmere it’ll be a bit of fun and we love nature photography!”  

“I love that in nature things come at you from all angles, there are the trees and then lots of things on the floor. It makes me want to know how it all works."

"Nature is amazing and helps me relax in between revising. I rush home from school to see what is on my trail cameras. It’s like opening Christmas presents, you never know what you are going to get.

I think people often know what nature…

Nature offers the type of learning where you don’t need a degree, it’s so accessible.

The small things in nature are amazing!  I find the diversity in nature interesting. Have you seen mosquito larvae emerging? It’s beautiful.

I love nature but I live in a second floor flat so the park is my garden. Nature is my escape; I need it in my life. It’s sad that we’ve learnt behaviour to disregard the things…

Oliver : I feel happy when I’m in nature. Minsmere makes me happy as the wildlife here is protected.  

Breya:  Minsmere makes me feel very happy and bouncy as there are lots of animals.

Richard: Island mere hide must be the most accessible hide in the world! We can relax here as we don’t have to worry about any styles or steps.

Sonya: We came here a year ago and had such a nice time. We’ve been here every…

“Today was our first day off together and we wanted to come here for a while. We’ve both just had big birthdays so we’re ticking off things we’ve always wanted to do.” 

We love that experiencing the incredible wildlife at Minsmere was on your list! We hope you had a fantastic day and to see you again soon. 

“This is everything I own.” “I taught in Peru for a little while and fell in love with it. After that I sold my house & possessions and now building a life in Peru.” 

 This is the fantastic and inspiring story of the biking birder. Gary sold all of his possessions and follows his passion of biking and birding around the UK. He hopes to build a new life in Peru.

 “2015 will be spent cycling…

“Nature is my inspiration. I love the colours and smells”  

“My parents used to bring me to Minsmere as a kid. They taught me a lot about wildlife. But then I moved away and studied illustration in London. I missed the beach and Suffolk. I decided it was time to come home. This is my home.

I think the first thing I drew was my pet rabbit. I really want to be an illustrator for organisations like the…

 “A kingfisher on the river near my house inspired me to get involved with photography and helped me get my life back on track. Now I’ve been lucky enough to film rhinos and leopards for the BBC.”

“If you have an interest in nature you can find it anywhere. There is always something worth being interested in.”

“When I was kid my dad got me a bird book with a Kingfisher on the front. He taught…

 “This half-term Triston, Harry and Sarah had a bake sale and raised £21.52 for the RSPB”

Photo credit: John Chapman

We love their dedication and enthusiasm for wildlife! These fantastic nature defenders spent some of their precious holiday working hard on a bake sale (with an array of mouth-watering goodies like chocolate coated strawberries, marshmallows and home made lemonade) to raise money to…

“I used to sneak out of my window when my parents were asleep and just get on my bike and sit in the woods here with a sandwich and hear the birds. It’s lovely to share this with my family!”

Photo Credit: John Chapman 

We love that nature was an adventure for Juliet and that the adventure continues to this day!  

Just like waiting for a London bus, birdwatching often sees a cluster of exciting birds arriving in quick succession, after a long period of more routine species. So it has been at Minsmere this month. Following hot on the heals of the bluethroat and long-staying red-necked phalarope, we've had several more scarce visitors this week.

Our site manager heard a bee-eater flying over the Sluice early on Wednesday morning…

If there is one bird we're all waiting with bated breath to see on the Springwatch cameras, it’s the marsh harrier. We were given a tantalising teaser at Easter-time, when we were introduced to Minsmere’s ‘marshes’, but they've yet to make an appearance in the main event so far. Marsh harriers have a history at Minsmere- read out to find out more, and watch the video with Minsmere's Senior…

Sam:  “I met Chris Packham last year and asked him which football team he supported, he said Southampton. I support West Ham. I think they’re higher than us in the table at the moment so I don’t think I want to meet him today!”

Amy: “I love animals and I love taking pictures.”

Talking and taking photos with this family was a blast! It was great to meet a family so enthusiastic about…

Stone curlews are strange, eerily beautiful birds. The size of a crow, with a large head, long yellow legs and long wings and tail (relative to its size), they are active at night, using their large yellow eyes to find food in the dark.

Their eye together with their cryptic plumage make them look somehow primitive, like a miniature feathered dinosaur. Not too long ago they also came very close to becoming extinct as a…

On a busy Bank Holiday Monday, the day the BBC Springwatch cameras went live, it was great to hear comments like that in the title of this blog, time and time again from our visitors.

We had worked hard to ensure that we were ready for an influx of visitors, and despite records numbers coming to the reserve, everyone seemed to leave with a smile on their faces. Indeed, some were even moved to tears by their first sightings…

“I work in retail and don’t get weekends off. We don’t get to spend much time together. So we've come here today to spend time as a family with the added bonus of wildlife.” 

On how they discovered nature and Minsmere 

Dad: “When I was made redundant I needed a hobby to get me through the week so I started feeding the birds and it opened up my world! Then I started coming here.”

Animal migration is one of nature’s great events. These seasonal movements from one part of the world to another in search of food, to escape the harsh winter weather of northerly or southerly regions, or to find a mate, occur throughout the animal kingdom. Wildebeest in Africa migrate because the grass really is greener on the other side; salmon- and as scientists are discovering, many other species of fish, including…

“Before Minsmere, bird watching and photography, I would sit in front of my games console, suffering from bi-polar depression....”

Photo credit: Becky Robertson 

This is John’s story! John is our #humansofspringwatch photographer and invaluable team member. The quote above is from last year and before things really took off!

 A year later this is what he has to say:

“This place is magical. It has…

Inspired by the compelling Humans of New York photo blog (http://www.humansofnewyork.com/) that tells the heart warming stories of people in New York we decided it was time to tell your stories during Springwatch. We’re exploring who is visiting Minsmere & why and what it means to them to be in a spectacular place for wildlife.

Each day we will post a new #humansofspringwatch photo blog. The blog will feature…

Welcome to the first Nature Minute, a special series of video blogs we'll be sharing over the next three weeks while BBC Springwatch is with us here at Minsmere.

While the Springwatch cameras allow us a fascinating glimpse into the intimate details of the lives of breeding British wildlife for three weeks this spring, a small group of RSPB volunteers has helped to produce a series of one minute films introducing…

This morning we welcomed the local media to the Discovery Centre to meet the BBC Springwatch presenters - Chris Packham, Michaela Strachan and Martin Hughes-Games - in advance of the show going on air from Monday.

It was lovely to see a couple of families playing in the wild zone when the presenters went outside to chat to individual reporters. A couple of very lucky children took the opportunity to say hello to all…

After the excitement of Friday's red-spotted bluethroat, another rare visitor was found at Minsmere last night. Unlike the bluethroat, this time the bird stayed into a second day, allowing many visitors to see it - especially as it was first located after most of the staff had gone home yesterday. Also unlike the, at times, very showy bluethroat, this visitor refused to come close - though it was at least easy enough…

There was great excitement at Minsmere yesterday with the discovery of a beautiful male bluethroat feeding along the edge of a reedbed pool close to the North Wall. 

Despite breeding in good numbers just across the North Sea in The Netherlands, bluethroats remain rare visitors in the UK. The last record at Minsmere was a long-staying bird in 2008, but that that was of the central European white-spotted race. This bird…