"Watch where you step!" A phrase you might hear on Digger Alley, as concerned visitors and volunteers urge you avoid stepping on a burrow, or worse on an unsuspecting insect.

Fortunately, the Beewolves, Green-eyed Flower-bees, Pantaloon Bees and other residents of Digger Alley are a resilient bunch. Being small, it's rare for us to squish them, even with my big feet. They're well used to re-excavating their…

It's certainly been all go at the pond again this week. Admittedly it's better when the sun shines,. but even on a cloudy day there's plenty of wildlife to spot just a short walk from the visitor centre.

Pick of the bunch for many are the Water Voles. Up to four have been seen again this week, with two noticeably smaller ones that we assume are youngsters from earlier in the year. Last autumn we had three…

The pond has certainly been a popular place for visitors to pause at the start of their visit to Minsmere this week - and often to return to later for a second look - with a great variety of wildlife often on view.

The star attractions here are, undoubtedly, Ratty and friends - our resident family of Water Voles. As we've been seeing two distinctly sixes of voles, it appears that we once again have a family at the pond…

Minsmere's pioneering warden, Bert Axell, famous said that were only three seasons in nature: winter, spring and autumn. Despite the gorgeous sunny weather this week, bringing us a welcome feeling that summer is finally here, I tend to agree with Bert when it comes to birding. No sooner had the last northbound migrants passed through in mid June, the first southbound birds were already returning to our shores.

In…

After the changeable weather of the last few weeks, it's been lovely to enjoy a week of mainly sunny days. The wildlife certainly has a more summery feel too, with good numbers of Meadow Brown and Small Heath butterflies dancing across the grasslands, swarms of Common Blue Damselflies zipping around the pond, and larger Four-spotted Chaser and Norfolk Hawker dragonflies patrolling the pond margins. Some visitors have…

Some roses, of course, are red, but the wild roses that are blooming in proliferation in scrubby areas around Minsmere are shades of pink or white, depending on species. Along with the white flowers of Brambles, they are providing many important nectar sources for our butterflies and bees, especially in the North Bushes and around the Bittern Hide area.

Mid June is a superb time to look for flowers, and I don't think…

What a week it has been if you like herons! Whenever you visit Minsmere it is always possible to see at least three different types of herons - Bittern, Little Egret and Grey Heron - but this week there have been several other herons and closely related birds spotted, providing you were in the right place at the right time.

One of our volunteers, David Naylor, has certainly been in the right place. It helps that he spends…

As we celebrate the 80^th anniversary of the D-Day landings today, this special blog explores how wartime history unexpectedly benefited the long-term future of wildlife on the Suffolk coast. 

In spring of 1943, secret plans were being drawn up on the Suffolk coast. Britain was at war, France was occupied, and a new approach was needed. 

The 163^rd Brigade/54^th Division, led by Brigadier General Wales, were hard at work building…

It's that time of year where young birds are appearing everywhere you look. I've had great pleasure watching the hordes of juvenile Starlings in my garden for several weeks as they squabble over mealworms and even bully the Jackdaws out of the way. We've even had a family of Pied Wagtails strutting around the lawn, as well.

Here at Minsmere, many youngsters have already left the nest. I watched a juvenile…

Colour is theme that I come back to regularly in this blog, with good reason. Nature is full of colour, especially in the spring when birds are in their breeding finery, butterflies and dragonflies are emerging, and flowers are blooming throughout the reserve. Colour also features prominently in the names of many of our species, including a few of the rarer species that have been seen this week.

Probably the rarest bird…

What a difference it makes to see the sun for a prolonged period. It has been so nice to be able to enjoy a few days of sun, and it has certainly brought with it a change in the behaviour of some of our wildlife.

For a start, the warmer, sunny weather has tempted a much bigger range of insects to emerge into their adult forms, making species such as bees, butterflies and dragonflies much more obvious – their larval phases…

Next weekend, TV viewers across Europe will be tuning in for the annual glitter and Lycra-fest that is the Eurovision Song Contest. I’m sure that many of the songs will be up to the usual high/low (delete as applicable) standards that we come to expect, and that there will be at least one among them that is worthy of a second listen.

While I’m sure Eurovision will appeal to some of you, I recommend  heading…

Despite the chilly north-west wind, the reserve is taking on much more spring-like feel, with birdsong echoing from every corner of the reserve, courtship behaviour becoming increasingly obvious, and even a few young birds starting to appear.

Nightingales always prove popular, and continue to sing from the car par entrance and North Bushes. They've been joined in the latter location by various warblers: Whitethroat, Lesser…

I love the unpredictability of spring. One minute we're bathed in warm sunshine, rejoicing that winter is over and wandering whether it's time to get the shorts out of the wardrobe. The next, we're running for shelter as the latest in a series of squally showers drenches us in icy rain, or shivering from the chill of brisk northerly gale whipping down the coast.

Whatever the weather, spring also ushers in…

The latest guest blog from Lou Goom's Volunteer Diary following her visit a couple of weeks ago (all photo's by Lou Goom)

Everything inches up. From the hedgerows to the beaches, creatures turn their backs to the winter, face the sun, and sing. My car window is open, and I drive into the reserve accompanied by the coconut-scented songs of dowdy Dunnocks in the Gorse. Vivid green supersedes the marcescent leaves…

Some of the most famous singers in the world have been referred to as crooners. Think Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole or Marty Wilde. The term may not be in such common usage these days - I can't see it being used for Ed Sheeran, for example - but it is an apt word for a bird that has what might be the described as the best songster in the UK: the Nightingale.

Nightingales are summer migrants, spending the winter in…

The two most popular birds at Minsmere could both be described as little cousins of bigger, more familiar species. One is a regular visitor, though often difficult to see. The other was a completely new species for the reserve.

Let's start with the newcomer. When news came in of five Scaup at Island Mere on Sunday morning, local birdwatchers got quite excited as this is an unusually high count for this seaduck at Minsmere…

Following on from last week's blog where I celebrated the return of the Chiffchaff, this week has seen the return of another typical early spring migrant. Our first three Sand Martins returned on Monday and immediately started to investigate burrows in the recently steepened sandy cliff beside the cafe terrace.

It's always great to watch the Sand Martins hawking for insects and swooping in and out of their burrows…

Guest blog by volunteer guide David Staff

Last Sunday an unusual sight was to be seen on East Scrape at RSPB Minsmere.

A pink Seagull gripped the visitor attention for most of the afternoon.

A Black-headed Gull, whose white feathers showed a glorious flamingo orange pink colour.

I decided to find out what was going on.

Some gull and tern species do commonly show a pink flush, particularly in the breeding season, Little…

Chiffchaffs are gorgeous little birds. They may not have the bright colours of a Goldfinch or obvious features like the Robin's orange-red breast, but they are bang full of character and are typical harbingers of spring. Or are they?

Although most Chiffchaffs in the UK are summer visitors, arriving on our shores from late March and leaving in October to spend the winter in Spain or North Africa, increasing numbers…

Tall, long-legged birds have definitely dominated the sightings reports on our guides' radios this week, some more expected than others.

It's no longer a surprise to hear reports of Great Egrets around the reedbed, along with the more typical Little Egrets, Grey Herons and Bitterns. In fact, yesterday I spotted eight Little Egrets in front of North Hide, and watched two Bitterns flying between Bittern Hide and the…