RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk - February 2010

Hello all

On Wednesday here at home, the weather being rather lovely we decided to make the most of it and make a trip to the RSPB Minsmere Reserve in Suffolk.  We have never been before and my first reaction was it’s a really lovely place.

There are two main walks which the guide advises take about 2 hours to allow you time in the hides.   On The Scrape, we saw many many different species of duck, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufty, Pintail and Gadwalls.  Alas my photos of these didn’t come out too well as the sun caused a strong reflection on the water, but they were lovely to see along with the Marsh Harrier.  Lapwings were in abundance.

Through the wooded paths, we saw Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Long Tailed Tits, Blue and Great Tits, Robins, Blackbirds, Squirrels and Rabbits.

Most of the hides were very busy due to it being half term which caused us to leave them much earlier than we would have liked.   We sat for ages in the South Hide waiting for Snipe, only to be told later that one was literally sitting under the window of the hide (Doh! never thought to look there LOL).  It was the wrong time too for the Bittern unfortunately.

The only hide where there weren’t many people, was the Canopy Hide.  After climbing the stairs I can fully understand why.  If anyone has a vertigo problem then the stairs could cause you some anxiety.  No matter how hard we tried, we couldn’t stop staring at the gaps between the steps as we climbed the three flights of stairs.  Knees were trembling I must say.  We sat in there for ages on our own looking out above the tree tops, it was very peaceful but if we were both honest it was probably more likely we were both dreading the descent!

My only really good photos turned out to be when we stopped for coffee and cake at the Visitor Centre between walks.  What I would call the easy shots of birds feeding a the feeding stations (I know it’s cheating!)

With the sun shining all day and the weather feeling rather mild even though it was 5 degrees, we were one of the last ones to leave.  As we left, we saw the setting of the reddest sun I have ever seen , a Barn Owl flew past as we were leaving and Mute Swans gently swimming along a piece of water just outside the reserve.  We will definitely go back when Spring is truly here.

Anyway here’s some of the photos I took.

 

 

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  • Hi, Kezmo, I very nearly went there myself on wednesday, how funny. My OH had the day off work, and I'd said thats where I wanted to go for the day, he decided he wanted to hit some camping shops instead as he has a weekend hike coming up with the Scouts and needed some gear, (aaaaggggggghhhhh) it was a glorious day like you say lovely to see the sunshine again. Its nice to hear abit about the place, hopefully we'll get there soon.

    There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.

  • Ooh meant to say lovely pics too, I like the one at the top of the Blue tit coming in to land.

    There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.

  • Hi Kezmo,

    Super, super photos. You are very clever to get those birds in flight. They look like freefall parachuters!!! So comical the way you have captured them. Brilliant. I also love your report. You made me want to be there, especially Wednesday when it was cold, grey and miserable here, with sleet. What a shame about your water photos, but these ones make up for it. Thanks for sharing your day.

    Cheers, Linda.

    See my photos on Flickr

  • Hi Kezmo

    great photos!  Sounds like you had a really good day - and good weather too!

    I'm really curious about that hide!  Going to have to look it up :o)

  • Hi Bishy

    Oh what a shame you didn't go, it would have been nice to meet up, not that we both would have known what eachother looked like! (would have had to wear a sign like "Calling Bishy-barney-bee" or "Kezmo where are you?".   We enjoyed it so much we intend to go when the weather and the birds are in harmony with one another in the Spring as I should imagine it will be a wonderful sight to see.  So if you go about that time, we could try to arrange something - I take it you aren't that far away.  I would look at "Your Page" but it's taking an age to load.

  • Thanks Sparrow but I really can't take the credit, I just put the camera on auto and let it do it's work it was more luck than skill that caught the birds as they were - I would in all honesty have loved to have got the same type of shots of the ducks but beggars can't be choosers and I really did like the Lemon Cake so was quite happy to sit for ages!

  • Cheers Paul!  If you do go there, you'll probably think there's nothing to be concerned about but it seems the older I get I acquire more fears.  When I was a kid I used to climb trees without any worry now though I only have to go up to the third rung of a ladder and I get the jitters!

  • Hi Kezmo, great photos!  

    Sounds like you had a really good day - thanks for sharing it!

    Regards Buzzard

    Nature Is Amazing - Let Us Keep It That Way

  • Unknown said:

    Cheers Paul!  If you do go there, you'll probably think there's nothing to be concerned about but it seems the older I get I acquire more fears.  When I was a kid I used to climb trees without any worry now though I only have to go up to the third rung of a ladder and I get the jitters!

    Well I'm not very good with heights, lol!  Although the view sounds like a good one and I'd love to see it from up there.

     

    Going to look for photos of it now!

  • Unknown said:

    Hi Bishy

    Oh what a shame you didn't go, it would have been nice to meet up, not that we both would have known what eachother looked like! (would have had to wear a sign like "Calling Bishy-barney-bee" or "Kezmo where are you?".   We enjoyed it so much we intend to go when the weather and the birds are in harmony with one another in the Spring as I should imagine it will be a wonderful sight to see.  So if you go about that time, we could try to arrange something - I take it you aren't that far away.  I would look at "Your Page" but it's taking an age to load.

    Hi Kezmo, that would be good, I'm not to far away, about 30 or 40 miles, our nearest town is Bury St Edmunds, we don't tend to plan to far ahead at the minute though, my OH is on call with work every other weekend and what with family commitments, we tend to just get up and go when we have a free day and nice weather, Minsmere will certainly be our next day trip out, I'll drop you a line when were heading out there.

    There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed.

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