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.