randombirder

Another great day at Minsmere - due to Covid - this was the first visit after around eighteen months. Always plenty to see around the reserve.  From the east hide, ten summer plumage spotted redshank were present out on the scrape along with a couple of green sandpiper , black-tailed godwit , and two stunning ruff in breeding plumage. The raucous sound of breeding gulls and terns including hundreds of black-headed gull , sandwich tern , and a few meditteranean gull and little tern were present on the islands. A couple of lovely male dartford warbler were present along the beach and three garganey (1 drake and 2 duck) were seen from the south scrape hide while searching for the roseate tern that weren't seen during the afternoon. A short vigil from the Bittern Hide hoping for the purple heron that failed to alight from the reedbeds was a real pleasure watching marsh harrier on feeding sorties.  A single hobby was seen flying over the reeds.

A quiet day at Minsmere is when you rack up 87 species and also get to observe a variety of other interest things. East Scrape A long day but ultimately worth every mile endured along the arduous route to the reserve. The first stop was the Island Mere hide where a couple of Otter sightings on the far side of the water were typically brief. One of the Savi's Warbler made a couple of attempts to wind up a sustained reel but failed miserably.  Not very vocal and therefore no chance of grabbing a chance sighting. Four flyby sightings of Bittern during the course of the day that were particularly active presumably now feeding young. Watching the aerial Marsh Harrier glide over the vast reedbed, a Hobby feeding over the woodland, Bearded Tit dashing low over the reeds, and listening to the cacophony of Black-headed Gull and Mediterranean Gull on the East Scrape are all part of the sensory experience. On both the East and South Scrapes, a number of Kit...