Minsmere

Had a great day at Minsmere at the weekend.  A group trip with over 40 of us swarming over the reserve.  We saw 90 species in all, but I managed 77.

Highlights for me were hearing Willow Warbler - sadly I rarely hear them locally - seeing a pair of Stone-curlew at their nest, seeing a Tawny Owl and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Nesting Avocet

There were lots of other great things to watch though, including great views of  a male Marsh Harrier and two females (one with green wing-tags which refused to give up their codes unfortunately), several Hobby feeding low over the reedbed.   We had Avocet, Oystercatcher and Black-headed Gull on the nest right in front of the hide, and lovely views of Common Tern, Kittiwake, Redshank and Common Sandpiper.

A Nightingale sang well as we stood in the car park on arrival, and we also heard several Cetti's Warbler, Blackcap and a Garden Warbler sang long enough for us to get reasonable views.

North Scrape

Spoonbill stood along the side of a distant pool, and it was only when it started to preen that I could see the "spoon" against its white plumage.  Lapwing were displaying and piping - great to hear even though we see them regularly nearer home.

Swift, Swallow and Sand Martin were going through in great numbers and feeding low over the scrapes and reedbeds.