On Wednesday, Jayne and I had 3 hours at RSPB Minsmere. We got there just after 6am, and walked around the main scrape area, before finishing off back at the café with a delicious vegan sausage cob!
It was quite quiet as we set off, but the first sighting, of a Common Lizard, warming up on a post was a great start. As the weather warmed up, we began to spot several Stonechats, Linnets, Reed Bunting, Common Terns, the first Common and Ruddy Darters, along with a couple of Migrant Hawkers and dozens of Gatekeepers.
Arriving at the East Hide, we began to spot a few more birds, with the following waders seen: Green Sandpiper (3), Common Sandpiper (1), Ruff (3), Avocet (c50), Black-tailed Godwit (c.60), Redshank (2), Dunlin (6), Lapwing and Spotted Redshank (5). Gulls were far and few between, but we did spot a few Black-headed Gulls, a single, juvenile Mediterranean Gull, 1 adult Kittiwake and, best of all, 26 Little Gulls, including a few in breeding plumage. 5 Spoonbills were asleep, and there were also several Shelducks (juveniles), Teal, Mallard, Greylag, Canada and at least one family party of Barnacle Geese.
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We carried on around The Scrape, spotting another Migrant Hawker, a male Black-tailed Skimmer, more Common and Ruddy Darter and dozens of Red Admirals and Peacock butterflies, feeding on Hemp Agrimony.
Our final stop was the Bittern Hide. Here we spotted Bearded Tit (heard only), a Muntjac Deer, a Kestrel, a distant Marsh Harrier and a fly-by Bittern.
Back at the Visitors' Centre, we had a few minutes watching the butterflies on the Buddleia bushes. Red Admirals and Peacocks were in good numbers again, along with a single Brimstone (1 male), 1 Comma, Gatekeeper (c.5) and at least a couple of Grayling. 3 Hornets were also seen buzzing around the bushes.
Year List update: Little Gull (179)
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