20th January

Had a great day’s birding round Minsmere, walking in from Sizewell; the highlights were two Dartford Warblers with a male just north of the power station and another, less-showy bird near the sluice and a brilliant, classic reedbed scene for ten minutes around the Island Mere hide when a Bittern popped out to show well, Bearded Tits were pinging all around the hide (only managed to glimpse one though!), a very noisy pair of Marsh Harriers were getting excited in the sunshine, Water Rails were squealing and Cetti’s Warblers were singing along with a flock of Long-tailed Tits moving through the reeds and yodelling Green Woodpeckers – awesome stuff!   Other bits included a 3cy Yellow-legged Gull feeding at the power station outflow, a group of 7 Whooper Swans on the reserve, c10 Avocets, c6 Black-tailed Godwits, a few Stonechat pairs and stacks of ducks, Marsh Harriers etc. 

Dartford Warbler

Bittern