Suffolk in Spring

Barn Swallow - Hirundo rustica

Three years ago we spent a weekend in the Suffolk and Norfolk area with the intention of visiting a RSPB Minsmere and another reserve that took our fancy at the time. The other reserve turned out to be RSPB Strumpshaw Fen, but in the end that was a less than rewarding location. However, we were clear that Minsmere would need another visit and subsequent use by BBC Springwatch strengthened our resolve. So it was that we returned this year in early May.

Visiting on the weekend is always going to be busy and at such a popular reserve as Minsmere, this is even more apparent. But with that said, it covers a huge area and there is plenty on offer. We were rewarded with good weather and even managed to sit quietly on the beach beside a calm North Sea to take lunch.

We decided to follow a similar route to last time and soon found ourselves at the Sand Martin wall, where Rose managed to connect with the electric fence that surrounds it. Moving on (swiftly) we found ourselves in the dunes and being fascinated by the Sand Martins pitching on the ground all around us as they collected nesting material. There were plenty of Stonechats, and Whitethroat around and soon an hour had passed.

We next moved on to the hide overlooking The Scrape and had to queue for a space to become vacant. But this was one of the main reasons for the visit, the Avocets. We probably outstayed our welcome here, but we got what we went for and enjoyed the cacophony of noise from the Black-headed Gulls.

Moving on after lunch, I became fascinated by a pair of Barn Swallows who were on a fence quite close and spent some time photographing them. Seeing this, another photographer approached me and tipped me off about another very confiding pair he had been shooting for about an hour. We moved in and spent rather longer than we perhaps should with this pair producing the image in this post.

Carrying on around we got a Sedge Warbler and could see and hear Bearded Tits. Trying to get a shot was nigh on impossible and we spoke to another tog who had spent most of his afternoon trying unsuccessfully to get them. We rounded off the visit with a very industrious Lapwing and a rather secretive Muntjac Deer. By the time we left, the visitor centre had long closed and the car park was nearly empty.

The following day we motored an hour from our base to RSPB Lakenheath Fen. This was a Cuckoo and Hobby fest the like of which I've never seen or heard before. To hear two, or even three, Cuckoos calling at the same time is a rare pleasure. It was a very hot day and as a result, heat haze was something of a problem, but well worth the effort. There were Bitterns booming and showing quite well, but photographically not the best day we've had. Have to say much better than Strumpshaw Fen on our last visit though.

On our way back to base, we stopped off at the Norfolk Wildlife Trust site at Weeting Heath, which we had spotted earlier. Apparently it's a prime site to see Stone Curlew, but I have to say was an expensive and wholly wasteful experience. From the surly volunteer who was too busy texting to properly deal with us to the hides which were so far from the birds, they were mere dots on the horizon. That was if they came up from behind the dip in the ground where they were nesting. Not a site for a revisit and perhaps not the best way to end our weekend.