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Leader: Chris Stone Report: Rachel Henderson Bird List: Chris Stone Just over a dozen members met at the Minsmere reserve carpark at 8.30am. We first went to Bittern Hide; while walking through the woods we heard Long tailed tits, Goldcrest, Treecreeper amongst others. A Marsh Harrier was one of the first spots, then a juvenile posed nicely on a bush for photographs (below right). Swallows and martins were swooping in the distance. A Great White egret was circling the edge of the reserve and though Samita dipped on this, she then spotted our first Bittern. The beautiful gold of its wings was showing well in the autumn sunshine. Bittern Hide was otherwise fairly quiet, so we went on to Island Mere. On the approach, Bearded tits were pinging, and the twitchy movement of the reeds alerted us to their location. Some of the group also saw a Kingfisher flying across the small pool next to the hide and then perch for a photo. There were 3 or 4 Great White egrets around the water, Great Crested and Little grebes, Gadwall flying over and several Bitterns. A Hobby was also seen, and then when we walked up Whin Hill viewpoint, 2 came closer for a good viewing.
We stopped at the cafe/picnic area for lunch. A cautionary tale - one member unfortunately locked his car key and phone in the car when retrieving his lunch. I'm not sure how you avoid this, but I think he won't be doing it again! After lunch we went towards the scrapes. We paused by the heath to look for wailing heath chickens (Stone curlew) but the grass was long, and if any were crouched in the shorter grass we couldn't see them. The view from North Hide was obscured by large reeds, so we continued down to the beach. New to me was the Kittiwake hotel, a structure in the sea, built with many small ledges, sufficient for 500 Kittiwakes to nest. There were around a dozen on Sunday. Over the sea a group of Brent geese flew across. At East Hide we saw a variety of waders. One of 2 Ruffs was obligingly standing next to a Green sandpiper, which helped novices like me see the differences clearly. There was one Avocet, plus Shelduck, Black-tailed godwit, Egyptian geese, Shoveler and Mallard. We stopped by the visitor platform to look for Wheatear and saw some Pied wagtail and a Meadow pipit plus another Ruff. Despite some black clouds at times, the weather was very agreeable, and we all enjoyed a great day led by Chris Stone. Bird List Greylag Goose Marsh Harrier Brent Goose Buzzard Canada Goose Kingfisher Mute Swan Great Spotted Woodpecker Egyptian Goose Green Woodpecker Shelduck Kestrel Shoveler Hobby Gadwall Jay Wigeon Magpie Mallard Jackdaw Pintail Carrion Crow Teal Raven Tufted Duck Coal Tit Pheasant Marsh Tit Stock Dove Blue Tit Woodpigeon Great Tit Water Rail Skylark Moorhen Bearded Tit Coot Sand Martin Avocet Swallow Lapwing House Martin Black-tailed Godwit Chiffchaff Snipe Cetti’s Warbler Common Sandpiper Long-tailed Tit Green Sandpiper Goldcrest Turnstone Treecreeper Ruff Wren Dunlin Song Thrush Kittiwake Blackbird Black-headed gull Robin Herring Gull Stonechat Lesser Black-backed gull Northern Wheatear Little Grebe Dunnock Great Crested Grebe Pied Wagtail Cormorant Meadow Pipit Bittern Chaffinch Little Egret Goldfinch Great White Egret Sisken Grey Heron Reed Bunting Sparrowhawk 79 species
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October 2025
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