Arriving at Island mere hide at Minsmere before sunrise I was surprised to find a couple of people already there enjoying the early morning colours in the sky as the sun made its way over the horizon. Looking out over the mere we were quickly rewarded with the sight of a Bittern flying past, soon followed by a Grey Heron and a turquoise Kingfisher flashing into the pool on our right. The bright start continued with the sighting of a Water Rail after hearing them squealing in the dense reeds and then a flock of Long Tailed tits which flitted through the bushes calling to each other as they went.
Next up were the Great White Egrets which unusually for them flew up past the hide giving good views before landing at the edge of the water and beginning to fish. One of these birds is pictured below as it made its way back to the bottom of the mere.
All the while this was going on there was a constant stream of various ducks and geese flying past and sometimes landing and the continuous sight of a small flotilla of Coots tightly packed into a group to try and avoid the attention of the Marsh Harriers who would regularly harass them. Several Cormorants were repeatedly diving for fish with varying degrees of success and down at the far end of the mere two Otters were seen at regular intervals one of which at one point caught a substantial Eel which it took into the reeds to consume.
Back in front of the hide the dyke leading to the mere attracted a few Bearded tits to feed on the insects near the water surface and one bird stopped still and posed long enough for me to snap its picture. I was intending to go down to the beach and look for Snow Buntings but a quick look at the mornings sightings on twitter changed all that!
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