On May 15th 1998 I visited the RSPB reserve at Minsmere. As my main interest is birds it would probably have turned out to be just another date in the field notebook but on this occasion I found that there is another side to Minsmere.
Whilst walking from the visitor centre to the north wall (TM475673) I noticed some small butterflies flitting around the sunlit gorse bushes. On investigation these turned out to be Green Hairstreaks. I counted a least ten here. Other butterflies were here too and I was able to record my first Wall Brown of the year followed by an early Gatekeeper.
On the ground nearby there were three Small Coppers, and close to a bramble, I observed a Large Red Damselfly and a Peacock butterfly. A search of the nettles revealed the Red froghopper Cercopsis vulnerata and a seven-spot ladybird.
Further along the north wall a pair of Blue-tailed Damselflies were seen mating and the sixth species of butterfly was observed - a Green-veined White. As I passed the tank traps (TM478664) on my way to the Sluice, three Adders were seen basking in the sunshine. My next find was a Water Vole seen swimming in the dyke behind South Hide (TM 475664). It sat on the bank looking at me and was not really concerned by my presence.
West Hide (TM 474667) became my next point of focus because it was here that I saw three Hairy Dragonflies and up to fifteen Azure Damsel flies on the willows outside the hide. On the way to Island Mere (TM 463668) I added Red Admiral, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Orange Tip to the butterflies seen and four Four-spotted Chasers to my list of dragonflies.
Without doubt this is a place that is rich in bird life, but, as my visit revealed, there is another side to Minsmere - a wealth of wildlife that sometimes goes unnoticed.