Norfolk's Very Own Springwatch Stars are Back...

2010 saw an exciting year for Springwatch at Pensthorpe with some great characters emerging, including Emi & Oscar the two Oystercatchers who shot to fame through the BBC's flagship nature program.

And the good news is....they are back. The cameras might have relocated to mid-Wales for a few weeks, but Norfolk's very own stars are well and truly back.

Our Wardens have been patiently watching, waiting and gently tip toeing through the reedy margins of our Wader Scrape for several weeks now, camped out in hides in the early hours, marvelling as the number of breeding pairs who have chosen Pensthorpe as their safe haven increased.

On Friday we received the fabulous news a pair of Oystercatchers had been spotted on eggs and that they were starting to hatch. Our photographer, Mike Powles, was up at the crack of dawn to catch the first glimpse of them as they emerged and was able to report back to us with some beautiful images... and confirmation that one of the birds was ringed... which only means one thing...One of our stars is back and has decided Pensthorpe is the ideal place to raise it's young

At present we are trying to give the young parents some privacy and space to tend to their tiny offspring, so are unable to confirm which of the two (Emi or Oscar) has retuned,  not all the numbering on the ring is easily visible from the safe distance we are trying to keep - but we can happily say we are all terribly excited to see them return.

Alongside the Oystercatchers, we have several other characters, all who won the hearts of SpringWatch fans as they picked through the waters and chased of potential predators. The Avocets, the Lapwings and the Little Ringed Plovers all proved a hit and are all with us again, looking better than ever and causing quite a buzz.

As of this morning, we have confirmation that in addition to the Oystercatchers,  the following waders are in residence down at the Scrape:

2 x pairs of Avocets with no young as yet, but happily feeding away and enjoying  the habitat

1 x pair of Avocets with 4 x young who are roughly 15 days old

1 x pair of Avocets with 4 x eggs which are due to hatch in 14 days time

3 x pairs of Little Ringed Plover all snuggled down on eggs

2 x pair of Lapwing also sitting beautifully on eggs