Gallery: Suffolk’s wildlife copes with the icy cold-snap at RSPB Minsmere

Suffolk’s wildlife has been captured coping with the icy cold-snap on camera.

Amateur photographer Rob Munro was visiting RSPB Minsmere on the Suffolk coast over the new year period when he spotted some of the reserve’s regular visitors attempting to negotiate the frozen waterways.

During his two trips to Minsmere, the 50-year-old IT director managed to catch a glimpse of otters, common snipes, an ice-skating bittern and a fox.

The father-of-two, who lives in London but regularly visits Suffolk, said he was “overwhelmed” by the reaction after tweeting the images online.

“It’s the nature of the hobby,” he added. “Some days I can spend four hours in the hides and not take a single picture, other days everything seems to happen in a couple of hours.”

Mr Munro said he tried to visit Minsmere whenever he was in the county, describing it as an “outstanding reserve - exceptionally well managed and with a stunning array of wildlife”.

On Sunday, when he captured his most stunning images, Mr Munro visited the reserve before first light, arriving just as an otter broke through the ice in the pond near the Island Mere hide.

“The sun wasn’t even up so it was really difficult to get a photo as the light was so low,” he said.

“It was an amazing frosty morning with clear skies and the sun rose about 8.10am casting a beautiful orange glow across the reeds. “The bitterns were very active with over a dozen flight sightings over a couple of hours and then the one pictured showed right in front of the hide.

“The otters appeared again later in the morning on the far side of the mere but right in front of the sun which was glaring off the ice so another photographic challenge”