Great Bittern!

Woo yeah here are some unamazing pics of my amazing encounter with a Bittern at RSPB Minsmere last Monday:

Reed all about it...there's a Bittern there somewhere

Honest...

Getting closer...

Bingo! Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) from the appropriately named Bittern Hide

It’s funny how things work out. We weren’t supposed to end up at Minsmere on Monday. If the car hadn’t broken down first thing, we would’ve headed off to Lakenheath and probably not seen a Bittern. But as it was, Minsmere provided the perfect ending to a lovely weekend moching around the Suffolk countryside.  

We visited some great places on our rambles. The Alde Estuary held small numbers of Dunlin, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit as well as wintering Wigeon and Teal. The surrounding fields and paddocks were interesting too with a large, mobile finch flock foraging in the tightly cropped grass. There must've been 300+ birds including Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet and at least one (and likley more) Brambling. That latter bird has been a hard one to track down of late, the mild winter no doubt holding up arrivals from the east. The epic reedbeds of Dingle Marsh up the coast near Dunwich were truly a wild experience. But Minsmere stole the show. Watching the Bittern cautiously stalk through the reeds, occasionally lunging for fish that had strayed into the shallows while Marsh Harriers wheeled overhead, coming in to roost for the evening, is up there with some of my favourite birding moments.

Suffolk list (65):

Dunlin, Curlew, Redshank, Wigeon, Teal, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, Black-headed gull, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Dunnock, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Brambling, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Woodpigeon, Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant, Collared Dove, Blackbird, Lapwing, Starling, Shoveler, Tufted duck, Moorhen, Sparrowhawk, Mallard, Great Tit, Robin, Skylark, Cormorant, Herring gull, Blue Tit, Canada Goose, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Oystercatcher, Fieldfare, Redwing, Mute Swan, Jackdaw, Jay, Ringed Plover, Little Egret, Meadow Pipit, Great Black-backed gull, Reed Bunting, Little Grebe, Gadwall, Smew(1m&f), Coot, Bewick’s Swan, Goldeneye (2f), Cetti’s Warbler (heard), Snipe, Water Rail, Bittern, Bearded Tit (heard), Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, Song Thrush

Not bad I think.

Gorgeous. Minsmere sunset 23/1/12