Once Bittern.....

Thursday 16 June 2011

A quick hour (well normal length hour) down at Titchwell before opening the shop resulted in a great birding encounter. I'd heard that adult Bitterns had been seen at the reserve flying over the track, but on arrival found myself looking at no less than four young Bitterns. Double click on images to see the superb stary eye. You wouldn't want to be a frog walking past one of these !

 and more to the point, watching four young Bitterns with only two other people. Not an experience you would normally associate with the more visited reserve in Britain. The benefits of getting up early.

 The adult female flew over the track and I was expecting it to come in and feed the young, but it was flying to another nest, further away, so presumably a different adult.

 That said these hungry youngsters were alert to the prospect of incoming food and it was necks up as anything flew nearby, in this case it was a Tufted Duck that alerted them.

 After about thirty minutes of watching these fantastic birds they all slowly crept into the depths of the reedbed. I walked back to the car, and in nearby field a solitary Hare was sat enjoying what was to be the last real sunshine of the morning. What a start to a day's work.