More Bittern shots.

On Friday morning the weather man said it would soon become bright so I quickly decided on another visit to Brandon Marsh as my other local patches had not reported anything decent recently.

As I walked down the main path from the centre I was greeted by a Song Thrush that was giving a free concert.First time I'd heard one singing out this year.Very impressive.

I soon ended up in the East Marsh hide where I was surprised to find it empty particularly as it was now a fine morning.Where were the Bittern watchers.When I opened up the left hand flaps I got my second surprise when I spotted a Bittern in the hidden channel at the back of the reeds and,just as another birder entered the hide, it moved into the open channel.As it came into the channel I decided to have a first go at taking a video with my camera which was pretty brave as I hadn't got a clue what to do.I've put it at the end of this post totally unedited so don't laugh too loud.

The Bittern to the left of the hide was joined by a mate who remained in the reeds to the right of the hide so for a while we had one Bittern in the open to the left and another showing in the reeds to the right of the hide both less than 10 metres away.I bet not many reserves in the country could match this.

Back home mid afternoon the Female Blackcap paid a brief visit again and a pair of Bullfinches also dropped in.The Bullfinch shot although not good was pleasing as it was taken through double glazing in very dull conditions.

Here is the Bittern video (if it downloads that is).