A call form Phil this morning informing me that the Bittern was sitting out in a field near Colyford had me rushing over there hoping for a photo opportunity. By the time I got there it had flown up into a tree and was only partially visible. I'd been in such a rush I'd only gone and forgotten my scope. Doh! I had a quick look at it through Bun's scope before rushing back home for mine. Phil had taken an excellent photo of it while it was in the field (see it here) but the rest of us 'would be Bittern photographers' and a handful of birders just hoping for a good view, had to stick it out, waiting in the biting cold wind for the bird to reveal itself better. It eventually did so, first by walking out onto the edge of the bushes where it had been hiding and then alighting on the ground next to a large heap of felled branches. It sat here showing well for a couple of minutes whist being hassled by a Magpie, before moving into the wood pile to hide again. It was in the vicinity of an unfrozen brook, where I hope it had found something to eat. I certainly never would have thought I'd get my first photo of a Bittern on patch! This afternoon I added yet another waterfowl to my patch yearlist when Phil spotted a drake Goosander on the river from the Farmgate.
'Seeing off' a Magpie.
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