I walked a couple of miles in wet and sometimes muddy conditions, and sat in a hide for the first time in my life, trying out my new binoculars. Attenborough nature reserve near Nottingham has 7 bitterns in residence.
Time to leave, I quietly got up from my seat, said goodbye to the people next to me, left the hide, and as I turned to close the door, I saw a bittern for about a second as it disappeared into the rushes! I knew it was a bittern because a lady opened the door of the hide and asked me, "Er, did you see...?"
Not a wasted day: I saw huge flocks of goldfinches, as well as everything from dunnocks to cormorants, and an amusing display by a shoveller which was doing a "Bambi on ice" for several minutes.
It sounds like you had a good day for your first experience in a hide. On my first time all I saw was one goldcrest!
Cheers, Linda.
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