Blogging more frequently is not one of my New Year resolutions, but it is about time I posted something. My recent silence has not been due to laziness or even absentmindedness, but just being too busy.
Now that the roosting starlings and clouds of fieldfares and redwings have moved on, the reserve can seem rather quiet at this time of year, but there are birds to be found when the wind drops. I and a regular birder recorded 36 species between us on New Year's Day; not a big number when compared with a coastal site or large wetland, but ok for here. Our total included a chiffchaff, which is very unusual in winter, presumably the bird that has been seen/heard during the last couple of months.
This afternoon a couple of satisfied customers were pleased to report seeing a bittern fly across the mere and land in full view in front of Reedbed Hide, and then watched a barn owl hunting over the fen. This is the second sighting of a bittern in three days. There have also been a couple of merlins around, mostly in the farmland outside the reserve, but they do zoom across the reedbed occasionally.