Good morning! Well, after listening to it barking for around three hours last night, I am pleased to say that I saw the little bittern last night at around 8.30pm!
There were plenty of eyes and ears down there last night and local birdwatcher Richard Thewlis did these fantastic sketches of it:
He also did a sketch of a crane and a red kite on Sunday:
Thank you very much to Richard for sharing these with us!
The search for the little bittern was really a game of cat and dog last night as it was barking almost none stop between 5.30pm and 8.30pm. If you are not familiar with the call, a recording can be found here. I based myself on the northern side of the triangle and the bird did sound like it was very close. It was seen on the southern edge of the triangle slightly later but all we saw of it was the reeds shaking and not the bird itself!
We went round to the southern side of the triangle where there were more pairs of eyes. The bird was seen again by several people as it “flopped” across the channel (this was the description we got!) As the light faded, we eventually saw it in flight east over the triangle at around 8.35pm. Success! It was great to see this special bird which was not only a first for the reserve, but the first record of this species in Suffolk since 1979.
While we were waiting (mostly) patiently, we saw a reed warbler out in the open and a male cuckoo flew behind us. As the light began to fade, a grasshopper warbler started reeling behind us and a “great” bittern was booming in the distance.
As I walked back through the reserve, I saw a stoat running across the hard track and another “great” bittern was booming in New Fen North, the first area of reedbed.
After Suzanne and I did our Common Bird Census (CBC) around Brandon Fen this morning, we popped down to listen for the little bittern. It was barking in the same area and unfortunately, it was seen just after we left so we just missed it! Oh well! It’s a great sign that it’s still here so hopefully it will stick around for a while.
We hope to see you soon!