After no bittern sightings for four months, I was very excited to finally glimpse one a couple of weeks ago on my monthly WeBS count. But one sighting every four months just isn’t enough of these secretive birds.
So imagine how good it felt this morning when I stepped out of the workshop and was greeted by the wonderful sight of a bittern flying over Phase 2 and into the reedy edge of the silt lagoons!
Could that moment have got any better? Well, yes actually….as the bittern made it’s way across the central track and disappeared off into the reed, a cetti’s warbler let out a burst of song from the scrub around silt lagoon 4. I first heard this bird yesterday afternoon and is the first record of the species on site since June – yet more encouraging news of another of our species birds.
More bird news from today includes 19 golden plovers flying south over Phase 2 – the first over the reserve this winter, 60 fieldfares on the public footpath on the southern boundary and a ‘ringtail’ hen harrier flying south along the Trent seen by Michael and a group of RSPB staff visiting Langford today.
And there are still a few red admiral butterflies and common darter dragonflies around on warm, sunny days and large queen wasps exploring the nooks and crannies in the workshop searching for somewhere suitable to spend the winter.