As I said at the end of Part One (link below) I wandered around to Island Mere and as I walked into the hide people were looking out of the righthand window and looking down at a Water Rail wandering through the reed stems right along side the hide. First one I've seen for a while.
community.rspb.org.uk/.../minsmere-in-mid-october-part-one
Then looking back into the reed beds some Bearded Tits popped up, unfortunately not as close as earlier.
After that distraction the Water Rail popped out for a while again.
In the channel leading up to the hide from the Mere a Little Grebe was diving and feeding.
Later when I looked at my photos it appeared to see a hole in the water and put it's head down it.
Cropped close up.
A Great Egret finally stopped playing statues and took off.
Something I've not seen before, a Bittern swimming.
Most of the time Bitterns were popping up fairly regularly but some way off, but this one felt we could have a closer look.
But not for long, it soon crouched down and launched itself into the air.
On this visit I saw more flying Bitterns than I've ever seen before, but mostly at a distance.
Finally one gave us a relatively close fly past to finish the day off on a high for me.
So ended one of my best days at Minsmere, and just lately most visits feel like that, and as before I met many friendly people, some local and some holidaying from afar, all making for a great day out.
Best Wishes,
Trevor
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
(Pardon the Scottish Accent)
Kind regards, Ann
Lot to learn