Bittern's about

Me again!

Blimey it's all go!

This morning a visitor saw a bittern flying over the reserve, from the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust side towards the RSPB side! These rare birds are still about on the reserve so keep your eyes pealed!

 Bittern picture by Peter Hewitt, this bittern was seen a couple of years ago from the Kingfisher Hide!

Quick bittern fact-file

• Bitterns are a similar size to a heron
• They are all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars
• They are rare (they are red listed), the RSPB has done alot of work to improve and create habitats for these wonderful birds
• Its dependence on reedbeds and very small population make it a Red List species - one of the most threatened in the UK
• They are very secretive, and move silently through reedbeds, to the water edge to catch fish
• They eat fish, amphibians and insects
• They over winter in the Lee Valley, we hope they will stay and breed one year! Fingers crossed!