Little Bitterns

Seeing as how news and photos have appeared elsewhere on the internet (and it was the worst kept secret in Somerset anyway) I might as well share my photos of Little Bittern on here. As expected, they were present at Ham Wall RSPB again this summer, with up to 4 'barking' males recorded. No females were seen so breeding hasn't been confirmed, but having spent some time monitoring them last summer I know how difficult they can be to see, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were more successful than thought. In any case, having 4 males return is fantastic news, and even if no chicks were raised this year, the colonisation is most definitely still on.

I was fortunate enough to be guiding on a very early morning with a gentleman who was down in the county for Glastonbury festival and wanted to squeeze in some pre-work birding. We happened to be looking at a patch of reeds just as a male flew across and disappeared in, after a few minutes of 'barking' he flew back across giving us an extended flight view and the opportunity for a few quick photos.

These photos were taken at 5:38am ( I did say EARLY!), so i'll blame the lack of daylight for the horrendous quality, 1/100sec isn't really suitable for a small flying bird.....