Believe it or not, there is actually a Bittern hiding in the above picture! Presumably the same bird, which took me several attempts to see last winter, turned up again during the cold spell we had a couple of weeks ago and has been teasing me ever since. I had already made two unsuccessful attempts to see it but, determined not to be beaten by a Bittern, I gave it another try this morning. The second time I walked past this patch of reeds, I finally spotted a dark line that didn't quite look like a reed. Just above-left of centre, you can see a few dark, tiger stripes on the Bittern's back. No wonder I didn't see it the first time round! Two other birders hadn't managed to find it either, yet it took me a good five minutes or so to finally get one of them onto the bird as it stood motionless amongst the reeds. It took a lot of repositioning to get different angles, but I eventually puzzled together a bit by bit Bittern, first the head, then the beak, then the throat, then the eyes, before it turned and walked away from us, melting back into the reeds. Thankfully, though, about once in a blue moon, it is possible to find one that hasn't read the Bittern code of conduct and does something stupid like standing in the middle of a frozen lake!
