Bittern at last

Absolutely thrilled to see (and get some 300 photos of) a bittern.

We are actually slightly further from Minsmere here at our holiday cottage than we are at home.  But we were keen to make another visit.  Whilst browsing the website this morning to download the site map, I read the latest blog post, which mentioned that a bittern had been spotted on a number of occasions recently feeding in front of a specific hide (called The Wildlife Lookout).  

So today, after hooking our car up to the electric charging point (not a rapid charger, but during the 6 hours or so that we spent there, we were able to more than replace the electricity we had used getting there), and having a cup of tea, we headed for this hide.  And within 5 minutes, we'd seen it!  In extras is the sort of view we were getting initially - glimpses when the wind blew the reeds out of the way.  But after a while, he worked his way into a much clearer area, and I was able to take lots of photos.

The rest of our visit was pleasant, but almost an anti-climax after such a thrilling start.  No other exciting birds seen.  But a gentle meander through the woods meant I racked up a total of 8,400 steps.