The Bogbumper!

After peering into the sun at the Bean Geese, I headed off to Woodwalton Fen NNR with Kevin Du Rose in the hope of some Bittern action. I wasn't that hopeful, because in the past I've spent large amounts of time waiting for Bitterns to appear, and it hasn't happened. But it's easier to be optimistic when it's sunny, and if you don't try, you won't see...

We drew a blank at the Gordon's Mere hide, so we wandered over to Rothschild's, and within a relatively short period of time, the mythical Bogbumper materialised before our eyes, flew around in a big circle, and dropped back down at the back of the mere. We could see it crashing about in the reeds before it vanished again.

What was really interesting was how the assembled wildfowl on the mere behaved... they definitely weren't keen on the Bittern and were unsettled by it. It's always helpful when birds draw your attention to other, more interesting birds.


This Pied Wagtail was at the entrance to the reserve.

photos taken with Nikon Coolpix 995 + Leica Apo Televid 62 with 16x eyepiece