Bittern onsite
A bittern has been spotted regularly from the Scrape hide over the past week!
The bittern was first spotted by reserve staff and a regular visitor last Fri 12 Jan. It has been seen at least once a day. It took to the air on Sat 13 Jan and was snapped by visitor Angela Wright, recording its presence. This Tuesday morning a marsh harrier flushed the bittern onto the ice at the edge of the reeds at the back of the water at Scrape hide. That time our Reserve Supervisor Rosie Ellis had her camera and took some quick snaps. The bittern was been playing peek-a-boo all morning on Wednesday, coming in and out of the reed's edge.
Our image above was taken by regular visitor Alec Pelling.
Bitterns are stocky brown and buff-coloured herons, usually hunched in appearance. They are generally tricky to spot as they are so well camouflaged in the reeds. In cold weather, they break cover more often in their search for food.
Wed 17 Jan
Scrape hide: 2 Cetti’s warbler, 1 water rail, 2 blue tits, 4 mallards, 2 Canada geese, 1 coot 1 snipe, 3 goldfinches
Sand martin hide: 7 shelducks, 13 teal, 3 wigeon, 18 lapwing
Ramsar hide: 1 stonechat
Tues 16 Jan
Scrape hide: 1 bittern flushed by marsh harrier in am and pm on ice to left of hide at fen cut, 1 marsh harrier
Wetland Discovery: 1 water rail
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 5 cattle egrets, 1 pheasant, 12 lapwing, 5 Canada geese, 2 grey herons, 17 shelducks, 3 coots, 2 wigeon, 2 gadwall, 2 black-headed gulls
Long path: 1 kingfisher, 2 bullfinches.
Mon 15 Jan
WeBs Count
Sun 14 Jan
Wetland Discovery: 8 chaffinches, 14 goldfinches, 12 tufted ducks, 1 kingfisher, 4 blue tits, 29 mallards, 1 kestrel, 15 woodpigeon, 11 Canada geese, 2 carrion crow, 2 robin, 1 blackbird, 1 coot
Arun Rverlife: 2 pochard
Pelican cove: 1 little grebe
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 58 lapwing, 1 wigeon.
Sat 13 Jan
Arun Riverlife: 30 black-headed gulls, 12 coots, 1 moorhen, 1 cormorant, 10 Canad geese, 13 mallards, 1 pocharrd, 7 tufted ducks
Ramsar and Sand Martin hide: 25 shelducks, 1 lapwing, 1 snipe, 1 little egret
Scrape hide: 1 bittern visitor confirmed with photo flying from fencut 1 to main reedbed.
Fri 12 Jan
Woodloop: 5 woodpigeons, 6 chaffinch, 2 blackbirds 1 mallard, 2 moorhens, 11 blue tits, 2 great spotted woodpecker, 4 goldfinches, 3 robin, 2 wren,
Arun Riverlife: 1 water rail
Scrape hide: 3 shoveler, 8 teal, 1 Cetti’s warbler, 4 snipe, 1 bittern
Ramsar & Sand martin hide: 1 grey heron, 4 shelducks, 5 shoveler, 3 teal, 1 lapwing, 2 herring gulls, 2 cormorant
Reedbed: 2 snipe
