The Beautiful Bittern
The Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is still one of the U.K's most rare wetland birds.
A member of the Heron family, the U.K's breeding population is 75 pairs. Luckily here in Suffolk we are in the middle of the stronghold of the U.K Bittern population.
Renowned for their "Booming" call during March and April the Bittern truly is a unique bird. Perfectly camouflaged for its habitat, very elusive and only seen briefly in flight or in the reedbeds the Bittern will sneak around doing its very best to remain anonymous to anything or anyone else!
RSPB Minsmere is probably best known for Bitterns in Suffolk, However Titchwell Marsh, Cley Marshes and RSPB Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk are also excellent places to see & hear them.
On a trip to RSPB Strumpshaw Fen on 05/02/10 I was lucky enough to witness 6 Bittern flights, and also managed to digiscope my first ever Bittern photos.
On this occasion the Bittern decided to take flight from within the reedbed. As my pictures show, it grips some reeds together to help gain elevation and then eventually takes to the wing. Digiscoping birds in flight with a DSLR is quite tricky. As there isn't any autofocus it means that you have to focus manually as well as moving with the bird, quite difficult, but possible with a bit of practice!
I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them!
