Once Bittern, twice shy, 3 Bitterns, my Joy!

In all of my 37 years of living I had never seen the elusive Bittern. This in part is down to the main fact I had never been to locations where they inhabit! But back in January this was to change. And as the saying goes "just like buses, two come along" well in this case 3 for me. Although technically it was the same bird I believe seen on 3 separate occasions within the 3 or so hours at Dungeness RSPB reserve. I stretch the truth a bit as also the first glimpse of a Bittern was at the Stodmarsh reserve. I say glimpse, as it literally was as it flew in the distance.

Back to Dungeness. My father and I were sat chatting to others in the hide about a Kingfisher that we has missed by 30 minutes or so. Then luckily with my camera out and ready, a Bittern flew over and landed in the Reeds some 100ft away in front of us. 

First capture

Swinging round to land

Sometime later, in the area it landed it appeared at the top of the reeds. A behaviour that is rare according to the other wildlife lovers in the hide. The bird stayed there for only about 3 minutes then took off and landed in a small island right out in the lake out of sight. The next sequence shows this.

 

After it disappeared I had resigned to the fact one would not be seen again this day. My anguish was dispersed off by the re-arrival of the the blue and orange flash of a male Kingfisher. Just in the edge of the wooded bit to the right and only some 20ft away, he appeared and dived several times and then perched further in. Then as luck would have it, he flew out onto an exposed branch overhanging the water, thus providing the perfect hunting spot. In total he spent over an hour on this perch and caught at least 7 unlucky small fish. He even had a little friend at one point in the form of a Great Tit. This helps to give a sense of scale of the Kingfisher.

Posing for the cameras

With fish

You got a friend in me!

 This friend came a lot closer to us, feeding on Bullrush seeds.

After this second highlight of the day, they say things happen in 3's! well it turned out to be the case. The Bittern returned to the same area as seen above. This time staying hidden, until, a patrolling Marsh Harrier flew nearby and spooked the Bittern to fly out and crash land in the water. These are a bird that does not swim on water as the wade at the edges, so for this to happen could prove serious for the bird. As luck has it I have the sequence of it from just landing in the water through to it struggling to escape the clutches of the water and return to dry land. I have only included a snapshot  few as some were of similar look.

As the sequence depicts, the Bittern really struggles to make it back. The energy and power it uses to make it back is really evident in these. It uses the wings as paddles, lifting it up and providing forward motion. I have revisited on two more occasion this year and not seen any Bitterns, although one trip provided action for my "Battle of the Coots" blog previously published.

Elmley second visit successes

March 2014 gave me the chance to upgrade my kit to a much better longer lens. Now with my new acquisition, I could get the extra reach I had been wanting for around a year. My first tryout with the new lens was planned to head back to Elmley. With some research on the reserves main website, there was some great showings of the Short Eared Owls the proceeding weeks. It was a Sunday that the weather proved fine, and so armed with my gear of I headed to Elmley.

Along the main track that leads to the main car park, there was a lot of bird activity with Lapwings, Little Egret and Redshank all feeding within a stones throw of the car. The light was fantastic, really enhancing the colours in the Lapwing and Redshank. With all these birds so close by I was able to begin to learn how the new lens worked and what it could achieve with image quality. The following image is one of the first capturing the natural feeding behaviour of the Redshank.

Redshank feeding

I have recently revisited these first images and spotted one that could demonstrate how well Redshank can be camouflaged. I decided to turn it into monochrome and adjust the settings to really enhance how well hidden this particular bird was. The only real giveaway to the bird being there is the darkness of its bill and that it is horizontal.

Perfectly Hidden

After parking, I made my way to the first hide, (a good 20 minutes walk) chatting with a film maker on the way. This hide provided me with another first sighting in my life, the Avocet! Such an iconic bird that I had only ever seen on TV and publications. 

First sighting

2 hrs drifted by, with quite a few shots taken of Avocet activity. From them resting and stretching through too courtship dances, these were aspects I had never observed before.

And Stretch...

Let the displaying begin...

Dancing on the Water...

After exhausting my Avocet observations, I made my way back to the open ground in anticipation of the Shorties appearance. On the way I managed to get a Meadow Pipit sitting on a post by using a parked car in the disabled parking as shelter. This was also another first sighting, so all bodes well for the main attraction.

Meadow Pipit

After 5 minutes of walking, some fellow photographers were also waiting around too. Then suddenly, the wife of one of them, spotted a Shorty on the ground some 300ft or so away. Result!  it does come in three's then after all. It was too far away for a photographic opportunity but with some waiting, it was sure to take flight. Not long after, with great expectations, not only this Owl, but another took to the air.

Just taken flight

Heading out

Some 16 months to the date it transpires, from first hearing and seeing photos of these stunning Owls only a 45 minute drive away. I was to have my first ever sighting of this visitor to the UK. And this, on my second ever visit to Elmley to try and photograph them! The pair circuited for 10 minutes or so before one disappeared over the sea defence mound. The other stayed a while longer, hunting just as the Barn Owl had in the field that backs onto my garden. Gliding effortlessly through the air, pausing, looking down, then carrying on in flight. Pure magic to watch. This was as close as they came to us, just keeping that safe distance. But close enough for me to really appreciate how the Shorty goes about it business.

Little Egrets

The day wasn't quite done with action though, as not long after the Owl moved on, I managed to get the above shot of 3 Little Egrets in flight. An evening Suns glow, lighting the birds otherwise plain white plumage as they fly. After the first and this visit successes, I am so appreciative of the reserve and its diversity of bird life.

The Barn Owl

Two years ago looking out of the dining room window, suddenly a white flash went past along the outlying perimeter of the field at the bottom of the garden. In the 35 years of living here, the sublime Barn Owl had never made an appearance. As I was just starting out in my wildlife photography, I couldn't believe my luck. Here was the perfect opportunity to not only observe the Owl hunting but also capture it too. The Owl first made an appearance in early March 2013, but it wasn't until the 12th March that I was able to catch it with my camera. 

 One of the first captures with the Camera

During this visit the Owl also had another onlooker in the form of a Little Owl.

Little Owl onlooking on stump

To have two Owls appear at the same time, I really struck lucky. The Little Owl didn't stay long and promptly disappeared. The Barn Owl made several circuits hunting around for about 20 minutes for this visit.  It was the first time for me trying to capture a bird in flight and increasingly more difficult by the fact at that time I only had available with an adapter an old manual focus, fixed 300mm Lens.

The last pass of the evening at around 6:51pm

There were several more appearances over the next few weeks and then unfortunately there was no more sign of the Owl or Owls. I had found out through a neighbour, that the pair were nesting in woods just a few hundred metres away in a derelict Nissan Hut. I ventured to that area but alas never got to see them there myself. Not long after, in these woods some trees were felled and so I believe the pair were scared off by the activity. Another factor as well is that this particular field had just been taken over by a new renter (In fact a good farmer friend) and he soon mowed the field for Hay. So the perfect hunting environment for the pair had disappeared for them.

 

During these hunting sessions the Owl did make a few catches of mice. The above shot is one of a few times the Owl landed and made a catch in this same area over the next few visits that I was able to photograph. Having two trees in the field either side of the garden allowed me to use them for camouflage and capture these great moments where the Owl was on the ground. It did spot me on one occasion but didn't seemed disturbed by the fact I was there and even once seemed to display just for me!

Another in flight shot about 100ft away

 
Another rare occasion he rested on the fence at the back of the field. This gave me the chance to capture the moment of him resting in the general area, helping to portray where the Barn Owl is very likely to hunt.

Resting on the fence

On the move again from rest. In the Background Eastwell Manor.

March and April 2013 was a time that gave me a real insight into one of the most beautiful, peaceful, graceful Birds of Prey to reside in the UK. I long for the day for them to return but feel that will not happen anytime soon as the field now has sheep in, keeping the grass short and devoid of that long, untouched grassland perfect for the stunning Barn Owl to hunt.