I set off for the Wildlife Trust BCN Summer Leys reserve in the dark and fog followed by Kevin Heath - due to the light traffic we made the journey in c.50mins. We headed straight for the Pioneer Hide to see if we could connect with the visiting bittern and were soon in prime spots as first in residence - it wasn't too long before we were joined by a couple of others. To be honest this didn't look good; a medium fog enveloped the site and there was little change of seeing the other banks for a while yet. We could see some of what was on the water and watched a great white and two little egrets feeding close to one another, the little egret however squabbled each time they got close.
We waited patiently making notes as new species came into view, keeping an eye on the reeds close to us and on the bank to our left - this is where the bittern had fed some of the previous day. A couple of snipe could be seen feeding in the close channel and on the water's edge, front left. The sun had risen and worked to try and clear the fog - success ebbed and flowed with banks of fog rolling in again to degrade the view once more. After an hour or so it was almost possible to view the features on the opposite bank.
Kevin called a kingfisher on the reeds behind us and before we could get on it, it departed although it did result in me spending a bit of time scanning the birds between the wigeon, only resulting in an addition of a little grebe. Around 50 mute swans could now be seen out near the public footpath on the far bank. I turned back and we could see four or five reed bunting working to and fro along the reeds in front, and saw another snipe preening below in the channel. A reed warbler then passed in the reeds immediately in front picking off food from the various areas of scrub. At times it contorted to feed from its perched position, darting to pick off its prey just within reach.
A shout went up as the kingfisher briefly landed on the water level post to our right and we all swung to take a photo. Unfortunately, the visit was too short and it was off. As the sun started to have more impact the great white egret started to entertain more but was also chased around by one of the grey herons. While they both had success the great white egret seems to be happy feeding on quite small fish but the grey heron looks for a more substantial meal as shown in this photo from Ricky Sinfield later in the day.
Out in front, the fog had largely receded, and a ruff had now dropped in with the wigeon and lapwing - they all stood preening in the sun. It had been four hours since we arrived and so we decided to stretch our legs and make a circuit of the water. The bittern wasn't playing ball.
We encountered blackcap and heard bullfinch but didn't see anything of note until we were part way along the public footpath - a hobby over, but only a fleeting view as it disappeared behind the bushes and over the water. W stopped at the little footbridge opposite the entrance back into the reserve but couldn't see anything from there either. As we passed through the gate a common darter dropped on the wooden horizontal and posed for a photo - I complied.
We made our way round and decided to call it a day with no certainty that the bittern was even still on site. Its presence was later confirmed with some photos from Dan Beaman. Oh well ... it was a nice visit anyway with 42 species recorded.
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