Christmas Eve Bittern (Potteric Carr)

Birding surely shouldn't be this easy? You stroll into a Thornton's coffee shop on the way, enjoying a big Cafe Latte topped with cream, along with scones and chocolates, and then you make your way up the road to the reserve. You saunter through the reserve, picking up a few things along the way (Siskin, Great Tit, Blue Tit etc) and then you wander into a hide.

On opening the door you find a sea of happy faces, hurrying you in. "It's just there" they say. And sure enough it is. One Bittern, just 30' away, smack in front of the hide, in low reeds, and as plain as day to see.

You dash in and take it in quick in case it decides to fly off immediately. It doesn't fly off. For an good hour. In fact, after feeding and drinking for a while at the edge of the reeds it decides to have a wander. Straight towards the hide. It stops about 15' away, in a small open area, and proceeds to wander around, practice classic Bittern type poses, and then turn itself inside out preening.

In fact, this bird does so much preening and posing that you do begin to wonder if it isn't very well aware that it is the subject of some very excited photography as several photographers scrum to get the best position, and a chorus of clicks provides the background music for its antics.

And you curse that you didn't bring your camera - something often left at home as the maximum lens length available isn't usually good enough. But you also take pleasure in not having to brave the scrum, and instead being able to sit quietly and watch this beautiful bird do what it is that Bitterns do without having to worry about aperture and shutter speeds and light levels.

And you don't want to leave because whenever in your life are you going to get views like this again? But after an hour and more you decide maybe you will. There are other people who would benefit from your comfy seat and brilliant vantage point, and there are other birds to see. Water Rail, Marsh Tit, Bullfinch, Sparrowhawk, Treecreeper, and Jay all oblige, amongst others.

The rain sets in and it is time to go, but what a day. All the better too, for having viewed it all through the fantastic new binoculars that Santa kindly brought a day early.

Merry Christmas x