A Bittern bonanza as the routine goes out the window

Routine. Routine is one of those words that feels a little bad or slightly derogatory. It can describe someone’s life as boring or it can describe things as predicable and by association, unexciting.

Well I have a routine when I volunteer at the Lee Valley Park. It begins with an hour or so walk around a part of the park to see what’s about. Normally I do the same old boring route as I also do a BTO winter thrush survey and have an allotted square kilometre to cover and count the numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing Song Thrush etc in that area. Well today would be different and I don’t know why.

The day began with a beautiful blue sky. The past few weeks had been grey and snow white but there was a real sense of things become mild and nature preparing for spring. Instead of wearing what I normally wear, I donned my box-fresh Lee Valley Fleece and volunteer badge. Not exactly exciting I know but it made me feel more a part of the Park and what they do. Silly but there you go.

Approaching the Bittern Watchpoint
Upon arriving at the Lee Valley Park, I was surprised by the amount of snow and ice still quite prominent here. In some places, the snow was still 4-5 inches deep and the sheet ice made walking around on some of the pathways almost deadly.

Before opening up the Bittern Watchpoint, I took a walk or slide or whatever you want to call it to Friday lake to find Smew. All the lakes had extensive ice covering them and very few wildfowl. I did happen upon a couple of twittering Siskin as I negotiated a rather tricky part of the park which I have now renamed the Cresta run. Even when just standing still and viewing the siskin, I could feel myself sliding sideways as if I was on a conveyor belt.

I opened up the centre and put out the telescopes and binoculars; switched on all the CCTV screens while all the time, keeping one eye on the reedbed for the elusive Bittern.

The usual views you get of a Bittern, if you’re lucky.

The morning went pretty much as it usually did. The odd glimpse of the bittern as it sneaked around at the back of the reeds and a couple of water rail chasing each other around and around in a routine of their own. As it was a sunny day, plenty of people passed through.

Even dogs are allowed in.
Then, in the early afternoon, everything changed. A second Bittern flew in and disappeared into the reeds. 10 minutes later it flew out across the lake and settled, distantly in another part of the park. This must have upset or disturbed our regular bird because it’s routine is to stay at the back and frustrate everyone. However, now it decided to come out of the reeds and give us all incredible views.






Now if the Bittern did this as a matter of routine, routine would become one of the most exciting things that could ever happen.

Oh yes, and on Friday morning I finally managed to see some Waxwings.

Bad shot of waxwings but who cares?
Not you weren’t expecting that were you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Digiscoping DIY Adaptor

Image
Thought I would take this opportunity to explain and illustrate the way I digiscope. I have never bothered to invest in a purpose-made adaptor because I’m never sure which one would be best and I suppose I’m a bit stingy. Instead, I have experimented with different joining mechanisms which have include fruit juice bottle tops, paint roller tubes and plumbing joints. Over the five or so years I have digiscoped, the results have been unpredictable. This has been caused by the light conditions, the mobility of the subject and invariably, the distances between my camera and the bird. probably worth noting here that I also tend to focus through the scope before attaching the camera. The most successful adaptor for me has been the paint roller tube. I discovered if I strip off the furry bit, I’m left with a perfect basis for an adaptor. Depending on the camera lens width and the telescope eyepiece diameter, I wrap insulation tape inside the tube. Measure the depth and width of the ca...
Read more

Scotland day 6: Look out. Look up and look where you’re going!

Image
Oh my days! Is it Friday already? This was our last full day with Heatherlea and it was destined to be a big one. Correction: The big one. Do these birding tour operators plan this? Do they always save the best for last? I don’t know. Some would say the Capercaillie caper would have done it and it did in many ways but this day would match it or in some eyes surpass it. You be the judge. Another full fat breakfast! My only thoughts during this now routine ceremony was whether I would still fit in the minibus. To be honest, I thought we would be doing a bit more walking on this trip but apart from the odd amble up a hill, we were never far from the transport. The birding day began with an excursion to Roseisle and initially around some of the farmland minor roads where we picked up a couple of corn buntings just sitting on fence wires. Looking out from a viewpointon the Moray Firth at Burghead Bay there were velvet and common scoters, eider and a few red-breasted merganser. Telescope out...
Read more

Scotland Day 1: A few 'grouses' about the weather

Image
We woke in the morning to discover the beautiful sunny evening that met our arrival had turning into a cold, grey dreich. We caught up with our guides and fellow adventurers early so that we could could visit a black grouse lek before breakfast. The visibility was poor and the air damp. When we arrived at the site, it was very difficult to see the birds. A few bobbing backsides – the white of the male tail feathers was about all I could see.  Black grouse, what Black Grouse? Lesser redpoll called as they went over and the inevitable willow warblers sang from various trees. Everyone got poor views to be fair but at that stage, we were all happy. A bit later at breakfast we discussed the weather, as you do and Dave and Chris, our guides for the tour laid out plans for local birding in Abernethy forest, primarily for crested tit and the magnificent capercaillie. The excitement was clearly audible. We arrived and parked up near Loch Mallachie and made our way down through the incredibl...
Read more