Trip reports
Once Bittern...
Sunday, 22 February 2009
I've been thinking a lot recently about rare birds and their settings. Just over a week before our trip to Lee Valley I stood in a lay-by opposite Tesco just outside Cirencester and watched one of our rarest winter birds, a Great Grey Shrike, put on a superb display. It seemed like such a strange juxtaposition and the situation re-emerged while watching Bittern in Lee Valley.
The simple facts are impressive: Lee Valley holds a large number of these beautiful skulking birds and potentially up to 10% of the Winter population. There is a special hide dedicated to watching Bittern and it offers probably the best potential views in the country. The first glimpse that most of the group got was of a shy, rustling bird heading away from the hide into deeper reeds. However, later in the day birds gave us much better views and were clearly visible in the open channels for long periods. Their golden feathers were just about distinguishable from the brown reeds - but only if you had the options pointed straight at them! Water Rails were far more obliging and could be seen scuttling between the reeds and splashing in the channels.
But back to the juxtaposition of birds and setting. When I first saw Bittern at Minsmere eleven years ago it felt like these were birds you had to go far out into the wild to see. They were on the brink in this country and the thrill of seeing such a rare bird was almost immeasurable. Now, fantastically, it's not like that and Bittern can be found in many reserves and counties. Yet it still seemed strange to watch one of Britain's rarest birds in a country park near London, where most of the visitors were mildly oblivious to their existence. Despite Lee Valley being a rich site with lots of birds, most visitors had only a passing or little interest.
For our group though the birds were hugely enjoyable and rewarding. Egyptian Goose, Goosander, Ruddy Duck and Pintail were some of the rarer wildfowl seen, and there was a superb mating ritual by a pair of Great-crested Grebes. A huge flock of Siskin were an exciting find, as was a rather elusive Treecreeper. It was a disappointing day for raptors, although some people did manage to spot a Peregrine. Lee Valley's famous Smew frustrated us until the very end of the day when two males emerged right in front of the Bittern viewpoint. To see two of Britain's finest winter species, Bittern and Smew, from the comfort of one hide was a very satisfying end to the day.
Perhaps my unease at the juxtaposition was because most of my most special bird moments have been in the wilder parts of the country: Scotland, Norfolk and Suffolk. It seemed frustrating that in a public country park so many people were missing the fine site of a Bittern in the reeds. I felt like shaking them and explaining what a fabulous spectacle was almost at their feet. But we birders seem to suffer from that frustration repeatedly I find - the other half, whether they're strolling past a pool with reeds in London or whizzing past a lay-by near Cirencester, just don't know what they're missing.
Bittern at Lee Valley 22nd February 2009- photograph by Keith Benzing of Wolverhampton Local Group