Bittern by the Bird Bog

click to enlarge
Look close and look hard, look for the black markings on the back.

Potteric Carr, just south of sunny Doncaster, it's a big site, getting bigger, and full of birds. The star attraction here are Bittern. On any given day during the winter up to 6 birds are to be expected on the YWT reserve, and the neat part, as the staff was happy to tell me, is the they cut the edges of the otherview very thick reed beds fairly short, so you can see into the reeds a wee bit, which isn't done elsewhere. 'Best place in the country to see Bittern', he said. I could hardly disagree, we had three sightings through the day, of probably three different birds. They do not stay to breed on site yet, although there's no reason why they shouldn't soon begin to. Black-necked Grebe already do breed there (although are absent in winter), so that could be a fantastic spring/summer double in the future.

On Sunday 20th January, Potteric Carr has its annual Bittern Count day, with hides full of volunteers, ready to point of the birds which at the best of times are damn difficult to pick out. If you've never seen Bittern, make sure to be there.

Our best view was when one Bittern flew right-to-left across Piper Marsh, which is apparently its uniform behaviour, as the bird circuits the reeds in a clockwise direction. The flight is far more direct than the languid wafting of Heron, they go much quicker than that. The tip I was given by the locals was look for the gulls to scatter from the water, as if in predator evasion mode, because they see the Bittern coming before we do and are bloody scared of it!

Run!

Other notables for the day included Water Rail - with ridiculously close views as they fed right out in the open under the bird table on Willow Marsh. That's a very good spot all round really, with 19 species on or around the feeders. As one might expect on a reclaimed northern industrial site, there were Willow Tits all over the place, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Bullfinch, and Jay, also showed well. There is a pair of the vastly declined Lesser Spotted Woodpecker around Potteric Carr, not to be seen during our visit though (nor since the previous Tuesday), indeed such difficult blighters are they to find that one report a week during the winter is about the going rate - and this is the best time of year to see them!


More videos of the day:

Video 1 - Dim distant Bittern preening, wait for the movement
Video 2 - Water Rail again
Video 3 - Jay

The Bittern Trip Mk2

As the saying goes, if at first you don't succeed... so this was our second trip to find the Bittern at Potteric Carr NR, near Doncaster, and this time we weren't to be disappointed.


Perhaps it was the birds becoming more comfortable at their wintering site, the calmer brighter weather, or maybe we were just luckier this time, whatever the reason they showed well yesterday, with two different individuals from one very popular hide. A new lifer for me.

Their famed talent for transformation is well founded, and we watched these birds seamlessly move from streaky egg-shape to towering serpent. It's quite remarkable, and quite typical of this highly charismatic species.

That other elusive bird of the reedbed Water Rail was similarly accommodating, indeed more so. I'd never previously heard of them coming to feeders, never mind seen it, but now I'm a believer. As the tits and finches scattered seed down onto the grass below, the Water Rail skulked and crept from the reeds, out into plain view to peck up the remnants, no more than ten yards from the hide.

On the far side of the reserve beneath the main road into Doncaster, 2,000-3,000 Golden Plover roosted in the afternoon with smaller numbers of Lapwing.

All in all, a grand day out, and just reward for all that Christmas shopping I've had to do with my girlfriend.

Bittern in Winter, Black-necked Grebe breeding in the Spring/Summer, Potteric Carr is quickly becoming a must-do for the northern birder.

Bitternly Disappointed

Potteric Carr, Doncaster, probably the best place in the North for Bittern. Five apparently on the reserve, and did we see one? Nada. Two hours in the number one hide, if they're showing they are there. Birders came and went, but Bittern didn't. Some people had been there all day and seen just as little as we did, whilst we were told early morning is the best time to see the birds.
At times of great frustration it's often helpful to philosophise, and we've decided that striking out today must mean we deserve outrageous luck elsewhere. Soon may it come.

Overall it was a quiet day bird-wise, but it's a relatively new reserve so it is bound to take time for word to get around the bird flocks.

Two Places to Visit

Over the Easter weekend I was fortunate enough to get a few days with family down on the Norfolk coast, during which I made a trip to a reserve I'd often heard about but never visited.

NWT Hickling Broad
Home to vast ranges of reed, interspersed with small pools, bordered on one side by the expansive waters of the broad, Hickling offers a near unique habitat for birds and wildlife, with wooded areas and sedge too. Though the star attraction are the Bittern, I wasn't fortunate enough to see the secretative bird on this occasion, but any disappointment was dispelled by stellar views of breeding Marsh Harrier. Previously I'd only seen the raptor very distantly, and not really been able to appreciate the patchwork plumage of the male, of the cream-tipped chocolate of the females. This time it was all on view, the harriers far closer to the hide than could have been imagined, close enough to watch a spectacular food exchange. My days list wasn't huge, but the common warblers are present, as are species like Teal, Shelduck, Snipe, Lapwing, and I heard Bearded Tit too.


Secondly,
Potteric Carr Nature Reserve
Situated on the south side of Doncaster this is a reserve still partially under development, but already a cracking destination for birders. Prime among its number are breeding Black-necked Grebe (which I was lucky enough to see performing a courtship dance), though here again Bittern may well be sighted.

With reeds, glades, and open farmland, there's good walking and tidy hides - this place is modern and it's good. A dual carriageway lies nearby the reserve and the east coat mainline actually running through it, that said there is greater peace than you might imagine.
The opening hours are 9-to-5, and Potteric Carr really deserves a full day.
One cautionary note, the reserve isn't very well sign-posted, so make sure of your route beforehand. When we arrived the welcome was warm, with a very informative lady making sure we understood the map, where the birds might be and how to cross the railway. She was really rather sweet.

You could do a lot worse than set out for either reserve.