"I have come to see the Bittern" (1 Viewer)

[Mono]

Earlier today, sat on my own in a hide at Leighton Moss. A person comes in and announces to the hide in general rather than to me, "I have come to see the Bittern". I tell them that I have been there for 20 minutes or so and haven't see one, but that Bitterns will be about. They assure me that they have been told that they will see Bitterns, by whom they don't say. I explain how skulking Bitterns are but might pop out or fly over at any point. They then asks me how long they would need to wait. I, rather flippantly, say that they could be waiting two minutes or two weeks. They then proclaim loudly, "this is simply unacceptable!" and stride out of the hide slamming the door behind them.

I would love to say that a Bittern showed up as soon as they left, but sadly not!

 

[Farnboro John]

Lost count of the times I've seen people wait to see Bitterns for maybe half an hour then leave as its getting towards what a birder might call "Bittern light"!

John

 

[Prestdj]

in over 40 years of birding.........i hear bittern most of the summer at st aidens but seeing one is just luck

seen one at leighton moss which was my first but it took ages to see from the public hide this was 1988
1989 entered the hide at blacktoft and one just stood in the middle of the pool
1991 elland gravel pits watched one feeding below the road
2022 saw 2 in flight over st aidens photos in the gallery

so a wait of 2 minutes is too long

the bittern finds you

 

[Stu57]

Lol at Ham Wall a couple years ago I was working at the visitor centre and a well spoken lady walks up to me and announces I want to see a Bittern a Glossy Ibis a Marsh Harrier.

The bloke who was working with me announces good luck with that I have been here a couple of months and I haven't seen all of those. Her face was a picture I just had to walk off as I was trying not to laugh 😅

 

[Julie50]

I have seen all three of those at Ham Wall; but then I have been going every summer for over 8 years!

 

[Original PaulE]

My favourite one was at the Burgh, I'd been wandering about for 9 and a half hours looking for the reported Pallid Harrier, finally after giving up back at the car, I had a last look over the gate and it flew into view and landed in the field. Bloke pulls up in his car, gets out in his suit with a pair of bins " I hear there's a Pallid Harrier about" he says, I very nearly kept me gob shut, but honesty overwhelmed me and I pointed out the bird, he looked through his bins, "very nice" turned round went back to his car and drove off!!! so sometimes the entitlement pays off!!!!

 

[chowchilla]

Next time I'm at Porth Hellick or the Lower Moors, I'm going to enter one of the hides and proclaim to all within,
"I hereby declare that I will see the Blackburnian Warbler that I have been assured has been seen on Scilly."

When they inform me that not only is the bird long gone, but that it was also seen on a different island entirely, I will glower at the speaker and say, "This is simply unacceptable" and storm out.

Other birders on the islands who know me will think I've lost it. But I'd be tempted to see how far I can take the joke.

 

[DaveN]

I had a funny incident at my local patch some years ago regarding a Bittern. During the winter 2012/13 we had 2 Bitterns present to the delight of many admirers. One day one was showing exceptionally well in a channel right of the main pool. So I put out a message saying 'showing well'. A guy turned up about 4hrs later and asked me where the Bittern was. I said I don't know as I've not seen one for a while. He then proceeded to moan at me because he had seen the 'showing well' message and was disgusted it still wasn't 'showing well'. I tried to explain that this was 4hrs ago but he just wouldn't have it and the bird should still be 'showing well' just as I had described.

 

[Farnboro John]

I had a funny incident at my local patch some years ago regarding a Bittern. During the winter 2012/13 we had 2 Bitterns present to the delight of many admirers. One day one was showing exceptionally well in a channel right of the main pool. So I put out a message saying 'showing well'. A guy turned up about 4hrs later and asked me where the Bittern was. I said I don't know as I've not seen one for a while. He then proceeded to moan at me because he had seen the 'showing well' message and was disgusted it still wasn't 'showing well'. I tried to explain that this was 4hrs ago but he just wouldn't have it and the bird should still be 'showing well' just as I had described.

Perhaps "showing well on and off" might have been a more useful description.

The Somerset Levels can be awesome for Herons etc. I dropped in there one evening near the beginning of last year having successfully twitched a Night Heron at Slapton earlier in the day. In about an hour I saw a couple of Great White Egrets, a flock of about twenty Cattle Egrets, Little Egrets I didn't bother counting, some Grey Herons, half a dozen Glossy Ibises and three Bitterns. I missed the Purple Heron though!

John

 

[YuShan]

Many non-birders visit Monteverde NP in Costa Rica to see a quetzal. While queuing up to buy a ticket, there was one clearly visible in the trees across the parking lot. When I pointed this out to people they didn't want to know about it because they weren't in the park yet and had not yet paid $15
Some people I talked to later were disappointed that after paying $15 they didn't see one in the park.

Regarding Bittern, Minsmere RSPB is a great place to see them in the spring.

 

[THE_FERN]

On la Palma (canaries) I was trying to find the location of a rare plant which I knew was in a particular reserve. The first park person I spoke to refused to confirm its location, saying "nature is not a supermarket for you to take what you want when you want it". His companion was more accommodating but didn't know.

Luckily, the Spanish parks authorities publish GPS tracks for scenic walks. One of the named points on one of the walks in that reserve is... ...the location of that plant.

 

[Julie50]

I was in a hide at Rye Harbour once and we were snipe “hunting” - you know how you can never see one, then when you get your eye in there everywhere!

A very loud woman in one of the larger hides stomped about pushing between people, “where is it?”, “ well I can’t see it” etc.. most of us just left!

Fortunately I find this sort of behaviour very rare

 

[Andy Lakin]

I was in a hide at Rye Harbour once and we were snipe “hunting” - you know how you can never see one, then when you get your eye in there everywhere!

A very loud woman in one of the larger hides stomped about pushing between people, “where is it?”, “ well I can’t see it” etc.. most of us just left!

Fortunately I find this sort of behaviour very rare

It always amazes me when people get irate when they can't locate a bird despite really good directions. I know its frustrating but have a bit of manners when somebody has done the good deed of trying to help.

Regarding bitterns etc a lot of people don't appreciate that you usually only get a few seconds flight view so if you're not switched on I.e you've not got much chance.

 

[Mono]

Sometime

It always amazes me when people get irate when they can't locate a bird despite really good directions.

I do think that birders can sometimes be terrible at giving directions, just below the willow tree when there are about a dozen willow trees!

 

[Farnboro John]

Sometime

I do think that birders can sometimes be terrible at giving directions, just below the willow tree when there are about a dozen willow trees!

"Over there..." "by that bush shaped like a dragon's head" "twelve o' clock from me"

Mind you, there can be moments when blind panic sets in for an observer, and this can rise in direct proportion to the sense of need and the perception that the opportunity may be brief.

No names no pack drill, but I remember a good and able birder at the Orkney Pallid Harrier twitch who missed the bird on its first flight through the valley it was haunting, below a layer of low cloud from which it had emerged and back into which it would surely disappear at some point. To give you some idea, I was 300 yards away at the food van when the shout went up and I had time to run back, find my scope in the crowd and see the bird.... the gentleman in question just couldn't get on it and his voice calling for more directions went up the scale till it was the howl of the banshee - then the bird disappeared into the fog again, not showing for another three hours!

For the less fanatical birdwatcher one can imagine say, a Bittern going fast over reeds in poor light causing the same problems. This should not however happen for Snipe.

John

 

[Welsh Peregrine]

And apparently useless directions can work - “It’s by the three prominent blades of grass” helped me get onto the Filey Pechora Pipit! Thanks to who ever said that!

 

[Julie50]

"Over there..." "by that bush shaped like a dragon's head" "twelve o' clock from me"

Mind you, there can be moments when blind panic sets in for an observer, and this can rise in direct proportion to the sense of need and the perception that the opportunity may be brief.

No names no pack drill, but I remember a good and able birder at the Orkney Pallid Harrier twitch who missed the bird on its first flight through the valley it was haunting, below a layer of low cloud from which it had emerged and back into which it would surely disappear at some point. To give you some idea, I was 300 yards away at the food van when the shout went up and I had time to run back, find my scope in the crowd and see the bird.... the gentleman in question just couldn't get on it and his voice calling for more directions went up the scale till it was the howl of the banshee - then the bird disappeared into the fog again, not showing for another three hours!

For the less fanatical birdwatcher one can imagine say, a Bittern going fast over reeds in poor light causing the same problems. This should not however happen for Snipe.

John

Lol - at Brandon Marsh on Wednesday I actually said 12 o'clock in front of me when the guy next to me was trying to relocate a Common in a flock of Black Headed Gulls!

 

[Xenospiza]

And apparently useless directions can work - “It’s by the three prominent blades of grass” helped me get onto the Filey Pechora Pipit! Thanks to who ever said that!

The Siberian Buff-bellied Pipit in the Netherlands posed similar problems, not helped by the fact that it was mostly on a ploughed field 200 metres away.
You first had to look at some farm buildings obscured behind trees in the distance, understand which window, door, or tractor to look at, then look at the unremarkable "line of straw" on the field and finally find the pipit amongst the Water Pipits as it would show for a few seconds every minute.

It was fun trying to explain to the new arrivals that they should first learn the buildings before attempting the pipit!

"Have a look through my scope" is the best solution for people who cannot find birds that sit still, but with this pipit that was rarely the case...

 

[Mono]

The New York reserve Jamaica Bay has the Manhattan skyline as a back drop. It is very useful for giving directions, "just below the Empire State"!

 

[Andy Lakin]

My favourite is when the Leach's Petrels appear on the river Mersey in the autumn. It is so bizarre giving directions like its just below that truck!

How embarrassing is it when people are giving great directions and you utterly fail to pick the bird up? (Probably just me to be fair!)