BITTERN IN FLIGHT

   Also this week I managed to capture some half decent shots of a Bittern in flight. This was a male who was in pursuit of a female over the reed beds and was determined not to let her escape. The milder temperatures have also encouraged the Bitterns to start booming finally about two months later than normal. They only boom for a few weeks to attract a mate and for the remainder of the year are not very vocal at all, in fact the birds have to exercise their vocal cords for a few weeks before they can boom and this is known as grunting. I have seen quite a few birds in flight over the winter when their numbers are boosted by birds from the continent but this was the first close encounter in good conditions.