This morning at minsmere was bright and breezy and on the path to Island mere hide I could hear many birds singing including Blackcaps and Whitethroats as well as Robins and various Tits and Warblers. On arrival at the hide I was struck by how few birds there were around but after a while several Marsh Harriers drew closer and I was treated to some short bouts of 'sky dancing' which is when the male harriers wheel and tumble in spectacular fashion to impress the females.Shortly afterwards a male Bittern appeared from the reeds to the left of the hide to hunt on the area of cut reeds where he was seen to catch several small fish. This bird kept appearing for short periods all morning providing many of the visitors with good close views.
Another Bittern flew into the reeds on the right of the hide and after 30 minutes or so it walked out of the reeds into sight but this was a much more flighty bird and quickly retreated back into cover where about 2 minutes later it took off and enabled me to get some really good shots in the sunshine.
The rest of the morning passed in similar fashion with more Harriers making regular appearances and the occasional Bittern keeping me on my toes. Other notable sightings were the many Swifts flying over the mere which were my first of the year and a pair of Hobbies hunting over the reedbeds and levels.
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