Bittern

I went back to Anglers Country Park yesterday afternoon to view the gull roost. From the bird hide I had good close views of the gulls. I saw 3 Yellow-legged Gulls a third winter, an adult and a first winter. Also present was a first winter Caspian Gull. Also seen was a Long tailed duck.  I met some very friendly local birders in the hide and they said the Bittern was being seen in the reeds at Wntersett reservoir at dusk recently. I followed in the car to the spot to view the reeds and there it was. I fabulous Bittern! Has to be the best bird of 2013 up to now. With that and the Long-eared Owl seen 2 days ago thats 2 birds that I failed to see last year already in the bag

South Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire

We went to Rufford country park this morning in search of Lesser Spotted Wood today but no look. We were straight onto a nice Hawfinch though. Then onto Old Moor for a Bittern but again no show. I took some pics of a pair of Bullfinch and best of all was the arrival of a male Sparrowhawk.  We finished this short day at Pugneys for a Smew but again no luck. Over the road at Calder Wetlands we managed a male Scaup and a Long tailed duck

Glossy Ibis!

Went to Leighton Moss ( again!!)  and were straight onto the Glossy Ibis showing very well near the rail crossing. We then went onto Heysham and got decent views of the juvenile Glaucous Gull and got some useful tips from local birder Pete Cook about where to go for the best views of the harbour. Then it was onto Fleetwood marine lake for the Long Tailed Duck. We also had the best views of a pair of Red Breasted Mergansers I have ever had!
Before returning home myself and cousin Dave decided to check out Marton mere. There were plenty of Teal, Pochard, and Wigeon. We also glimpsed a distant Sparrowhawk. Talking to some local birders they mentioned that a pair of Bewick Swans had been seen in a field close by and sure enough we located them along with 2 Mute Swans.
Overall an excellent day out in good warm conditions and a total of 4 new species to add to our lists.