Bittern Bonanza at Lakenheath Fen

12th July 2018

Without any shadow of a doubt Lakenheath Fen is by far the best place to photograph Bitterns in the UK this year. There are up to 10 booming males, but the best news is that one of the pairs decided to nest in the reed bed to the right of Mere Hide. Earlier in the summer they could be seen flying in and out of the mere, but now that the young have fledged they can be seen walking round the margins right in front of the hide and, unlike the Bittern hides at Minsmere, you are at ground level.

On this visit I spent 4 hours in the hide, could see a Bittern, sometimes two, for most of the time and took 770 photos, most of which with the Bittern in full view. At times they were walking across in front of the reedbed just 12 yards in front of the hide.

This one even decided there was time for a preen in between photos.

Bitterns love climbing up the reeds and they achieve this by grabbing a fist-ful of reeds, enough to support their not inconsiderable weight. This gives them a good vantage point to view the surroundings.

This one reminded me of the "you ain't seen me right?" character in The Fast Show.

This one even stood right up for a better view..............

....................and then crouched down to charge its legs ready for take-off.............

.........................and we have lift-off.....................

There were also a few other opportunities for flight shots as they flew from one side of the mere to the other.

Well, what an amazing day. Let us hope that they choose to breed in the same place next year.