First sighting of a bittern this year

Out for a nice post xmas stroll really with Julie around Summer Leys this morning. Not a cloud in the sky and 10 degrees it was a pleasure to be out and if you kept walking you were as warm as toast.

I did stop a couple of times. The first was when there were a group of birders looking out into the reed bed behind the feeding station. On Ruth's suggestion i had a quick look through the scope and there was a Bittern tucked behind a few reeds as camouflaged as can be. Excellent. We walked to the screen hide and got a much better view with the bins. By the time i got my camera out though it had stopped showing. So i turned around for this heron shot instead.
I have been surprised how many Bullfinches seem to have come over this year, from Scandinavia i presume. In previous years i usually only get a few fleeting glimpses of a white arse. However over the last few weeks i have seen some on each trip. Very colourful as was this one on Summer Leys feeding station.

Irthlingborogh surveying

The wildlife trust are looking to purchase a new nature reserve in the nene valley next to Rushden and Diamonds Stadium. It's a massive area and would probably be their biggest reserve in northants. It is an old gravel extraction area and is a bit abused at the moment. The litter and behaviour from the fishermen here is attrocious, makes me feel a little ashamed.

We were on a water beetle and bug survey and are starting to build a big list of species. It is not really the right time of year but it was good to understand the site a little better and take a few photos