So much for May being early Summer - or even late Spring, come to that. I went to Lakenheath Fen last Sunday in the hope that I might have a peaceful day out, and maybe even see something interesting. When I arrived the main car park was full and I was directed into the overflow area: not a good sign when wanting to avoid crowds. Talking to the rangers it soon became clear why there were so many people at the reserve: a Little Bittern had taken up residence, and the place was full of twitchers keen to add the bird to their "collection".
No sooner had I arrived than it started to rain, so I set up in one of the hides watching a pair of coots feed their (very hungry) offspring.
Occasionally we photographers set ourselves pointless challenges, and I decided to attempt a picture of a coot in mid-dive - poised about to enter the water. After countless failures (dozens of pictures of coot bums and water swirls) I came to the conclusion that coots must dunk their heads before diving - hence the desired image wasn't actually possible. Until proved otherwise I'll stick to this story, but I'll post a couple of "near misses" to show that I was trying.
Apart from the coots, there was a Little Grebe (in the far distance) and a family of mute swans.
It stopped raining eventually, so I left the hide and headed further into the reserve. Reed Buntings were everywhere, but never quite got close enough for a decent picture.
I then came across the crowd of twitchers (not quite sure what the collective noun is). We all
heard the elusive Little Bittern, but only a couple of people managed to
see it during the day.
Other Bitterns were booming - amazing to hear - but, again, none were to be seen. There were dozens of Hobbies around, but way too far away for photography. A couple of Marsh Harriers came a lot closer (relatively speaking!) and I was able to watch as one attempted to steal what looked like a rat from another. Not great pictures, but an amazing spectacle.
