A bit of a mixed Barnes birdy bag!

First it rained... then the sun came out - I headed off to Barnes (London Wetland Centre). It was very quiet in terms of birds...

A Grey Heron posed nicely when the sun was shining.

Then word got round.. the Bittern was visible. There are degrees of visibility... this is probably the worst Bittern shot ever but it marks the fact I saw one!!

As you will probably having difficulty seeing it, its the "blob" behind the middle cormorant!

The Eurasian Crane (now sadly just the one of them instead of the usual two) was having a bath... normally they seem to just stand about.

We got to the hide just before the heavens opened and it poured!! A Shoveler had a bit of a flap.

and even the Coots looked dejected in the torrent!

Eventually it stopped and this Little Grebe was seen.

and finally - the sun came out and the plants and trees were on fire!!

Over to Barnes..

I had a visit to Barnes today - hoping to see the Bittern but also to see if there was anything else about.

The sun was shining but it was very cold with a great deal of ice everywhere.

A "collection" bird was dozing on ice!

Over in the birches and alders was a small flock of Redpolls - first I've seen this winter.

Teals skating on ice

At least four Snipe - in two different locations

And a Bittern. I'd just walked into the hide and before I could get to a seat and window the Bittern which had been deep in the reeds for a while, flew off!! A record shot only. Those that were already in place got better shots...hey ho..

There are now 2 bitterns confirmed. This one could be seen from the top floor of the reserve's cafe - but as usual far to far away for any decent picture. Those with bigger lenses had more luck - ah well, not long till next Christmas for my Christmas wish list ;)

A short visit but nice to stretch my legs and see some birds - even those that didn't oblige...

The Bittern IS at Barnes!

Today was wonderful - the sun shone and the skies were blue - pity it had to wait until today and miss out on the weekend though.

I headed off for Barnes this morning hoping for the Bittern. On arrival the message was that neither of the two had been seen yesterday and so far, not today either.

I had a wander about. Very very few small birds but did manage a friendly Robin - who sang nicely :D But this was to be the best picture of the day.

From this point on, the pictures aren't really even up to record shots, but here goes anyway..

From one of the hides, I managed to spot 8 Common Snipe - but they were all so far away

And then finally, word was out that the Bittern had been seen. It was on a very far bank for a long time and had someone not pointed it out to me I wouldn't have seen it through the binoculars! Eventually it made a very short flight to this island where it was easier to see it. However, the camera (and I) struggled to get a shot of it, and this was the best!!

You'll need to click on it to see the Bittern and it's in the centre!!

Finally it flew into the Reeds much nearer but went right into the reeds an disappeared. Hey ho. Another day perhaps......

It was lovely to enjoy the sun again though :D