Bittern at Winnersh

Well the waiting paid off and the Bittern arrived mid afternoon, even treating us to a short flight across the edge of the lake.:) Really delighted.:)

Wow Rolf .Both photos are excellent. :)
Well done :thumbsup:

Woweeee fantastic shots rolf, you must be over the moon, I love the one in flight but the first one is a cracker no doubt these will be going in the gallery :-theman

Thanks Babs and Beryl.:) It was fun in the hide as a few had looked away and were talking when someone quietly shouted he's flying, the scramble to the ports was amazing, (me included), only managed to get one in focus.:) I'm still working through the photos to find more images of it, managed to find one with the beak upwards and showing how the eyes look forward under the beak, it also shows how well the camouflage works.

Fantastic shots, Rolf!

Well done!:thumbsup:

Thanks Catherine, here's a couple more.:)

That last one's the very best - you can even see the underside of the foot he is lifting!

Real action shot - one for a cometition?

Doubt it Catherine, I reckon there were more than a few better photos being taken by the others in the hide.:) Quite happy for it to give enjoyment to our little community here.:)

People travel far and wide to places like Leighton Moss offering a 'right arm' to see one of these Rolf but often leave disappointed. Your photograhy on this subject is excellent and I don't make comments like that freely but......WOW!


Pete.

I have to agree all of the shots are superb. Well done Rolf :) :thumbsup:

Hi Rolf

We met yesterday at Lavell's - and of course i had to get back to work before the bittern showed:( I thought that you said that it would show after you left! Absolutely fantastic images - it looks as if the wait paid off!

:D

Mark

Hi Mark, welcome to the forum, yes, was surprised myself.:)

May be worth you taking a later lunch, the last two photos were taken from the right hand viewing ports, where the Little Grebe had been, he showed between 14:30 and 15:00.

One of the guys had a 600mm prime with a 2x teleconverter, so had to rush to take it off for the closer location, the last photo is at 500mm and only cropped on the sides, which gives you an idea how close he came.:)

Thanks Pete and Catherine.:)