13/05/2026
Bitterns! On a team away day yesterday with at RSPB Ham Wall we were blessed by an incredible flyby from two bitterns.
🤯
Bitterns are rare, and usually, shy birds. If you're lucky you might hear them 'booming' or catch a slight glimpse of one as it moves around in the reedbeds. But yesterday, the bird gods were kind and offered us an absolutely cracking showing of not one, but two biiterns!
The two birds flew over the main footpath just as we entered the reserve and proceeded to do a couple of laps around the lake. Apparently this is an example of courtship behaviour? (I can only assume its some sort of bird kiss chase 🤷♂️)
I remember reading about bitterns in a kids magazine at my Grans house when I was small. I read about how they were once extinct in the UK and were slowly making a come back. As I would have been glued to my game boy colour playing pokemon at the time, the thought of finding rare, once extinct, animals seemed very, very cool.
Many years later, I can confirm it is as cool as I thought it would be. Incredible stuff and it's always fun to be back in the Somerset levels. Thank you Ham Wall!
💙
