A community for people who like birds, birdwatching and birding in general!
Feel free to share your photos and other birding-related content here. If a photo you post isn't yours, please credit the original creator! Additionally, it would be appreciated if the location of the sighting and a date were given when a photo or question is posted. You do not have to give the precise location, something like "Northern Idaho, June 2023" or even "North-Western US, June 2023" suffices.
Nikon D7200, Nikon 200-500mm f/5.6
ISO 500, f/6.3, 1/1600s, 500mm
The population of male bitterns in the UK fell to just 11 in 1997. Now there's about 230 breeding pairs. It still has a very limited range in the UK, so it's a bird I am always pleased to see.
I have found photographing it quite tricky as it is so well camoflaged. And when it flies it is often only for a few seconds as it moves around the dense reedbeds.
Bitterns have the coolest calls ever, completely unmistakable and mesmerizing when I heard my first in person
I have had the pleasure....terror...of being in the middle of a fog-filled fen when two bitterns started booming. Even when you know they are there it's pretty freaky.
Reminds me of the first time I heard nighthawks at dusk in the woods.
@qooqie @EvilTed goonkadoonk