To relieve the mid summer birding doldrums a county mega arrived on Sunday morning at Gosforth Park Nature Reserve. Little Bittern has a few county records but none have been twitchable, so a nice male in the reed bed at this urban reserve in Newcastle was bound to attract a good turn out. I monitored its progress for a few days and as it only showed in flight for about 30 seconds in any 24 hours, I didnt build up my hopes.Tuesday night after work saw me brave the rush hour traffic queues to fork out my £3.50 to stand like a half shut knife in the corner of a full hide. The reeds, a full 7 or 8 feet tall, with lots of secluded channels and corners are ideal for a jackdaw sized heron, but not so good for the customers.
Water Rails came and went, Terns and gulls squawked away and midgies emerged in their billions, but not Little Bittern. A Jay flew in twice ensuring a whiplash reaction to the binoculars, and a Green Woodpecker laughed at us from a distance. At least we had some good crack and a laugh at our own ridiculousness...
Back home for 10.15pm, there was no further sign that night...
Maybe there'll be another chance. If I can get motivated.
