Mega!! Green Heron at Llan-mill, Pembrokeshire!

Another weekend, another transatlantic mega heron, this time in the form of a Green Heron found stalking fish at a garden pond in Pembrokeshire, deep in the heart of South Wales. 

Green Heron!

Like the American Bittern, I hadn’t been twitching when the Heligan Green Heron of October 2010 turned up, and curiously in a strange twist of fate, 8 years later the occasion of having both mega American herons in the UK at once mirrored 2010, when both species turned up in Cornwall together. 

With Alex making light work of the 4 hour drive through the rolling Welsh hills and quaint villages, Red Kites drifting lazily overhead in good numbers for the latter part of the journey, we were soon on site at Llan-mill and making the short walk up the track to the garden of the finder, MP Simon Hart, where the heron had temporarily set up residence. 

The heron's new home - a far cry from the swamps of America

Immediately upon arrival the heron performed brilliantly, perched right out in the open on a small branch at the front of the pool, rich chestnut and bottle green feathers shining in the sun with bright yellow eyes glinting and alert on the lookout for tiny fish below.

Lapping up the views for a further two hours as the heron made its way around the pond, these were some of our best views of Green Heron to date, having previously seen birds on several occasions in America either distantly or partly obscured by reeds. Only the 8th record for Britain, this is the latest in a flurry of birds since the turn of the millennium, and despite this being the 5th bird in the last 17 years alone, it’s still a great bird for the UK and one we were both pleased to make the journey down for.

Alex's great little video of the Green Heron

With a supporting cast of a nice Dipper zipping up and down the brook running alongside the house, huge thanks to the finder for putting out news and allowing hordes of birders to utilise his back garden in order to view.

Spot the heron...

Tricoloured Heron next weekend anyone?

Mega!! American Bittern at Carlton Marshes, Suffolk!

“American Bittern – Suffolk [!!!]” – one of the last things I’d expected to see flash up on my phone at gone 1am in the morning, having just touched down in Manchester after a flight back from Cyprus! 

With news soon coming to light that an American Bittern had indeed been seen and photographed earlier that evening at Carlton Marshes (it later transpired it had been there since March at least!) it wasn’t until 2 weekends later that we managed to make the long journey over to the Suffolk marshes in order to try and connect. 

American Bittern in Florida - a much more expected location!

Arriving on the Saturday afternoon, after a string of wet and foggy mornings we were lucky that the reedbeds were bathed in the golden glow of the early evening sun, and we were soon walking along the pathways to a backdrop of chattering Sedge Warblers and distant Groppers reeling undetected in the nearby scrub, while a family party of deer enjoyed a last minute supper on the adjacent fields near the river. 

The view at Carlton Marshes of the area the bittern was favouring

Having took what soon transpired to the longest route round to the Bittern’s favoured area, we were told mid-way that it was currently giving mouth-watering views fishing in an open dyke, forcing us to up the pace increasingly until we had joined the swarming throng of birders, anxious it could have had its fill of Sticklebacks and newts at any moment and flown off and away over the reeds. 

Thankfully though our luck was in (despite a nervy moment when a Marsh Harrier started quartering over the reeds directly over the Bittern!) and as soon as we arrived we were put on the bird, sat motionless amongst the tall Juncus and showing off its long neck and dagger-like bill through the scopes. 

Dodgy record shot  - it was showing much better than this!

Managing a few record shots before it moved back in to the grass clumps and intermittently out of view, we were then treated to fantastic flight views as it suddenly departed, flying low over the open field before gaining height slowly and eventually dropping down in the thick reedbeds out of sight. 

With just 38 accepted records of American Bittern in Britain (and several more in Ireland) with birds turning up on average once every ten years or so, this was a great bird to get under our belts for the UK, having not been twitching for the last Cornish bird back in 2010. 

Adder! Quick phone skills from Alex!

With a beautiful weekend in Suffolk made complete by a delicious Turkish feast in nearby Lowestoft that evening, followed by a cracking cooked breakfast and great views of a female Adder on the path at RSPB Minsmere the next day, all in all the weekend had been a resounding success, ensuring we could head back up north happy.