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.