Once Bittern....

Flushed with Thursday's success, I popped back to Kenfig after finishing work on Friday lunchtime. Within a few minutes of me reaching the trees near the Arthur Morgan hide, the Yellow Browed Warbler showed well. I called Glyn Roberts over, and we enjoyed the bird for about 5 minutes. I headed behind the hide to the west of the pool, and within a few minutes, a Short Eared Owl flew towards me, only turning back when it was about 30 feet away. I climbed a small dune and it showed briefly again soon after. Glyn joined me, but the bird didn't show again soon, so I headed for the hide for the last hour or so of daylight. Water Rails showed every few minutes in the cut channel to the left of the hide and Starlings came to roost in large numbers. At 4.15, as darkness closed in, I was thinking of packing up, as I watched another Water Rail through the scope, when I realised that it was being towered over by something much bigger, stripy and brown. The Bittern stayed still for several minutes, and I attempted to digiscope it, with shutter speeds from 1/15 sec to 0.3 sec. The results are terrible! After a few minutes, it crossed the channel and disappeared into the reeds. As I folded my tripod away, a Fox wandered around on the grass immediately to the left of the hide, and when it had gone, I left, after a splendid afternoon out.