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Bittern, seen at Slimbridge WWT.; Two Bitterns at Slimbridge, added 9th January.
Topic Started: Dec 11 2011, 10:39 PM (3,311 Views)
Dovetail-Marg
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Thanks for the lovely comments.

That was a shame Dave. The two head wardens at Slimbridge have done a brilliant job at Slimbridge by cutting some of the reeds down, so that gives you more of a chance to see one. This Bittern wasn't too far from the hide (although we are up two flights of stairs ) but when it took off, I had a bit of a job to keep up with it as I was side on and it soon flew out of my vision.

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At this point we all thought that it was going into hiding again.

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But no, it came out of the other side of the reeds. It always amazes me how long their necks are when they stretch up like this.

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It was like that for a few minutes, then had a bit of a shake, and then.......

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More.....
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Dovetail-Marg
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I had to darken a few of these photos a bit as it had the sun on it in flight, and it almost disappeared with the reeds behind it.

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That's all the Bittern photos from that visit. But you never know I might see it again in the next couple of months. :grin:

Thanks for looking.
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Tabatha
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:wow: Well done Marg. It was certainly worth the visit.

:thanks: for posting
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happyhare
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Osprey
Fantastic captures Marg! The one I saw never flew anywhere so great to see yours in flight :clap3:
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Night Owl
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:wow2: More :fantastic: photos Marg the shots in flight are beautiful :thankyou: for posting them :clap5:
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Davebutterflyman
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Absolutely stunning captures Marg :clap3:
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feedyourhedgehog
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:woo: Marg I'm really green with envy :jealous: what fabulous photos and sightings it's just such a thrill to see one isn't it :woo:
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Deleted User
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What a fantastic sequence Marg!. Love the last one :clap:
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Deleted User
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Superb photos Marg :clap3:
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Dovetail-Marg
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Thanks for all of the lovely comments everyone. :grin:
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Deleted User
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Love that Bittern! Great set of photos.
That last one in flight is great!
Have you cropped them? They seem to be cropped in 4 x 4 format.
You need a 6 x 4 format with the extra space in front of the bird, ( to give it somewhere to go ). Then have it printed at 24 x 16.
Then put it on your wall, it's a cracker! :yay3:

It'll look great on a framed canvas effect print. ( I wait until these - http://www.canvasrus.co.uk/ - have an offer on, and use them ) :oap:

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IanC_UK
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[div style='visibility: hidden']test[/div]
wonderful catches of a very hard to see bird ! :) Nicely done :)
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Davebutterflyman
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It would look fabulous framed Marg.
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Dovetail-Marg
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Thanks for that advice Keith, and the nice comments.. By the way that photo of the Bittern in flight was cropped, by doing it in iPhoto you're not confined to different sizes, you can crop it down however you want. It's cropped from the left hand bottom of the photo as I nearly lost it as it was taking off, so I haven't really got very much to add back to give the Bittern "somewhere to go!!" .......it had already gone. :rofl:


Thanks Ian and Dave. :grin:



I'm meeting Happyhare there tomorrow, so I really hope it shows well so that happyhare can see it and also take some photos.......keeping :fingerscrossed:
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Davebutterflyman
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Fingers crossed for you both.
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Dovetail-Marg
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I took this set of photos on the 25th February. This time I was on the lower floor of the hide, and I'm glad that I was, because it came reasonably close to that side of the hide this time.

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Trying to catch a fish....unfortunately it wasn't successful, I would love to capture a Bittern with a fish in it's beak.

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I love those big green feet. :lol2:

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This is where it turned round and headed off into deeper reeds.

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Thanks for looking.
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Night Owl
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:wow1: A fantastic set of photos Marg :clap5:
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feedyourhedgehog
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Wonderful Marg :woo: and wonderful photos too :greatpics:
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happyhare
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Osprey
:wow2: Brilliant to see the Bittern so close up :yay: :fantastic: photos.
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tappersnapper
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[div style='visibility: hidden']test[/div]
What a brilliant collection of Bittern photos and footage. Very envious!! Well done.
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