Old Moor RSPB

With the Little Bittern having been present for a couple of days, I decided to go and have a look. It was my first chance to go and see it, but the earliest I could get on site was 8.30, which makes a change from the usual early times I could manage in Sheffield.

The Little Bittern did fly 3 times while I was present, but I was in the hide and nobody in the hide picked it up, only those on the watchpoint. As a result I did not connect. I waited about 5 hours in total but no joy. Because the bird flies so quickly and then goes down, if you don't pick it up immediately then its down again and its half an hour before it appears next.

Alas, it was not my lucky day. I did yeartick Great Bittern though, which is some consolation and puts me on 198 for the year. It did a full fly over the entire reedbed before going down into the reeds where it was lost to view.

Other birds were around, but it was mainly regular species. I did pick up a Yellow Wagtail flying over the car-park as I walked in, first on call but then picked it out in the mid morning haze. Then got a lifer of sorts in the form of a Shoveler family, the chicks being my first views of young Shovelers. There was also a family of Pochard, which I have seen before but are still a novelty.

There were a few Dragonflies about; Common Darter, Black-Tailed Skimmer and Four-Spot Chaser, and a few Damselflies too; Common Blue and Blue-Tailed, plus a brief Demoiselle sp.

There were still a handful of Bee Orchids around, but they were not plentiful. They are, however, my first this year, and incredibly beautiful. They were the only thing I photographed today whilst I waited for the bus.

-Bee Orchid

A bit of a disappointing day but there were some nice things for compensation for dipping the little bittern. The nature of twitching I guess...

Species List:

Old Moor RSPB: Yellow Wagtail, Lapwing, Coot, Magpie, Jackdaw, Greenfinch, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Common Tern, Carrion Crow, Moorhen, Sedge Warbler, Oystercatcher, Cormorant, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Woodpigeon, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Pochard, Bittern, Little Egret, Gadwall, Mallard, Kestrel, Lesser Black-Backed Gull, Canada Goose, Sand Martin, Swallow, Stock Dove,