Another trip to Potteric resulted in 3 Bitterns showing from the same hide!.One obligingly posed and then went off hunting. It caught a small perch and then a much bigger Tench. It had trouble swallowing the fish and repeatedly shook its head and neck from side to side while trying to swallow it.
They are such enigmatic birds and draw a great number of admirers. I have been told they breed in Holland and come here to overwinter. The Wildlife Trust (Yorkshire) is trying everything to make them stay to breed.
