They’ve also as of a couple yrs ago started booming as early as mid february which feels early

Yeah ive seen all the others in fields aha, but ive only seen bitterns around the avalon marshes, and maybe because of huge amount of reedbed and dykes the resident bitterns there don’t really venture out much? Maybe they do but I’ve pretty much only seen them in flight.

I get out plenty, around this area of the country I don’t know of any locations where bitterns are found outside of reedbeds, and ive only seen them flying between reedbeds, so I think you can understand my surprise in their different habitat choices in a different area of the country.

Ah okay thanks!

Where were the slavs?

Damn taking worms, ive never seen footage of a bittern in a field aha

You must live in a reedbed if a bittern flew past your window aha

Unfortunately wasn’t born then 😭

Ah okay my mistake, thank you!

Is it the ones around haytor? I think youre on the torbay rares whatsapp would you be able to message me abt finding them if they are around that area?

I get why you get that impression but if u look at the beak its definitely red throated diver

Do know how to ID between YLG and lesser black-backed? As they both havr yellow legs and darker mantles

Alrighty, i will say that merlin picks up all juvenile gulls and some adult herrings as ylg so make sure you aren’t relying on merlin aha

How did you ID yellow-legged gull of hearing it?

Tempting to go for it as a patch tick. Have tmr free for birding, trying to decide what to do, risk trying to find a casp/curlew sand at otter eatuary, risk BGM for curlew sand, or the something else. Unfortunately bad conditions for seawatching :/

It is a BHG but it’s weird how small it looks infront of the med!

Lovely photo! That’s actually a razorbill tho :)