Bittern and Dipper

Yesterday morning I decided to visit the Derbyshire Wildlife Trust's Wyver Lane reserve near Belper to see if I could catch up with one of the two Bitterns that have been over-wintering there. A three hour wait began, which ended eventually in success. One bird was seen for a grand total of 2 minutes but I didn't manage any decent photos, so here's one from a few years ago at Potteric Carr, near Barnsley.

Bittern

 

Whilst waiting for the Bittern to show I spent some time looking around the reserve and managed a few other "year ticks" including a pair of Oystercatchers. A Little Owl was also seen. Driving back I stopped off in Cromford and spotted 2 Dippers on the river.

 

Oystercatcher

 

This morning whilst having breakfast and watching the birds on the feeders I recorded another "year tick" with 1 Lesser Redpoll feeding on the sunflower hearts along with seven Siskin and about 20 Goldfinch.

 

Year List:

84 – Bittern

85 – Oystercatcher

86 – Lesser Redpoll

87 - Dipper