BITTERN and BEWICK'S SWANS at Radwell - 3 January

My first bit of birding of 2011 and over to Radwell for the last 90 minutes of daylight. Scanning the Mute Swans and saw about 10 BEWICK'S SWANS. I walked to the viaduct pit, once again giving the reeds on the small pool a good grilling on the way to the viaduct pit. Nothing doing. The viaduct pit was hooching with birds - lots of Greylags and lots of Wigeon but nothing noticed among them - one male Goldeneye.

Then for dusk back at the reedy pool with fingers crossed. After about ten minutes I heard a crashing in the reeds and then a large brown bird climbed to the top of the reed to watch me. It posed for about twenty minutes while I tried to take mobile phone photos down my telescope. The best of which is here http://bedsbirds.blogspot.com/2011/01/radwell-bittern.html

Back at the swans in the gloom, three BEWICK'S, perhaps the original three, were near the portakabin and flew to the A6 pit. From the railway bridge, a group of eleven remained grazing. A fabulous start to the birding year - Richard Bashford