16 Comments
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Hayley's avatar

Wow amazing! I've yet to see or hear one but definitely would love to one day. Great information, thankyou.

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thanks so much for reading - I hope you do :-)

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Melissa Lee's avatar

What a lovely story Angie! I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. And I'm officially going to head up the road to Blacktoft Sands ASAP. I'll let you know if I get to see/hear one.

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thanks so much, Melissa. I certainly wish you luck. We didn't see or hear any last time we visited Blacktoft (but lots of marsh harriers), but as always with nature you never know when you will be lucky!

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Sheryl White's avatar

I love it when I find bitterns… I have seen them in the past many times, even with young once… I apparently saw something others in the area had never seen…

Where I am right now doesn’t have bitterns… I saw them mostly in WASHINGTON

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Yes, I love them too - they are such unusual birds and always a pleasure to see (and hear)

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Burhinus's avatar

Very interesting read Angie. Always a joy to see these birds. I have not heard one booming this year yet but I am sure I will soon.

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thank you. We heard one booming at St Aidan's a couple of weeks ago, and got a quick glimpse of one at Far Ings last week, so doing quite well this year :-)

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Rob Woller's avatar

Beautiful photos and I enjoy your writing, thanks 🙏

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thanks so much :-)

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Randy Herring's avatar

Thanks for sharing your wonderful story and excellent photos.

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thanks so much for reading :-)

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Lin Gregory's avatar

Wonderful post Angie...I have never seen or heard a bittern but would love to. I'm in the south of England and they are present in Kent - so maybe a trip over there is due. I'm hoping to be in the Lakes in the summer, maybe a detour to Leighton Moss should be added to the itinerary :-)

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thank you so much Lin.

I certainly wish you luck in spotting one, but as I found out it is not easy even when they are definitely present. It's always worth trying though, and of course there are lots of other things to see :-)

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Kate Warner's avatar

What a fascinating post! I first heard of bitterns when reading Geoffrey Chaucer for A-Level, as he mentions their booming sound. I've only ever heard them on YouTube vids, though, not in person - though I live not a million miles from Arnside :-)

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Angie Dawn's avatar

Thank you so much for your kind comment, Kate. I haven't been to Leighton Moss for a few years now, and the last couple of times I visited I saw no sign of bitterns - but it is definitely worth a trip if you are in the area, especially in spring :-)

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