A good Gloucestershire day

18 Nov - A beautiful calm sunny early winter's day, the first for a while. I first headed to Slimbridge, my main aim being to look for Bittern/s which had been seen well over the weekend. I went to Zeiss hide, and after an hour or so the bird was seen in flight (but not by me) and then proceeded to walk along the edge of the reeds, disappear, then emerge and fly towards Kingfisher hide. I hot-footed it there, to be told I had just missed the bird....... but my instinct told me to watch the opposite edge of the reedbed, and after a couple of minutes I saw the Bittern emerge from the reed edge only a few metres away, and stealthily move along the edge of the reed-fringed water right in front of the hide, amazing to see its slightly reptilian, snake-like movements, beady red eye appearing to look right into the hide as it moved along, then raised its neck skywards, then moved back the way it had come, all the while giving brilliant views, only marred from the photographic point of view by the wire fenceline in front of the bird! There are at least 2 Bitterns on site at the moment, and they are being seen frequently, probably because they are sorting out their winter territories. From Robbie Garnett hide, beautiful views of 16 newly-arrived Bewick's Swans, calling and sparring as the family groups settled in for the winter. The call note is wild and evocative of the North. Several Snipe on view around the reserve, plus impressive numbers of Knot and Blackwits on the New Piece. Teal and Shoveler now in breeding plumage and looking very smart. Next stop Frampton, where the usual Tawny Owl was tucked up to roost in a tree hollow in the sunlight. Finally, two more Owl species in the Cotswolds - 3 Barn Owls and 2 Short-eared Owls, not seen til just after sunset when the light was fading, but a great end to the day. So nice to get a really fine winter day with crisp low sunlight, despite the chilly temperatures.