First bittern of the season lands in London

22/01/2007 00:00:00 November 2nd, 2007. The first Bittern arrived at the WWT London Wetland Centre this week – the earliest record to date. Previous accounts show the bird has never arrived before late November, and the staff at the centre are wondering whether this could be yet another sign that we are in for a cold winter. The bird flew in at dusk, and landed among the reed beds, where it is likely to stay until February or March. Easterly winds are thought to have encouraged the bird to fly in early, as the birds come in from Europe and the good winds propel it north.

The Bitten flew over the entire reserve before landing at the eastern end of the main lake, towards the margins of the waters in the reeds. They usually take a few weeks to settle in and find their winter feeding spot, but once they do they remain in their territory through the winter. Bittern are excellent predators, feeding mostly on perch, but also prey on roach, eels and other small birds. Known as shy creatures, they are excellent camouflage artists concealing themselves from larger predators, and humans.

An even rarer sight, the Yellow-Browed Warbler was again spotted this morning. The first record this year of this elusive bird was noted on 13 October, and has been seen and heard on and off during the past 20 days. This is a very rare autumn vagrant for London, and a nationally scarce vagrant.

Other spectacular autumn birds seen at the WWT London, Non twitchers view.';return true" onMouseOut="window.status='';return true">London Wetland Centre this week include the Water Pipit, Rock Pipit, Mealy Redpoles, Jack Snipe, Brambling and a Red Kite. Visitors can take in all the sights of the autumn migrations on self-guided tours through the site, or book a course of Introduction to Birdwatching taking place on 4, 10 and 25 November for expert tutorials.

The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is a leading UK conservation organisation saving wetlands for wildlife and people across the world. With over 60 years’ experience of wetland conservation, WWT is committed to the protection of wetlands and all that depend on them for survival.

WWT operates nine specialist wetland visitor centres in the UK that are visited by some one million people every year from around the world. The centres provide a place to walk, relax, learn, and get closer to nature. Over 60,000 children benefit every year from educational visits to a WWT centre.