Rare Teal, Bittern & sp. 116 for house list! (10th-13th, 18th April 2023)

Back on familiar territory, I spent a couple of hours searching through the Eurasian Teal on the main pool at Campfield hoping to connect with a rare, but familiar friend. It showed itself eventually, just as I was about to pack away, right at the back of the pool, and it only popped out for a couple of minutes: (American) Green-winged Teal, complete with its distinct white side-breast markings. Sadly, it was too distant for a photo and despite an intensive search the following day, I drew a blank. (Annoyingly, the Bittern had also been seen, but despite numerous attempts, I've failed to connect with this.)

A pleasant surprise, though, and some consolation came in the form of a female Marsh Harrier, of which I had good, close views as it quartered the rushes surrounding the water before moving on. I also had nice views of a Common Buzzard overhead, and there were some lovely flocks of Black-tailed Godwit around. On the 12th, neither the Teal not the Harrier showed in the evening, but I did spot an Egyptian Goose of all things on one of the adjacent fields, with a few Pink-footed Geese! (My first for Cumbria.) Back at home, Annabel found species 116 for the house list (!) – a Moorhen in our yard! Looking a little lost, it pottered around for a few minutes on the concrete before moving to the paddock where it no doubt felt slightly more at home!

On 13th, I had my best day. I eventually caught a glimpse of the Bittern. It flew from the main reedbed in front of the main hide, from distance, towards the pool on the right in front of the hide. Sadly, this was not long enough for me to focus on the bird with my lens and once the bird landed, it was completely obscured by the rushes.

I also had more glimpses of the Green-winged Teal, and did manage a few record shots - sadly, nothing more than this. I had my best time photographing the Marsh Harrier, which I saw a number of times, and in good light. Occasionally, I would be distracted by small flocks of Shoveler whizzing overhead, which again, made nice images.

It was also nice to catch up with the Egyptian Goose again on my way back to the carpark.

I got better views of the Green-winged Teal on the 18th April, this time on one of the pools closer to the hide, but the strong wind and dense vegetation made photography difficult. I saw very little else of interest, and I sensed the cold easterlies were keeping birds hunkered down, despite the sunshine and blue skies.