2 Bitterns at Pegasus Wetlands

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Adam C
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2 Bitterns at Pegasus Wetlands

Postby Adam C » Sat May 30, 2020 12:39 pm

Out today looking for the Bittern with Greg McKenzie and have 2 birds one to the left and 1 to the right. Bloody fantastic! Looks like all the effort trapping out here is paying off.
Last edited by Adam C on Mon Jun 08, 2020 2:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

Samuel Ullman
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Adam C
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby Adam C » Sat May 30, 2020 4:38 pm

The distant bird is the first bird seen which is definitely darker which we photographed across the lake. We then circled around to try and fluke a closer look and found what we thought was the same bird however it did immediately look lighter. Suspicions were confirmed when the darker bird lifted off to our right as we were watching the lighter one. Pretty amazing to have at least 2 possibly more Bitterns out here at the moment.
Dark Bittern 1f.jpg
Dark Bittern 1f.jpg (1.1 MiB) Viewed 2771 times
Bittern 2f.jpg
Bittern 2f.jpg (571.49 KiB) Viewed 2771 times
Bittern 1Af.jpg
Bittern 1Af.jpg (753.92 KiB) Viewed 2771 times
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

Samuel Ullman
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AlanShaw
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Location: Kaikoura

Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby AlanShaw » Sat May 30, 2020 5:41 pm

Hi Adam C,
I was also at Pegasus Wetland this morning, but had videoed both Northern Shoveler and Australasian Bittern by 10:30, so left when the Bittern flew north from the southern end. Here are a couple of videograbs. Which Bittern do you think this one is? I assumed it was the original pale bird, since it was in the same area that most people had seen it earlier. Videograbs from Nikon P1000.
Northern Shoveler at Pegasus Wetland 1.jpg
Videograb from Nikon P1000
Northern Shoveler at Pegasus Wetland 1.jpg (250.17 KiB) Viewed 2758 times
Australasian Bittern at Pegasus Wetland 1.jpg
Videograb from Nikon P1000
Australasian Bittern at Pegasus Wetland 1.jpg (221.01 KiB) Viewed 2758 times


Cheers,
AlanShaw
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Adam C
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby Adam C » Sat May 30, 2020 6:55 pm

Hard to be 100% but yes I'd say this is the paler bird. Great to have some good winter birding on the doorstep!
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

Samuel Ullman
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AlanShaw
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Location: Kaikoura

Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby AlanShaw » Sun May 31, 2020 4:45 pm

Aus Bittern at Pegasus Wetland, 30th May, 2020.jpg
Australasian Bittern at Pegasus Wetland, 30/05/2020
Aus Bittern at Pegasus Wetland, 30th May, 2020.jpg (567.45 KiB) Viewed 2650 times

A better videograb of the Bittern that I saw.
Jim_j
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby Jim_j » Sun May 31, 2020 5:11 pm

Great to see - is this a natural wetland or a man-made one?
Cheers
Jim
kelly111
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby kelly111 » Sun May 31, 2020 7:48 pm

Hi everyone it was so good to see the Northern shoveler first for me and my son. And also great to see so many birders out there today. What a great hobby this is. And so many great people to meet that are into the same thing.
kelly111
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby kelly111 » Sun May 31, 2020 7:53 pm

Adam C wrote:Out today looking for the Bittern with Greg McKenzie and have 2 birds one to the left and 1 to the right. Bloody fantastic! Looks like all the effort trapping out here is paying off.
fantastic adam that was something so nice for you to see.i am still hopeing to see one.will go out tomorr..hope i see one...but this is the fun thing about all of this its about being out there and doing it..me and my son love it..
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Adam C
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Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby Adam C » Mon Jun 01, 2020 1:10 pm

Yip not going to get a better opportunity I dont think! Great to have younger people involved too. Just keep visiting. You'll bump into one of the bitterns sooner or later! :)
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.”

Samuel Ullman
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AlanShaw
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Location: Kaikoura

Re: 2 Bitterns at Peg Bay Wetlands

Postby AlanShaw » Tue Jun 02, 2020 9:39 am

Hi kelly111,
Thought you might need a little help with finding the Bittern, so sending you a map of the most favoured spots. Best to get to grips with it while it's being so often seen----------they are usually extremely difficult, hiding in dense vegetation!
Please note that the area between the path and the viewpoint is very boggy so I would recommend Wellingtons or waterproof boots. I watched it for about 30 minutes on Saturday from approx. 9:30 am
Good luck,
AlanShaw
Pegasus Bittern's most regular location.jpg
Pegasus Bittern's most regular location.jpg (437.36 KiB) Viewed 2452 times

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