I made a quick visit to Blashford Lakes and specifically to the Ivy Lake North hide this afternoon. A wintering Bittern has once again taken up residence in the small Reed and Reedmace bed in front of the hide. I arrived to find around six people in the hide and the Bittern 'on show' just to the south. The Ivy Lake North hide is one of the worst hides I have ever watched from. There are only a couple of open viewing slots the others have, inexplicably, been fitted with a lightly purplish tinted glass which overtime has become distorted and marked. This makes viewing almost impossible and photography worthless - its an absolutely terrible hide, why the glass is simply not removed I do not know.
Anyway, the Bittern was showing but was keeping hidden in the Reeds and Reedmace, it did climb one of the stands of Reedmace when it showed a little better but still rather obscured. I got some rubbish views from inside the hide and then left to view from the small screen just outside the hide where views were far more satisfactory. My eBird checklist for the visit can be viewed here.
