No photos as it was all over too quickly. This is the story: I recognised the bird as a Bittern quite quickly however this this one had a bright, deep red marking on both cheeks. After researching it on Google it became clear that it was not a Bittern that is normally seen in the UK. I followed up that search with ‘Bittern with red markings on sides of the head’ and up came the Lean Bittern. Clearly a very long way from home but it wouldn’t be the first bird blown in on the storms that I’ve seen during my life in Devon. I asked a friend who walks his dog along that stretched of the river exe daily if he had seen a bird the looked like the Lean Bittern and I provided him with photos of the bird from the internet. He replied that he had seen an unusual bird along that stretch of the river for a few days and that he would look out for it again to see if it matched the pictures I sent him. I have also contacted the fishery there and asked if they have had any reports of a Bittern from their customers. I didn’t suggest it might be a Lean Bittern so as not to prejudice their reply. Both me and my grown up son saw it and were both able to identify it during research. I’m going to raise the alert to other local enthusiasts so if I get more sightings I will let you know. In the meantime perhaps you may get notifications. If you do then you can give them some credibility.
