Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Lesvos, Greece © Nigel Milbourne 2009

Very rare, vagrant. Has summered on the Somerset Levels. May occur between April & August.

  1. One, not aged, 27th May, 2020 (N.R. Milbourne).

The recent record was of a bird I heard calling from the lakeside, in the direction of Pipe Bay where there is a stand of reeds. The calls, like a gull, attracted my attention as I walked up Station Road, and I watched the bird in flight over the Inspection House and the field just south, until it drifted off south west. Record submitted to the BBRC and accepted.

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Bibliography (sources of information):

  1. Chas Holt, Paul French and the Rarities Committee. Report on rare birds in Great Britain in 2020. Brit. Birds 2021 Vol. 114: pps. 570-628.
  2. Rose, Dr H.E. (ed.). Avon Bird Report, 2020. Avon Ornithological Group.

Last update: 12th December 2024