Bittern

Not easy to get a photograph of a bittern suddenly emerging from the reedbed, but I pointed the camera in the right direction and tried to look it in the eye. I would have liked a nice plain contrasting background, but bitterns choose their own habitat. I did try to get a shot of it in the sky, but by then it was nothing more than the backend of a bittern.

Taken at rspb Minsmere. 

extra: water vole