My Favourite Secretive Birds 

 We were just coming into land in my friends microlite quite low over the marsh when I happened to glance over a recently -cut corn field and noticed we had spooked a Stone curlew.Now this bird is quite uncommon on my patch .I had only seen three glimpses in four years.

The next morning I was up before sunrise and heading for the corn field.The main problem I had was getting any-where near this bird before it saw me.That's if it was still in the area.I was going to take a chance anyway.

I decided to sneak up to the far edge of the field and start crawling,bearing in mind I had a scope,tripod ,binoculars and a hide -bag on my back.I ditched the bag in a small bush and started off.

It must have been 75 yards later, on hands and knees, when I peered over the stubble for a quick glance around for the the fourth time ~ nothing,I had just started off again when I saw the Stone Curlew run behind a small rock;I started edging my scope and tripod as low as it could go in front of me and steadying myself on both elbows tried to focus the scope on the rock where I last saw the bird.

I could'nt believe my luck, it stood up and started to walk slowly across to the longer stubble, looking in my direction all the time,fortunate or not my scope was focussed and I squeezed off four shots.Then it found another rock and disappeared.

Two minutes later I focussed on the new rock and could just see an eye peering back at me and squeezed off another couple of shots.That was too much for it ,it took of like a bat out of hell, calling all the way across the marsh and crash -landed in a bank of reeds on the other side of the estuary.

 That's when I realised my knees and elbows were covered in squashed sheep and goat -droppings and had thorns sticking in me everywhere,but it was worth every second.

 If I ever think I need  a lesson in camouflage or fieldcraft I will just take a page out of the master's book ;The Stone curlew ~ What a bird.

 My next favourite "secretive bird" is the Waterrail.This is a scarce bird on my patch.I did get a fleeting glimpse of this bird in a small pool surrounded on three sides with bullrush,reedbeds and bamboo -10 feet high and 40 yards thick.

How on earth could I get anywhere near without it sensing my presence ?

So I decided to take my hide down one late afternoon and pitch it in the bullrushes, weighing it down with rocks to keep it stable. I left it there for three days.

On the fourth day I arrived at the pond before sunrise and struggled through with all my clobber and got settled ,ready for anything that moved.

Three and a half hours later ,after watching moorhen,coot, fan -tailed warbler and listening to a chorus of what must have been 100 frogs; I saw a dark shape rustling in the reeds across the pond.Five minutes later it emerged very cautiously and started edging out into the open ,feeding on insects on the surface of the water as it went.

That's the moment I had been waiting for,I managed to take quite a few shots before it raced off and disappeared into the bamboo across the pond.

 Thirdly  the very silent elegant wading bird, the Squacco heron.This bird had eluded me with  a camera for 3 years on my patch.I knew where it was,the trouble was he knew where I was as well, every time.Either I nearly stepped on it ,or it flushed from reeds a hundred yards away.

That's before I made four bamboo hides and placed them along the marsh -bank where I had seen it in previous years, along with others such as Purple heron ,Red -necked Phalarope and Marsh sandpiper.

Again we had been out flying in my friends microlite.This time flying over at about 500  feet when I saw 4 Squacco's flying up the marsh from the sea.It was early April and I think they had just arrived.

The next morning I  was up before dawn complete with a flask of coffee

and biscuits.Well you never know this could be a long day.

It was around 10 oclock ,four hours later ,when I saw them coming up the marsh,low over the water, followed by some Great egrets and a couple of Grey heron.They immediately landed in the reed beds.I could just about see them peering back in my direction.The hides did'nt seem to put them off at all.Within 15 minutes they ventured out, in full view ,with one preening himself on a rock.

At last my bogie -secretive bird was on camera!