Venus Pool - Night Heron!!!

Incredible, unbelievable, etc etc were just two of the adjectives used by many locals to describe the latest bird to slip through the normally effective 'Shropshire rare bird' deflector shields! A big thank-you too, for Bernard Roberts getting news out - I could so nearly have missed it by heading to the north of the county with an evening talk in Wrexham looming... A Night Heron no less, the first twitchable one in Shropshire  and we will have to wait for the Shropshire Avifauna to find out more regarding one other accepted bird from the 1970's?

It was skulking in the twiggy shrubs to the left of the pool by Lena's hide, when I arrived late afternoon. Not viewable from the hide but decent enough from the ramp leading up to the hide or through the path hedge, I chose the former to take a few shots...

Not easy to get anything worthwhile but at least it was now clearly an adult and with those long dangly bits - a male?

Occasionally, turning its head whilst half asleep!

And then the sun began to fall on where he was perched - wow just look at that red eye!!

And for a minute of two shuffled to give a view almost devoid of obstructions!

 OMG, was this for real? Well I pinched myself really hard and ouch, yes it was!

So here we go again, the 'twitch protocol' was about to be implemented again as Shropshire hosts another great bird. With Iberian Chiffchaff, Yellow-browed Warbler and Wood Sandpiper waiting in the wings, there's a lot going in the Shire right now...