Photographer Nick Williams: 'They're such special birds - you can never have enough of Bitterns!'

                                                        

Super presentation - Nick Williams (third left) with Lincolnshire Bird Club commitee members Phil Espin, Prof Ian Newton, Phil Hyde, John Watt and Mike Harrison at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust's Whisby nature reserve where the meeting was held

"A RIPPLE in the water, a slight movement of a reed and then it appears . . ." 

This is how birder-photographer Nick Williams introduced the Bittern to his audience when he was guest speaker at the annual meeting of Lincolnshire Bird Club.

"It is very exciting," he enthused. "It's a fantastic experience!"

Nick went on to describe - in both words and photographs - a host of encounters he has had with what he described as his "special birds". 

"I suppose you can have enough of bitterns?"he mused. "I don’t think so!

"To think it was not so many decades ago that they were deemed to be on the brink of extinction,  but  now they're booming - almost as common as muck!"

Originally from Ellesmere Port on The Wirral, Nick now lives at Rippingale, near Sleaford in Lincolnshire.

Happily for him, there are sites near his home where he can watch bitterns - and where, three years ago, he  found no fewer than six nests in a single day.

"I think that two males each had three females," he observed.

For some 30 years of his varied career, Nick used to visit primary schools, giving presentations aimed at inspiring children with awe and respect for wildlife in such a way that they would seek to discover it for themselves.

He has seen birds in countries all over the world - with highspots being encounters with the family of a very rare African Marsh Owl in Morocco and an even rarer Laso Lark on an islet, the only one it inhabits, in the Cape Verde islands.

"One even scuttled over my sleeping bag," he fondly recalled. "Because it is in decline, there is preliminary talk of introducing it to neighbouring islets or even to the mainland."

Another of Nick's stomping grounds has been the steppes of Outer Mongolia where he developed an increasing fascination with photographing larger raptures such as vulture and eagle species, particularly at their nests.

At first he was reluctant to use Photoshop software to manipulate his images, regarding it as "cheating", but he admitted that he now makes occasional exceptions after friends assured him the practice was "creative enhancement".

Nick - also a racing,  golf and football  enthusiast (he supports Liverpool FC) - has also spent many rewarding weeks of his life in the Outer Hebrides, particularly on the island of North Uist where he hasbeen able to capture stunning close-up shots of breeding Red-throated divers, plus their chicks, Golden Eagles and White-tailed Eagles.

Another of his subject birds in the Hebrides has been the short-eared owl and it was reference to this species which provided the springboard  for him to reflect both on this species and other raptors in Lincolnshire.

Within living memory, Short-eareds have bred at Holbeach Marsh, but mostly they are winters visitors (in fluctuating numbers) only.

Over the years, he has had many memorable interactions in Lincolnshire with Long-eared owls .

To spare them disturbance, it is probably best not to identify the precise locations, but he has found nests on at least one golf course in the county.

"Because they are strictly nocturnal and hide away by day, they are not often seen," he said "But I think there are probably more in the county than is generally supposed.

Meanwhile, Nick's assessment of Tawny Owls is that they are  holding their own but that Little Owls are in a spiral of decline - probably because of the increasing scarcity of the sort of large insects and earthworms which are staples of their diet.

Of Barn Owls, he said their population had fluctuated in Lincolnshire during his lifetime, but, after several years of  increase, the species was now back in decline.

Why might this be? His theory was that they may be falling prey to Buzzards which were once rare in the county, but since first breeding in  have now skyrocketed, with almost every wood in Lincolnshire hosting one or more birds.

Other diurnal raptors which are doing well include Red Kites and Hobbies, while Kestrels and Sparrowhawks seem to be holding steady, the latter having made a remarkable recovery from the DDT pesticides crisis of the 1960s and 1970s.

Nick is also heartened by the breeding expansion of Marsh Harriers and he recalled how, in the 1960s,  he had read an article about the jubilation in the birding world when a pair bred on Havergate Island in Suffolk.

What about Ospreys? According to Nick, there is a pair nesting just outside the county boundary, and he predicted that before long its spread from Rutland Water would reach Lincolnshire.

Passerines featured less in the presentation, but the audience of 50 or so at Whisby Nature Reserve's education centre  was treated to  superb close-up shots of individual Cuckoo chicks  in the nests of Reed Warblers.

 Nick's entertaining talk was never less than fresh and enthusiastic and peppered throughout  with humour.

To add vibrancy and atmosphere, he also included pieces of music from Enya, The Eagles (appropriately!) and, finally Louis Armstrong - what else but What  a Wonderful World!

The speaker was thanked by Lincolnshire Bird Club chairman Phil Espin for his enthralling presentation.