My bird hide experience

The letter ‘just enjoy the beauty of birdwatching’ by Derek J Wood in October’s Bird Watching, reminds me of a recent visit to Kings Dyke Nature Reserve in Cambridgeshire for the first time. Armed with binoculars and scope, plus my shiny new member’s key to allow me access to the bird hide, I entered the hide quietly and saw a male and female armed with large camera lenses. I immediately say “hi, how’s it going?” and no response came my way. So, undeterred, I open the hatch and carry on doing what I like most, which is birding for enjoyment. The whole time I was there, no conversation came my way, but I endured listening to camera and lens talk, how much the equipment cost and so on. All of a sudden, one of the males piped up that a Bittern was flying in to the left. Then, “oh, no it’s a heron”. On hearing that, I closed the hatch and went on my way, laughing to myself, and I’ve not been back since. David Freear