Birds of winter reedbeds

January is a great month to visit reedbeds. Here are five good reasons why.

Marsh Harrier

Not so many decades ago, the Marsh Harrier was a bird which migrated out of the UK for the coldest months. These days, a large proportion spend the whole winter here. Reedbeds are not just the main breeding habitat, but the roosting site, and hunting area for most of our winter Marsh Harriers. Much larger than Hen Harriers, adult Marsh Harriers come in two main colour varieties, the bigger, ‘cream- crowned’ cream- shouldered, dark chocolate- brown females and the smaller, grey, brown, buff and white males. Both are magnificent.

Bittern

It usually takes a spell of deep freeze to force most Bitterns out into full view to feed. Otherwise, they spend much of their time concealed behind the 3D curtain of reeds. However, if you are lucky, you may catch one flying low over the reed-tops ‘changing position’. Beware, first impressions of a chunky, flying Bittern may be confusing: you may think you are looking at an owl or a Buzzard until the penny drops.

Bearded Tit

The ultimate reed bird, or ‘reedling’ if you prefer. These exotic beauties are rarely seen away from their chosen habitat. Listen for the delightful ‘ping ping’ calls and look for these small, buffy- orange birds trying their hardest to fly on tiny, rounded wings over the tops of reeds. They are often seen in family parties or similarly sized groups. Only the adult males have the pale, powder blue heads and big drooping black moustaches which give the bird its peculiar name.

Water Rail

Like many reed dwellers, the Water Rail is more often heard than seen. Actually, it is much more often heard than seen. They are considerably smaller and slimmer than Moorhens and you only stand a chance of seeing one if you can see the edge of the reedbed, where it contacts shallow water or perhaps a muddy fringe. Even then, they rarely venture far into the open, preferring to be close to the cover of the protective reeds when possible. When seen well, though, they are unmistakable (and very beautiful) birds.

Reed Bunting

Like the Bearded Tit, the Reed Bunting is very much a bird of reedbeds, but unlike the former, it will wander further from the scene to scrubland and even gardens, in winter. Remember, these buntings have a different summer and winter plumage, so don’t expect to see a male in pure black and white around the head in January, but rather a toned down, less contrasting version. Later, into early spring (and well into the summer), males deliver their simple song.