American Visitor at Carlton Marsh

5 am start for the three of us to head off to Carlton Marsh near Lowerstoft Suffolk in the hope of meeting up with the American Bittern. We arrive around seven am & park in the main car park.
It's then about a 20 minute walk along a fairly muddy track but not to bad, some birders are already here but not as many as I expected there to be. Just past the first gate we get our first tick of the day when a Grasshopper Warbler is found.
It's going to be a long four hour wait before we get any sign  of the lifer.
Around a hundred people had arrived by now, so we had many eyes looking for any sign of the bird. It was not looking good but the locals were not to worried & that's how it turns out when we see a few people running up the track but before we could join them the cry goes up bird in flight.
We get a really great short view of the Bittern as it flies across the front of us before dropping down into the reeds.
Everybody is now focused on the spot the bird had dropped into. But it was a long time before we get another sighting. It's found a long way up the track by the group looking there, a large group go charging up to join them & get another view as it walks across a channel between the reeds.
So well worth the long wait in the end.
While here we had 2 Common Cranes fly over & then get a year tick when a Whimbrel drops onto the scrape behind us.
Barn Owls are seen Quartering at both sides of the track & we get some great views of  Marsh Harriers nest building right in front of us & that helped pass the time while waiting for the main act.
On the way out we all pick up a tick when we get a Willow Warbler.
We stop off at Cavenham Heath & see a few Stone Curlew & also pick up another tick when we see  a few Woodlark as we head  up & down the track.

Really hard to get photos but Brian got this one