Chinese Pond Heron 14/2/14

A quick dash to Hythe this morning for what will hopefully be the first accepted Chinese Pond Heron in Britain. Standing on Turnpike Hill, the Heron quickly appeared at 7.05am where it landed in the surrounding trees giving good scope views, though was difficult to photograph due to the poor light.

The Heron flew around a lot in the forty-five minutes we were there, being flushed by a passing cyclist and no doubt by the crowd of admirers. 

Having seen hundreds of Chinese Pond Herons in Thailand in full winter plumage, it was good to see some hints of colour today, which proved it to be a very smart looking bird.