Bittern booms on Isle of Wight for first time

Hearing the distinctive mating call on a restored wetland shows the site is being successfully managed, the RSPB says.

Last updated: 11 May 2018 - 3.00pm

A bittern has been heard “booming” on the Isle of Wight for the first time, in what conservationists say is a mark of success for a wetland restoration scheme.

The distinctive mating call was heard at RSPB Brading Marshes, a recently restored wetland which stretches from the village of Brading to the sea at Bembridge Harbour on the island.

It is the latest sign of success for the elusive bird, whose numbers fell to just 11 “booming” males in 1997, but is now recovering with the help of intensive conservation efforts.

Bitterns are secretive and spend most of their time living within dense reeds, making them hard to count, but the loud and distinctive booming call of breeding males is used as a measure of the population.

The work we have done to manage the reserve for insects, fish, reptiles and mammals, as well as birds, now means we have one of the most UK’s most sensitive species choosing the Isle of Wight as its home.

Despite their revival, there are still less than 200 bitterns at fewer than 75 sites in the UK, making the first record on the Isle of Wight something “remarkable”, the RSPB said.

It is also a mark of success for the restored marshes, the wildlife charity said, as attracting breeding bitterns is one of the best indicators of successful wetland management.

It is hoped the booming call of the male will manage to attract a mate, and the pair will breed on the reserve – which would be another first for the island.

Keith Ballard, warden of RSPB Brading Marshes, said: “Hearing a booming bittern on a wetland reserve is like receiving a Michelin star as a restaurant; it’s one of the highest marks of success we could hope for.

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A rare bird has been spotted at an East Lancashire nature reserve

19th November

Vanessa Sims 

A RARE bird has been spotted at an East Lancashire nature reserve.

The bittern is increasing in numbers in the North West because it is finding more places are like home, wildlife experts said.

Conservation work is creating corridors for bittern, a member of the heron family that spends most of its time in reed beds.

And the Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester and North Merseyside is reporting success stories with this wonderful bird now becoming a regular visitor to its reserves.

Two bittern returned to Brockholes in Samlesbury this week, it is believed to be the fifth time they have settled at the six-year-old reserve.

Bittern are regular visitors to Wigan Flashes and when young birds appeared it was thought to be proof that they have bred. Recent records show that they have only bred at the RSPB’s Leighton Moss in recent years.

http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/News/15668027.A_rare_bird_has_been_spotted_at_an_East_Lancashire_nature_reserve/

Booming call of the endangered Bittern once again being heard across Anglesey

15:01, 20 Oct 2016

By Andrew Forgrave

 

Local birdwatchers were sworn to secrecy as nestlings fledged this summer at RSPB Malltraeth - the first in Wales for 32 years

Bitterns successfully bred this summer at RSPB Malltraeth Marsh 

A rare wading bird has nested on Anglesey more than two decades after a wildlife reserve was created specifically to lure it back to the island.

The reed-loving bittern, a type of heron, was last known to have bred in Wales at Valley on Anglesey in 1984.

Males are renowned for their remarkable booming mating call and in 2015 one was heard on Anglesey.

Now RSPB Cymru has confirmed a female nested and reared fledglings at RSPB Malltraeth Marsh this summer – the first time in Wales for 32 years.

The reserve’s site manager, Ian Hawkins, said RSPB Malltraeth Marsh was established in 1994 with the goal of attracting bitterns back to Wales.

“It’s been a long time coming!” he said.

Read on  

Rare bittern spotted at Llandrindod Wells Lake in Powys

14 December 2015 

One of Britain's rarest birds has been spotted at a lake in mid Powys.

The bittern, a member of the heron family, was seen resting in the reeds at at Llandrindod Wells Lake.

Reeds were planted at the lake as part of a major regeneration scheme by Powys council.

"The presence of the bittern proves once again that the efforts made to restore the ecological balance of the lake are working," said Powys council cabinet member, Graham Brown.

"With such a rich ecology now developed, it is no wonder bird watchers are coming from across Britain to see what is on offer, which is also boosting local tourism.

The RSPB estimates there are only about 80 breeding pairs of bitterns in the UK, with 600 of the birds spending the winter in Britain.

The bird was spotted by members of the Radnor Bird Blog, with one exclaiming: "Couldn't believe it - had to pinch myself!"

Source ...

Three bird species removed from UK's Red List

By Herts & Essex Observer  |  Posted: December 05, 2015

Three species removed from UK’s red list of bird

Three species have been removed from the Red List of birds of highest conservation concern following the latest assessment of the status of the UK's 244 bird species.

The report – Birds of Conservation Concern 4 – contains good news for some of the East of England's most recognisable wildlife and demonstrates that targeted conservation action can make a real difference.

Bittern, nightjar and dunlin have been downgraded from the Red List to the Amber List. Both bittern and nightjar owe their improved status to targeted actions that have triggered a boost in numbers.

Eastern England is home to more than half of the UK's bitterns – a type of heron extinct in the UK at the turn of the 20th century and famous for its booming call. In 1997, they were heading towards a second extinction, with only 11 booming males recorded in England.

Bitterns are one of the species that have benefitted from protection and resources made available under the EU Nature Directives in the form of special protection areas and EU funding for conservation, which have been central to some of the UK's biggest wildlife success stories. This year, 150 booming males were counted in England and Wales, more than at any time since the early 1800s.

Read more: 

Rare birds boom into life at Doncaster nature reserve

One of the most threatened birds in the UK has bred successfully for the first time at a Doncaster nature reserve.

Staff at Potteric Carr are celebrating for after many years of work, patience and careful observation, bitterns have successfully bred on the site for the very first time.

The birds are having a rocky road to recovery following their UK-wide extinction around 1885 – a result of habitat loss and persecution at the time.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust reserves officer Jim Horsfall said: “We are thrilled!

“Over the last three years male bitterns at Potteric Carr during spring have been making their characteristic booming sound, a call they use to attract mates.

“This of course gave us hope that one day we may see some young bitterns.

Read on ...

Booming bitterns are thriving on Somerset Levels, survey shows

By WMNPBowern | Posted: April 30, 2014

Record breaking results from the first of two spring bittern counts across the Avalon Marshes in Somerset have delighted conservationists, local people and visitors.

The bittern is a stocky, elusive heron, whose brown-streaky colouring enables it to move and hunt stealthily through its reedbed habitat. Bitterns are most easily identified by the distinctive booming call of the males.

Staff from Natural England, the RSPB and Somerset Wildlife Trust with a team of over 40 volunteers coordinated a survey recently, listening out for the booming male birds. An amazing 41 birds were heard, with signs that there were probably more.

The team assembled at 5am in the misty pre-dawn twilight, when the birds are at their most active, and counted from strategic points over the three nature reserves for an hour. This enabled them to home in on the individual sounds and accurately count the bird’s calls.

Read on

Beer for Bitterns

Posted on: 03 May 2014

A Barnsley brewery has teamed up with the RSPB to launch a new beer inspired by Bittern, to raise funds for bird conservation.

Acorn Brewery's 'Butter Bump' beer will help Bittern conservation in the North of England, with Acorn donating 5p to the RSPB for every pint sold. The first pint of Butter Bump was pulled at the award-winning Old No. 7 pub in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, by David Woodhead of nearby Sheffield, who won a competition to name the new beer.

David explained: “I did a bit of research and found that Butter Bump is an old English name for the Bittern, which was commonly used in Yorkshire. It’s also a great name for a beer and after sampling I’m delighted to say that it tastes terrific.”

Read more

Name Barnsley beer to help rare bird

Beer-lovers in Barnsley are invited to name a new ale to help a threatened bird.

The town’s Acorn Brewery is working with the RSPB on the competition to help the bittern, one of the UK’s most at risk birds and a rare type of small heron.

For every pint sold, Acorn will donate five pence to the RSPB to create homes for bitterns at its nature reserves across the north.

Mike Harris from the RSPB said: “We are challenging people to come up with an unforgettable name drinkers will associate with the beer and the bittern. “

Winners will get to help brew the beer and pull the first pint.

Email acornbrewery@rspb.org.uk by March 14

http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/name-barnsley-beer-to-help-rare-bird-1-6439562

RARE BIRD SIGHTINGS: Local fishermen attract rare bird to Winsford waters

7:00am Monday 17th February 2014 in News

CAREFUL environmental planning by local fishermen has succeeded in attracting a rare species to the River Weaver.

The Guardian investigated after seeing reports on Winsford Anglers’ website that an elusive bittern had been spotted on a stretch of the waterway.

Club secretary and treasurer, Steve Beech, thought he’d spotted the tell-tale plumage of the mysterious, heron-like bird while fishing.

He immediately text club fisheries and conservation manager, Graham Bayliss.

“Receiving the text message was very exciting because these birds are extremely rare in Cheshire. I hoped the sighting was genuine,” said Graham, a keen wildlife enthusiast and nature photographer who confirmed the sighting and managed to capture some stunning photographs of the bird.

Read on

Rare bittern spotted at Cors Dyfi nature reserve

One of Britain's rarest birds has been caught on camera at a Powys wildlife reserve.

The bittern was spotted at Montgomeryshire Wildlife Trust's Cors Dyfi nature reserve near Machynlleth.

It is one of 52 species on the RSPB Red List of the UK's most threatened birds which also includes the cuckoo and the skylark.

Images of the bittern were taken by a stealth camera installed by the trust in reed beds a year ago.

Emyr Evans, Dyfi 360 and Osprey Project Manager for the trust, said the images show how well the bittern camouflages itself in reed beds.

Continued

‘Extremely rare’ bird spotted on the coast near Louth

By Sam Kinnaird 

Published on 09/04/2013 15:28

An ‘extremely rare’ bird with a boom described as being ‘like a foghorn’ has been spotted on one of the coastal nature reserves near Louth.

The bittern, a wading bird and member of the Heron family, features in a new report from the Greater Lincolnshire Nature Partnership (GLNP).

At one point in the 1990s there were just 11 ‘booming’ male bitterns in the UK giving it the EU’s priority species rating, though now there are believed to be around 75 breeding males.

Louth bird surveyor John Clarkson, who wrote a book entitled ‘Birds of Louth’ in 2007, said such sightings were ‘extremely rare’ in this part of Lincolnshire.

“They were perilously close to extinction at one point and are now heavily protected,” he said.

“But if you go to the right place and be very patient, you can see them , but they are very easily disturbed.

“They often give themselves away with their loud boom, which is their mating call. This can be heard usually in the early morning or towards dusk.”

Speaking to the Leader, John recalled in his book that there had only been one sighting of a bittern in the Louth area.

In 2004 a bittern was a brief winter visitor at a pond in the corner of a field near Julian Bower, off London Road, in Louth.

The bittern became all but extinct in Britain in 1886 after becoming a popular target for taxidermists, before slowly returning.

Read on:  http://www.louthleader.co.uk/news/environment/extremely-rare-bird-spotted-on-the-coast-near-louth-1-4979674

Rare bird spotted at nature reserve

A RARE bird has been spotted at Attenborough Nature Reserve.

Notts Wildlife Trust staff, who manage the reserve, spotted the bittern – a rare species of heron – amongst the reeds on Wednesday.

Speaking about the appearance, Tim Sexton from the reserve, said: "These birds are very few in number – with only 87 males recorded in the UK last year. Here at Attenborough we are usually very fortunate: our specially-created reedbed habitat often attracts bitterns during the cold winter weather.

"Over the last couple of years, bird enthusiasts from around the country have travelled to Attenborough to catch a glimpse of this elusive bird, with five recorded last winter.

"I can only assume that this year, the recent harsh wet and windy conditions on the east coast have moved them inland to their over-winter grounds early."
Continued: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/Rare-bird-spotted-nature-reserve/story-17009720-detail/story.html

More information on the bittern (Botaurus stellaris):

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/b/bittern/index.aspx