Conservationists celebrate “booming brilliant” year for UK’s loudest bird

And a positive story to end the week – conservation efforts are working

Conservationists celebrate “booming brilliant” year for UK’s loudest bird - RSPB

a sharp beaked bittern walking through shallow water amongst reeds — Eurasian bittern *Botaurus stellaris*, adult moving through reedbed, Lincolnshire, June Ben Andrew (rspb-images.com)

Bitterns, a secretive bird previously threatened with extinction as a breeding species in the UK, have had yet another brilliant breeding season with 234 booming males counted in 2023, according to new survey results from the RSPB and Natural England.

The newly released annual Bittern monitoring project figures are up 24% on the number of booming Bitterns recorded just 5 years ago, marking the significant conservation progress that has been made in the species’ recovery.

The incredibly camouflaged species is an elusive resident of reedbeds across England and Wales and makes an incredible and far-carrying “booming” sound when the males are looking to attract a mate. As the loudest bird in the UK, their remarkable boom can be heard up to three miles away in spring, and so survey volunteers listen out for and record this in an effort to build a national picture of how the birds are faring.

Having previously become extinct as a breeding species in the UK in the 1870s due to hunting for food and the draining of their wetland habitats for agriculture, the recovery of the species to the numbers seen today has been long-awaited. In fact, Bitterns returned to Norfolk in 1900 but suffered another drop in numbers to just 11 remaining booming males nationally by 1997, meaning the prospect of a second national extinction was a real threat to these incredible birds just a short time ago.

Thankfully, the survey results released today spell a very different picture, thanks to dedicated RSPB-led research and conservation measures aimed at bringing Bitterns back from the edge of extinction. Heard booming from 11 new sites in 2023, the results mark the significant success that conservation efforts have had in aiding the species’ recovery.

As a bird dependent on reedbed habitats, Bitterns can occasionally be spotted moving among the reeds at the water’s edge seeking out fish, insects, and amphibians to eat. Rejuvenating, managing, and creating these wetland habitats has been vital to their recent success, including at sites such as RSPB Leighton Moss.

The Lancashire nature reserve, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, saw an increase in the number of booming Bitterns recorded jump from six to nine in 2023 as a result of the long-term rejuvenation of reedbeds and creation of additional habitat specifically managed with the species in mind.