First-ever breeding bitterns at North Cave Wetlands nature reserve - Yorkshire Wildlife Trust

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust are absolutely delighted to announce their first-ever bittern breeding success at North Cave Wetlands nature reserve near Hull, where a juvenile bittern was spotted earlier this week.

Bitterns were once declared extinct in the UK, but due to conservation efforts in recent years are starting to make a comeback. They are still very rare in Yorkshire with roughly 20 breeding pairs last on record, and can have up to six eggs - so the Trust is hopeful visitors will be treated to more juvenile sightings in the days and weeks ahead.

Bitterns are not the only exciting breeding success at North Cave Wetlands this summer. The Trust was delighted to find a clutch of pochard chicks on the reserve; common pochard, a medium-sized diving duck, are on the IUCN red list of threatened species with only around 80 pairs breeding in Yorkshire.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust’s reserve manager Tony Martin says, “We have had overwintering bitterns at North Cave Wetlands for a number of years, but bitterns need two healthy reedbed areas to breed successfully, as they use one for nesting and another for feeding. These sightings are the latest success at one of our flagship reserves, and it’s heartening to see our careful management of this wild spaces is having huge benefits for Yorkshire’s wildlife.”