Rare bird thrives through the cold

One of the UK's rarest birds has enjoyed its most successful year on record despite being hit by the harsh winter last year, say conservationists.
By The Newsroom
Published 1st Sep 2010, 16:51 BST
Updated 1st Sep 2010, 18:46 BST

Monitoring revealed that the number of bitterns “booming” – the loud call made by male birds to attract a mate – reached 87 this year, up on the previous record of 82 males heard last year.

Experts said they were “amazed” that the bittern, a bird which feeds in shallow freshwater and is particularly vulnerable to the kind of long freezing spells seen last winter, had come through the winter so strongly that numbers increased.

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The species of heron became extinct in the UK in the 1880s and recolonised the country in 1911. The population increased up to the 1950s, but by 1997 the bird had reached its lowest numbers since the 1920s, with only 11 booming males recorded.

Now a programme of improved management of the bird’s reedbed habitat, along with creation of nature reserves has boosted numbers, said the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.