It was reported earlier this week that the bittern, a rare and shy bird which inhabits English wetlands, is at last on the increase. The bittern, hunted almost to extinction in the late 19thC, made a return in the early 20thC, but numbers were very low, with just 11 males left in 1997.
Now, thanks to a conservation programme by Natural England, their reed-bed habitats are being restored, with new ones created, mostly in East Anglia and Lancashire, and there are estimated to be about 82 calling males in 43 different sites.
Natural England are very optimistic that the bittern's characteristic and famous booming call will no longer be a thing of the past, but will be heard again once again in all its glory.
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