Good news about Britain's loudest bird

Photo: Robin Chittenden / Alamy

Patrick Bartram writing in The Guardian Online says populations of the bittern, a wetland bird that was facing extinction in the late 1990s, in Britain, are at a record high, according to conservationists.   Resident numbers of "Britain's loudest bird" increased in 2017, and experts, using the foghorn-like booming call of the males to survey the species, have found at least 164 birds at 71 sites.   The RSPB attributes the population rise to intensive conservation efforts that have protected preferred habitat of dense, wet reedbeds.   The wildlife charity said the turnabout in the bittern's fortunes have been aided by legal protection of habitats and funding through two environmental projects under the EU scheme for creation of new reedbed areas.  Britain leaving the EU could compromise the advances made.

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BarrytheBirder