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  • Bittern

Bittern

Bittern
Bittern
Bittern in flight
Bittern in flight
  • Scientific name: Botaurus stellaris
  • Bird family: Herons, storks and ibises
  • UK conservation status: Amber
  • Protected by The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

Bittern call audio

Your browser does not support this audio feature.

Niels Krabbe, Xeno-canto

Key information

The bittern is a thickset heron with all-over bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. It flies on broad, rounded, bowed wings. A secretive bird, very difficult to see, as it moves silently through reeds at water's edge, looking for fish. The males make a remarkable far-carrying, booming sound in spring. It's very small, reedbed-dependent population make it an Amber List species. It is also a Schedule 1 species.

What they eat:

Fish, amphibians and insects.

Population:

UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.
UK breeding:
80 males
UK wintering:
600 birds
Europe:
21 - 29,000 pairs

Identifying features:

Bittern

Bittern illustration
Feather colour: Black Brown Cream/buff White
Leg colour: Brown Green
Beak: Black Brown Long Powerful Chunky
Natural habitats: Wetland

Where and when to see them

Bitterns can be found around wetlands with large reedbeds, especially RSPB reserves at Minsmere (Suffolk) and Leighton Moss (Lancashire).

* This map is intended as a guide. It shows general distribution rather than detailed, localised populations.
  • Resident
  • Passage
  • Summer
  • Winter
Bittern distribution map

Bitterns can be seen year round. Most visible in winter at certain sites.

  • jan
  • feb
  • mar
  • apr
  • may
  • jun
  • jul
  • aug
  • sep
  • oct
  • nov
  • dec

RSPB reserves

  • RSPB Lakenheath Fen
  • RSPB Dungeness
  • RSPB Ham Wall
  • RSPB Blacktoft Sands
  • RSPB Dearne Valley Old Moor
  • RSPB Valley Wetlands
  • RSPB Leighton Moss
  • RSPB Titchwell Marsh
  • RSPB St Aidan's
  • RSPB Cors Ddyga
  • RSPB Dingle Marshes
  • RSPB Langford Lowfields
  • RSPB Minsmere
  • RSPB Strumpshaw Fen
  • RSPB Fairburn Ings

Video

Watch a bittern wading through wetlands and flying over reedbeds.

Watch a bittern wade through wetlands and fly over reedbeds.

Bittern video screenshot

In more depth

Bittern booming

Bittern booming

Bittern conservation

Bittern conservation

Bittern population trends

Bittern population trends

Threats

Threats

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Bittern, feeding in reeds

Bittern

Alarmed by the plunging bittern numbers, the RSPB started a research programme to investigate the needs of the bittern.
Great bittern Botaurus stellaris, walking through reedbed habitat, RSPB Minsmere, Suffolk

Torrential rain - a blow to bittern recovery

In 2007, bitterns breeding at the RSPB's nature reserves on the Suffolk coast had their nests washed away.
RSPB Giving Nature a Home Campaign

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