³ÉÈËÂÛ̳

This is a bittern - it was extinct in Britain, but don't worry… the bittern is back in record numbers!

A secretive bird, the chances of seeing a bittern in the wild are still very slim.

But even if you don't see one, you might hear one…

Officially known as the Botaurus stellaris, the bittern is Britain's loudest bird!

Male bitterns make a big booming noise that sounds like someone blowing over the top of a bottle, except much louder.

The bird's call can be heard up to three miles away!

Despite making an absolute racket all day, they're hard to see because of their speckled brown feathers, which camouflages them against the reed beds where they spend most of their time.

Hunting and a loss of habitat - the areas where the bird lives - means the bittern was extinct in Britain by the 1870s.

Wetlands, where the bittern makes its home, were being drained at that time in the UK and the numbers of the birds in the country went down to zero for several years.

In 1997, 25 years ago, just 11 males were counted. But according to the RSPB, that number was up to 209 by 2019.

Last year saw more increases with a record breaking 228 birds recorded in 2021.

Despite being really difficult to see, the bitterns are so noisy, that experts listen out for their calls to count them.

The birds use their big noise to mark territory. So, that helps the experts counting bitterns work out which bird lives where.

A huge conservation effort, combined with the restoration and recreation of reed beds across the country, has helped the increase in bittern numbers.

Bitterns can now be found all over the UK, even in areas of wetland within city locations such as London.

And in 2020 there were breeding pairs of smitten bitterns found in Wales for the first time in at least 200 years!