Bittern Botaurus stellaris

The Bittern, Botaurus stellaris, is a large and secretive heron belonging to the family Ardeidae, and one of Britain’s most celebrated conservation success stories. Adults are beautifully camouflaged in streaked, tawny brown – a pattern that renders them almost invisible amongst the reedbed stems in which they live – and are famous for adopting a rigid, bill-skyward 'freezing' posture when alarmed. The species is entirely dependent on extensive, well-managed reedbeds for both breeding and feeding, hunting fish, amphibians, and invertebrates in the shallow margins. Males are best known for their extraordinary booming call, a deep, resonant foghorn-like sound that carries for several kilometres on still air and is one of the most evocative sounds of the British wetland landscape. Having declined to near extinction in Britain by the 1990s, targeted reedbed creation and management have seen numbers recover significantly. Minsmere and Walberswick reedbeds are among the most important sites for the species in England. Image: © Jon Evans, Flickr.

Find out more: RSPB, Suffolk Wildlife Trust, iNaturalist