Bitterns chicks hatch at WWT Martin Mere a first in reserve history

WWT Martin Mere is celebrating a great success as seven bittern chicks hatch for the first time in the reserve’s recorded history.

Earlier in the year, the reserve team heard a male bittern booming, a foghorn-like call which can be heard up to two miles away and done to attract a mate. Suspicions of a nest grew in late June when a bittern was spotted frequently flying in and out of the same area of the reserve’s reedbed. The licenced monitoring team at WWT Martin Mere investigated and recorded seven chicks across two nests.

The bittern, a type of heron, is a secretive species that can usually be very difficult to spot. However, as the adults at Martin Mere brought food to their young, visitors were treated to fantastic views of the species flying in and out from the reserve’s Ron Barker hide, over the mere and in front of the Harrier hide.

In the UK, the bittern is an amber-listed species, meaning it is a species of concern. It faced extinction in the UK in the 1990s due to habitat loss but has seen breeding success in recent years which has helped the species to recover in numbers.

Louise Greenwood, reserve manager at WWT Martin Mere, said: “In the last couple of years, we’ve heard bitterns booming on the reedbed, but we have never had any luck with them breeding.

“So, over the winter, our team completed works on the reedbed to attract a breeding pair. This included clearing scrub, cutting large areas of reed to create an area of different aged reeds and raising the water levels on the reedbed to allow fish to thrive so that the bitterns would have enough supply to feed their young.

“We’re extremely pleased to say that this has resulted in a successful year for breeding bitterns. The species rely on large reedbeds and we hope to see them breed again in the years to come”.

The chicks have now fledged from their nests, with sightings of them reported on the reedbed walk and Ron Barker hide. WWT Martin Mere is open each day from 9:30am until 6pm for those hoping to see them.