Survival of the bittern is threatened after tidal surge destroys habitat

The survival of the bittern, one of the rarest and most endangered species of bird in Britain, has been threatened after the tidal surge along the east coast of England last week.

At Cley Marshes in Norfolk more than 100 hectares of reed beds, fresh water pools and grazing marshes were damaged after the sea rose to its highest level in 50 years on November 9.

Although most of the birds are expected to return, the loss of their main food source could be devastating for the shy, secretive member of the heron family, according to Brendan Joyce, the director of the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. “They don’t have fantastic breeding skills; they are fussy in breeding and habitat,” he said, adding that if the bittern at Cley Marshes were cut off from the reed beds on which they depended, and were deprived of food, they would die.

The tidal surge has caused similar problems at reserves along the east coast and at several places inland, such as Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk, Ciaran Nelson of the Eastern England RSPB, said.

Of the 51 breeding male bitterns in the United Kingdom, 37 are in Norfolk and Suffolk.

Source – www.timesonline.co.uk