Birds cause a flutter of excitement across the Bay

Northumberland Wildlife Trust is delighted that rare bitterns have once again been spotted overwintering at several of its reserves at Druridge Bay.

A member of the heron family, bitterns are thickset with pale, buff-brown plumage covered with dark streaks and bars. A secretive bird, they are very difficult to see, as they move silently through the dense reeds where they prefer to live Their plumage acts as perfect camouflage making them even more difficult to spot.

Bitterns were driven to extinction in the UK by the 1870s due to the draining of their wetland habitats for agriculture and being hunted for food.

Conservation efforts across the UK have helped the bittern population to increase to an estimated 227 pairs in 2019.

In winter months the population is increased by birds migrating to the UK from Northern Europe, a number of which arrive at Druridge Bay in September and stay until March before returning to their breeding grounds.

Bittern were only occasional visitors to the Druridge Bay area prior to 2006, but since then, thanks to improved reedbed management on the wildlife charity’s East Chevington, Hauxley, Cresswell, and Druridge Pools reserves, sightings are becoming more regular during the winter months.

As part of the four-year Heritage Lottery funded Catch My Drift project, new structures were put in place on the East Chevington site to control water levels to improve the existing 16ha of reedbed, creating a mixture of reedbeds, ditches, and pools which has increased the number of bitterns taking up residence in the reedbeds.

Not content with this news, as part of the Biodiversity Boost project funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund, additional habitat management is being put into place on the East Chevington reserve to improve the reedbeds and other habitats for bitterns in the hope that, very shortly, they will breed on the site and their loud booming call will become a familiar sound across East Chevington each spring.

Lee Rankin, Northumberland Wildlife Trust Druridge Bay Land Management and Biodiversity Officer says:

“Despite the rarity and secretive habits of these birds, it is fantastic that visitors to our Druridge Bay reserves have an opportunity to catch even a fleeting glimpse of a bittern. We just have to persuade them to stay on the reserves into the spring and then hopefully the return of the bittern will be as successful as marsh harriers making their return to Druridge Bay and the Northumberland area after a long absence.

“Biodiversity Boost, and the National Lottery Heritage Fund and players of the National Lottery have given the Trust a wonderful opportunity to improve habitats not only for bitterns but a whole range of species across the whole of our Druridge Bay reserves – giving the area a wilder future.”