Bittern How rare are they

[gobbiner]

Yesterday i got a shot of this Bittern at Leighton Moss, one guy stood next to me said this was the first time in 23 years hed seen one and that they are rare, was i really that lucky am i not likely to see another for a long time cheers...Ray

[htcdude]

Winter does bring a number into the country, this year has been particularly good. I would say they are more uncommon than rare, I may be wrong.

They're definately a lot harder to see than most birds, so when you do it's a great find!

I'm not sure on the population is Leighton Moss, the guy may have been right.

Nige

[Dogghound]

They are not particularly rare more of a local bird. However depending on where you go birding would make a difference. Your chances increase in winter when populations of continental birds arrive in Britain. If you know where to look you could easily see one multiple times a year. They are always a great bird to see though. The overall population is hard to predict, there has been a large number come across this year. A friend in the RSPB recons that there could be around 350 birds in the country at the moment.

[RKB]

Which makes them rarer than Yellow-browed Warblers, for example, and much rarer than Ospreys.

If you don't spend a lot of time in hides at reedbeds, and you don't go specifically looking for them, you may never see one in your life - I don't and I haven't!

[diggleken]

I once saw 4 in one day at Leighton, but thats quite unusual - and as been said, the more you go to such places the more you will see them, an amazing bird.
Numbers died out around 1900 cos of drainage and persecution according to the new atlas and were still pretty low in 2004, but there has been an increase since then, this from the RSPB website for 2010:-
''Estimated numbers
Europe UK breeding* UK wintering* UK passage*
34-54,000 males 75 males 50-150 birds -

* UK breeding is the number of pairs breeding annually. UK wintering is the number of individuals present from October to March. UK passage is the number of individuals passing through on migration in spring and/or autumn.''

Its a bit more complex than that though - booming males is a frequent count method, but it seems there are fewer females, so population viability isnt quite the same.
Any which way you look at it, thats a low population, and a secretive bird too, so good luck!
Cheers
Ken

[Dogghound]

I think the RSPB numbers are lower than the actual numbers, in 2009 there were 82 recorded males (Breeding). Im not sure what this years figure is though.

[htcdude]

According to Birdguides, it's up to 87 this year (RSPB: Bittern monitoring in the UK: summary of the 2010 breeding season)

Nige

[htcdude]

Originally Posted by RKB

If you don't spend a lot of time in hides at reedbeds, and you don't go specifically looking for them, you may never see one in your life - I don't and I haven't!

I agree, however the first (and only) time I saw Bittern I spent 10mins in a hide and it flew no more than 15ft in front of me! Then only 30mins later another was spotted in the reeds.

I just got lucky I think

Nige

[Picidae]

I rarely watch birds from hides and have never seen a Bittern from one!

However, I have seen numerous Bittern (during the winter months especially) flying over reed beds or at an impromtu roost site. Since January 2010, I've seen 9 individuals. But only seen two YBW this year! While Bittern are present all the year round (and larger birds!) this probably makes them easier to spot than YB, which are autumn passage migrants and their numbers fluctuate from year to year depending on prevailing wind conditions (ie. high pressure over Scandinavia) pushing them onto the east coast of Scotland/England - however, recent years have seen larger falls and more birds wintering over especially along the South Coast of England.

Details of Bittern numbers in uk here: Bitterns-to stay or to go?

[rossy]

Originally Posted by gobbiner

Yesterday i got a shot of this Bittern at Leighton Moss, one guy stood next to me said this was the first time in 23 years hed seen one and that they are rare, was i really that lucky am i not likely to see another for a long time cheers...Ray

you lucky person, they are an illusive bird, and it can be a case of being in the right place at the right time, well done, went to leighton moss last october , heard them but didnt see any, but saw bearded tits as a nice consolation, rossy.