Bittern  (Botaurus stellaris)

Much of the bittern's former habitat of large reed beds has deteriorated due to lack of management, loss to agriculture, pollution and in recent years, inundation of coastal sites caused by sea-level rise. By 1995 a survey of UK reed beds revealed only 45 sites with an area greater than 20 ha. These remaining sites were also very localised and this fragmentation also reduces the bird's opportunities to breed in significant numbers. In East Anglia some of the bittern's most valuable breeding areas have begun to be seriously threatened by the sea. Two of the largest reed beds in Britain have suffered salt-water contamination, which kills off not only reed but also the food sources on which the birds depend.

Reed beds are one of Britain's most important habitats for birds, supporting four other rare breeding birds. These are the marsh harrier, Cetti's warbler, Savi's warbler and the bearded tit. They also provide valuable roosting sites for many thousands of migrating birds as well as being rich in plant and invertebrate life. As part of the UK Biodiversity Action Plan (UKBAP) English Nature has produced an action plan for reed bed birds in England as well as individual Species Action Plans (SAPs) for these five birds. The bittern is included in English Nature's Species Recovery Programme, which aims to restore existing reed beds back to favourable condition and to create new reed bed habitats both close to and away from traditional bittern breeding grounds. Where coastal reed beds have been identified as under threat from rising sea levels, new areas have been targeted for expansion and bunds built to impede inundation by seawater. In partnership with the RSPB, English Nature's Bittern Recovery Project has examined ways of turning agricultural land, also threatened by sea-level rise, into reed bed habitat through grants such as Countryside Stewardship.