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At last, after years of dedicated conservation work, we are proud to announce that the bittern nested at RSPB Malltraeth Marsh (Cors Ddyga) on Anglesey this summer – the first time in Wales for 32 years.
The bittern, a type of streaky pale-brown heron brilliantly camouflaged for its home amongst the reed, was last known to have bred in Wales at Valley on Anglesey in 1984. Nevertheless, a valiant effort dating back to 1994 by our staff at RSPB Malltraeth Marsh has seen the bittern return to Anglesey.
The reserve was formed in 1994 with this goal in mind. It’s been a long time coming, and despite having seen various vulnerable species such as water voles, grasshopper warblers and otters thrive in the area due to our work, discovering that bitterns nested in Wales for the first time in 32 years on our reserve really is the icing on the cake.
It is a rather secretive bird, which is difficult to spot as it moves silently through reeds at the water's edge looking for fish. However, the males are renowned for their remarkable far-carrying, booming mating call in spring – hence being called aderyn y bwn.
The bird’s secretive element saw us having to spend long hours out early in morning and late at night to try and confirm our suspicions.
Everything about bitterns requires patience and piecing small clues together to build a picture. We watched the female’s food flights throughout the nesting period, and one evening, around the time the young should have fledged we were lucky enough to see inexperienced bitterns return to the nest. Known for needing quiet and quaint surroundings to breed, the bittern had this in abundance at RSPB Malltraeth Marsh.
We are grateful to the local birdwatchers that knew about the birds for a while, but agreed to keep away to give them every chance of nesting successfully. They deserve credit for their willingness and cooperation, and we hope that any future visitors to RSPB Malltraeth Marsh will also keep this in mind.
We can now proudly boast that the aderyn y bwn is back.