Drive past a marsh, lakeshore, or river, you’re likely to see a stately great blue heron hunting in the shallows. They are common, impressive, and widespread. Though great blues often stand motionless ...

Bitterns were driven to extinction by the 1870s due to hunting and the draining of their wetland habitats More frequent sightings of a rare marsh bird at nature reserves have prompted hopes they may ...

Bitterns, which are part of the heron family, were once extinct in the UK but returned in the 20th Century A Staffordshire nature reserve has celebrated a record-breaking breeding season for one of ...

Once-extinct, bitterns make booming ‘foghorn’ noise to attract mates with 228 calling males counted in last breeding period The UK’s loudest bird has had a bumper breeding year after previously being ...

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or ...

The boom of the bittern is being heard across Britain once again, after more than a century in which the bird has hovered on the edge of extinction. Noted for its foghorn-like call or "boom", the ...

Conservationists hope work to improve the reedbeds where they live will double the numbers of bitterns within a decade. In 1997 the population was so small there were fears the bittern could become ...

Hands up who has been lucky enough to see a bittern in New Zealand? (Puts her hands down - with accompanying sad face.) New Zealand is a stronghold for the makatu or Australasian bittern, but even so, ...

A bittern breeding boom in a New South Wales Riverina wetlands is being heralded as a significant step forward for the secretive water bird species. Endangered Australasian bitterns and ...

Rare waterbirds appear to be increasingly moving into South Australia to escape dry conditions in northern areas of the country, according to wildlife experts. Six Australian Little Bitterns were ...