Bittern numbers in UK at record high, says RSPB

Booming of male bitterns reveals presence of at least 164 of the heron-like waders living in British wetlands, says charityPopulations of the bittern, a wetland bird that was facing extinction in the UK in the late 1990s, are at a record high, conservationists report.Resident numbers of “Britain’s loudest bird” increased in 2017, and experts – using the foghorn-like booming call of the males to survey the species – have counted at least 164 birds at 71 sites. Contin