Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Non-breeding) / Vulnerable (Breeding) [NT(nbr) VU(br)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Botaurus stellaris |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Linnaeus, 1758) |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Increased to over 200 males from low point of 11 in late 90's |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Conservation dependant - on good management of fish-rich reedbeds. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Wetland creation and management to include fish-rich reedbeds and open water. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 8. Species recovering |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Manage occupied sites optimally for this species, including consideration of reedbed and wetland vegetation management, water levels, fish populations and invasive non-native predators or other problematic invasive non-native wetland species. Details of management required to be informed by appropriate monitoring including periodic full breeding survey of all sites.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites: Somerset Levels, Fens, Norfolk Broads, Coastal Eastern England
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Targeted and rapid creation of sufficient new reedbed to support population growth, thereby compensating for coastal sites that will be lost to sea level rise. This should be applied at widescale, as well as through the encouragement of relatively minor 'intrusions' of reed into existing wet grasslands.
Action targets: 8. Species recovering
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites: The Fens
Comments: action will support many other wetland species
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Consider and as appropriate implement the recommendations of SPA reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 SPA Review and additional recommendations of the 2016 SPA Review. Up to date evidence is also required.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Site protection
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 20 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.