Newport Wetlands National Nature Reserve is celebrating another successful year for two iconic wetland birds that have recently returned to the Gwent Levels.
Adult male marsh harrier (Les Bunyan, RSPB-images.com)
Bittern (Andy Hay, RSPB-images.com)
Marsh harriers and bitterns were almost driven to extinction in the UK during the 20th century, but are now staging a remarkable comeback.
Once common in wetlands across the country, by the late 19th century they were restricted to the East Anglian fenlands. By the 1960s, through a combination of persecution, drainage of their habitat, and the widespread use of organochlorine pesticides, they were both on the verge of extinction.
Today, thanks to strenuous conservation efforts, tighter legal protection, and the banning of many harmful chemicals, they have staged a remarkable comeback. Numbers have increased and they have spread westwards across the British Isles.
After a long absence, in 2016 a pair of marsh harriers took up residence at Newport Wetlands. Over the last seven years, they have successfully fledged 12 chicks. In 2022, a second pair began breeding and this year fledged 3 chicks. Adult harriers can once again be seen hunting over the Levels and performing their amazing courtship displays.
In 2019, a pair of bitterns became the first to breed on the Levels in over 200 years. There are now at least four adult birds at Newport Wetlands and over the last two years they have fledged 12 chicks. Bitterns are famously elusive birds, but the loud booming call of the male can travel for up to 2kms. Visit the reserve in Spring to hear this incredible sound.
