Do you have a Bittern on your farm?
Our Bittern Recovery project is working to find out more about very secret life of Australasian Bitterns. Recent satellite tracking has illustrated how important the Glenelg Hopkins region is for these globally endangered birds. Rich in wetlands, from estuaries and coastal lagoons to floodplain swamps, the area provides feeding and breeding habitat for Bitterns. The Bittern population is thought to be less than 2000.
There are three ways you can help the Bittern:
1.If you have a suitable wetland or waterway on your property with about 30 cm of water and stands of rushes and reeds. You can improve habitat for Bitterns by reducing or removing stock grazing on wetland areas, fencing off wetlands or sections of reedbeds, management of reedbeds, weed removal and pest animal control. Contact the Glenelg Hopkins CMA regarding incentives to improve of Bittern habitat on your property.
2. If you have a drained wetland on your property, that could be restored to Bittern habitat. Our partners from Nature Glenelg Trust can restore wetlands by blocking drains. Contact Lachlan Farrington from Nature Glenelg Trust Lachlan.farrington@ngt.or.au or 0401 208 717. You can also contact Glenelg Hopkins CMA regarding restoration of Bittern habitat on your property.
3. If you see or hear a Bittern; As we move towards another breeding season for the endangered Bittern we would like to put a call out for records of Bitterns, if you see any or are hearing their distinctive booming calls please let us know, either via this page, or if you’d rather keep the location on the quiet, please email or call bob.green@birdlife.org.au or 0407 649 909.