Karine Nohr spotted a juvenile bittern at her Sheffield home; it died after rescuers assessed it as severely undernourished. RSPB's Luke Phillips called the garden sighting “almost exceptional” because bitterns usually live in wetlands.
The bittern spent several days in Sheffield and was also seen by the River Sheaf, in a Sharrow cemetery, in gardens and on rooftops. Phillips said bitterns migrate at night and bad weather could have forced it to land; he advised contacting a wildlife rescue centre or the RSPCA if one is found unable to fly.
Bitterns were considered extinct as a breeding bird in Yorkshire in 1997, when only 11 males were heard nationally; 283 booming males were recorded across the UK in 2024. RSPB Old Moor manager Emma Tuckey credited reedbed restoration since the early 2000s with the recovery. Potteric Carr near Doncaster recorded six bittern juveniles fledging this summer, its best-ever breeding season.
