Please listen to the video in this article and make sure to turn your volume up.
A growing number of people have been lucky enough to hear the booming mating cry of a male bittern nesting in the reed beds at Scorton Lakes. Its distinctive booming call has been heard throughout the past few days. The bittern is a rare and shy heron and spends almost all of the time hidden away in large reed beds. Although numbers are recovering nationally there are still only thought to be a few hundred bitterns in the UK so the fact we have one here emphasises the importance and quality of Scorton Lakes.