THE bad weather this winter has brought a rare bird into the county, according to reports from a Belper-based wildlife organisation.
Derbyshire Wildlife Trust, which is based at the East Mill, has had reports of sightings of the rare bittern at the Drakelow Nature Reserve, in South Derbyshire, the Willington Gravel Pits, and at Carr Vale, near Bolsover.
The bittern, which is a member of the heron family, is one of the UK's most endangered birds. Its favoured habitat is a reedbed, but as these habitats are in rapid decline the birds are seen less and less.
Richard Spowage, reserves manager for the trust, said: "The trust has been working to create new areas of reedbed on its reserves, and it would seem that the bittern are finding refuge from harsh conditions elsewhere in the UK and Europe.
To report a sighting of a bird visit
www.derbyshirewildlifetrust.org.uk.
