What they like

Reeds. Lots of reeds. Wide, wet reed beds along ponds and ditches, with quiet corners and shallow water to hunt in. Leave reeds standing until late winter. Mow in phases: a different section each year, never all at once. In a garden or park: make a small reed pond or natural bank with cattails, yellow iris and some scrub around it. On a farm or in agricultural areas: give ditches gentle banks and leave a strip of bank vegetation untouched.

Ecological importance

He is a quiet fish- and frog-hunter that shows your water is still alive. He mainly eats small fish, tadpoles, frogs and aquatic insects. If the reeds disappear and banks are straightened, he’s gone. And with them goes a whole reed-edge community.

When in the Netherlands

April to September. Migrates away in winter.

Status

Rare breeding bird. Vulnerable and local, especially in large reed areas.