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Staging a comeback

A species of bird which has not been seen in Greater London for 141 years has reappeared. A squacco heron was last spotted at the Kingsbury Reservoir, in north-west London, in 1866. But now hundreds of birdwatchers have flocked to the Crossness Nature Reserve in Bexley, south-east London, after one was seen there recently. The sighting follows a £500,000 project at Crossness by Thames Water, Bexley Council and the charity Groundwork. Work has involved restoring reed b ed and ditch habitat for water voles and creating a new wader scrape — a shallow body of water with muddy margins — which has attracted the heron. The site has also been opened up to the public with a wildlife viewing screen enabling ornithologists to get close to the bird without disturbing it. The squacco heron, which is mainly found in southern Europe and winters in Africa, has a stocky body and beige plumage.

SUBAJAYANTHI WILSON

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