Butterbump is an old English name for the bittern. It’s a big, beautiful wetland bird that stalks the reedbeds like a heron in owl’s clothing. In the spring, it makes an otherworldly booming sound that can be heard for miles around.
When I first started copywriting in the early 2000s, bitterns were at real risk of UK extinction. The lowest point for them was 1997, when there were only 11 males left.
Today, after huge conservation efforts by the RSPB and others, there are 283. At least three of them breed in my local wetland nature reserve of Stodmarsh in Kent, and I regularly have the thrill of seeing and hearing them.
Over the last 25 years, I’ve written a lot of copy that has raised funds to support, among many other things, bittern conservation. So I like to think that, in a small way, I played a role in bringing these amazing birds back from the brink.
I named my copywriting for charities business Butterbump because it’s a good reminder of the power of words to make the world better in a tangible way.
