The American Bittern is solitary and cryptically colored. Throw in its secretive nature and inaccessible habitats and you have a species that I rarely see so getting photos of one taking off and in flight made my day yesterday.
A highly unusual winter bird and a new incarnation of a long-lost landmark made yesterday a good day at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge.
An American Bittern out in the open is an extremely rare occurrence for me (and for most everyone else I suspect).
In about nine years of photographing birds I’ve never found an American Bittern out in the open. Until last week…
The American Bittern may be the most elusive avian subject I’ve ever photographed. They’re solitary, cryptically colored and their preferred habitat is wetlands with tall, emergent vegetation. And they’re extremely secretive by nature. So much so that very little is known about their biology, which is too bad because perhaps if we understood them better we could more effectively manage their seriously declining populations.
