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American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) - Gelatt Lake, Albany Co., WY - 14 June 2014 (photo by Shawn Billerman)
eBird list: ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S18786254
Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge is a wildlife conservation area along the coast of Texas, it is behind Bolivar Peninsula at the Gulf of Mexico.
Just as I was getting ready to give up finding this bird, it actually flew right in front of me. Wow!
Family: Ardeidae.
Species: Botaurus stellaris.
Vernacular: Eurasian Bittern, Great Bittern.
Minsmere RSPB, Suffolk.
21 April 2013.
[IMG_9883]
The Bittern is a rare, secretive bird usually difficult to see, about ¾ the size of the more common Grey Heron. The Bittern’s remarkable camouflage allows it to melt into the background, so that it may be impossible to spot even from only a few metres away. When sensing danger, it stretches its head & neck vertically upwards allowing its outline to blend into the reeds. It then sways along with the reeds. I witnessed this a number of times, for example when a dog was barking behind the hide and it assumed this posture and melted into the reeds.
The bird in the photo is in a typical feeding posture. The bird will grab its prey, usually fish, amphibians, insects & occasionally small birds or rodents.
Over a period of 11 days in cold winter weather, I spent around 5-7 hours a day in a hide trying to get a series of photos of the bird, most of the time waiting for the bird to show. When it did, often it was too far back in the reed bed for reasonable photos. However, occasionally it came nearer and I was able to see it catching fish & other prey. On one occasion it caught a pike 10-12 inches long (perhaps a third of its length) & then spent a few minutes positioning the pike in its bill before retreating into the reeds.
It seems the bittern is bouncing back in the UK. Following intensive conservation efforts, this has seen its population rise over the last 20 years from 11 males in 1997 to 198 in 2019.
Contax Aria camera body, Tamron 400mm f4 lens with a convertor on a bean bag. Fuji Sensia 100ASA film pushed to 200ASA.
This American Bittern was the star of this morning's group walk, and it was completely off my radar as a bird to look for. Chloe DaMommio spotted it first and we all got great looks at it. The bird ate 6-8 crawfish as we watched.
This is the only shot I got of the bittern with a crawfish in its mouth. I kept it despite not being very sharp.