Easier to spot when they are not in the thick dead grass.

American Bittern * Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Canada

The Bittern is a very secluded and shy bird. Love the sound they make. This was taken during breeding season.

Minsmere

John Heinz NWR at Tinicum, Phila., PA 04/30/2015

Dunklin County, Missouri

bittern, nisqually wildlife refuge

Bittern NYMR Pickering

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)

25 April 2009. Village Creek Drying Beds.

Arlington, Texas. Tarrant County.

Nikon D2H. Nikkor 400mm f3.5 ED-IF + TC-301 teleconverter.

(800mm) f7.6 @ 1/100 sec. ISO 400.

Slimbridge 06/01/2013

Canon EOS 5d MkIII 100-400mm lens

Steigerwald Lake NWR

Viera Wetlands, Brevard Co, FL

American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)

www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?q=325954

Photograph taken at the Wakodahatchee Wetlands near Boynton Beach, Florida: January 09, 2011

www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/waterutilities/wakodahatchee/

shacklefordphotoart.com/

doncon402.imagekind.com/store/gallerylist.aspx

Female Schrenck's Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus)

American Bittern from the Huron, SD waterfowl production area. The Bittern is more often heard that seen. When it senses danger it will freeze and raise his head high so that his stripes blend in with his surroundings.

American Bittern at Swan Lake

Flying into cover. The only glimpse that we got before he disappeared.

Circle B Bar Reserve, Lakeland, FL

Bosque del Apache NWR, Socorro Co., NM. 5/25/2013. Ixobrychus exilis.

Circle B Bar Reserve, Polk County, FL.

Took a distant shot as soon as I saw it. Tried to sneak up on it but I do not sneak as well as I once did.

2 Bitterns in 2 days! Pretty exciting! Both were very cooperative, but then again, they both played it cool with their camouflage as they do, acting like they are a reed...then both snuck away, giving up thinking they were invisible, although they were pretty well invisible! Makes it even sweeter!

Head Shot

Terra nova park , richmond

Yellow Bittern

Slimbridge 26th January 2013

American Bittern at Magnolia Plantation and Gardens near Charleston, South Carolina.

RSPB Minsmere 22-05-15

A Bittern, Botaurus stellaris, coming in to land in the reedbeds at Gordon's Mere, December 2009

taken at bittern hide at NWT Hickling

Shame photo was at full zoom on a bright day as far away as it could possibly get from the hide

An American Bittern hides in the marsh grasses at Green Cay Wetlands & Nature Center in Boynton Beach, FL. Photographed on 11/15/2015.

American Bittern Close up.

Far Ings nature reserve, Barton-upon-Humber, North Lincolnshire

American Bittern at Green Cay.

RSPB Minsmere 10-06-14

Shots like this finally convinced me to ditch my old Tamron 200-400mm lens and upgrade to a Nikon. I loved the versatility of that lens, but optically it wasn't great. Fully extended for this shot of a bittern in the everglades, it displays an annoying lack of sharpness. But I will hang on to this image until I get lucky with another bittern. They are elusive; more than once I've unwittingly flushed one because it blended in so well with its surroundings that I had no idea it was there. Although I made this shot in Florida, I have seen them in several BC locations - Pitt Polder, Reifel Sanctuary, along the dikes in Richmond - always in cattail marshes. This Florida bird, however, was the most habituated I've ever come across.

Scanned from the original Fujichrome Velvia slide, February 2002.

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North Hide ~ Radipole Lake Nature Reserve RSPB Dorset