Tuesday, October 29, 2013

American Bittern

I am linking up with Wild Bird Wednesday and Nature Notes

I am sharing the American Bittern I found at the Bitter Lake Wildlife refuge near Roswell, New Mexico.

We were on the wildlife drive when I spotted the American Bittern slowing move its beak which allowed me to pick him/her out of the reeds. When alarmed the Bittern will point its bill toward the sky, attempting to blend in with its surroundings.





I took these shots from the car window, so not the best photos. But,  I have finally learned to turn the car off to keep the camera from shaking. 


The adult has a dark crown with distinct broad stripes, they forage mostly in freshwater habitats. For me, the American Bittern is a cool bird to see and I am always excited to see one.


Join in and post your birdies and to see more beautiful and wonderful bird photos please visit:
 Stewart's Wild Bird Wednesday and Michelle's  Nature Notes.  Thanks to our host Michelle our host Stewart.  Happy Birding and have a wonderful week!

67 comments:

  1. oh you would be excited to see this bird Eileen; glad you managed the photos of; TFS

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  2. Indeed a beautiful bird Eileen :)

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  3. Love him! You really have to be looking for him.

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  4. Beautiful capture of the bird...

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  5. Nice. He has some great camouflage.

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  6. Bitterns are special birds to see in any part of the world. It's great to see the American one. That last shot is particularly special.

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  7. I love these photos, Eileen.

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  8. putting the window down, then leaning on the window part of the door, helps steady things as well!!

    great captures!!

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  9. Nice shots Eileen....special bird.

    Greetings, Joop

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  10. Jesteś spostrzegawcza i takiego ślicznego ptaka zobaczyłaś w trzcinie. Pozdrawiam.
    You are perceptive and such a lovely bird did you see the cane. Yours.

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  11. Great pictures - is this the one I picked out in your last post?

    Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

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  12. Hi Eileen
    I love the way you have the photos getting closer and closer, until you can see all the majestic details of the American Bittern.
    Have a great week
    Wrenx

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  13. Beautiful shots! I like its bill toward the sky!! :)
    Have a happy new week!!

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  14. Lucky you! We rarely ever see a Bittern. I've gotten just one photo of a Bitter that was worth keeping. Your last shot of him is gorgeous.

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  15. oh, awesome!!! really great sighting!

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  16. You have a good eye to have spotted him in that tall grass!

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  17. The bird is beautiful, Eileen!
    Greetings, RW & SK

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  18. HI Eileen Well spotted. Wonderful to have found this bird and got shots of it.

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  19. You lucky, lucky girl! Beautiful shots, too. I've only seen this bird in Oregon and it was so far away I had to view it thru a scope.

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  20. How neat! I've never seen one of these before. Glad you got some shots!

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  21. Hallo Eileen!!!What a beautiful bird!!!Nice captures!!Have a wonderful week!!Hugs!!
    Dimi...

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  22. Great photos. One time I saw a Bittern, right next to the road, in a swampy grassy area. When I slowly rolled the window down it disappeared - I've not seen one since, but I keep looking.

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  23. He is a cool bird -- acting like a reed to hide is an amazing bit of adaptability!

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  24. Such an unusual photo op and so glad your eyes were sharp enough to spot this sneaky fellow. Almost snakelike--in a good way! :-)

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  25. Wow!! well done. I'm yet to see a bittern of any kind.

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  26. These are neat pictures of the American Bitten. It's easy to see how they can blend in with their surroundings when they look up.

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  27. Amazing eyes you have spotting this unusual looking bird hidden in the grasses Eileen... well done!

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  28. Awesome...I've only seen the Least Bittern in person...would love to find one myself.

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  29. Eileen, what a nice find! For me, I can never plan on finding one. It seems I always stumble upon them by accident and you never know where they will show up!

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  30. Nice shots! I love the surrounding grass!

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  31. It's a very pretty bird. And regarding your previous post, you can certainly add up the miles in the American West - we've done 1,100 in less than a day on occasion!

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  32. What a find; it merges with the leaves!

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  33. I ve never seen one, great shots. You made me laugh about learning to turning the car off . I need to remember to do that too.

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  34. Eileen, I just love the colors of that top photo.

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  35. Oh my, what an unusual looking bird! I love that they "hide" like that, pretending to be grass.

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  36. It's easy to see how it could have been missed. Great captures Eileen.
    Love the last shot!

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  37. This bird blends very well into the tall grasses. Lovely photos.

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  38. A beautiful shot of number 3. Even when its taken from a cars window. Actually, I took most of mine from a cars window.

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  39. This special bird is wonderful and funny. Is this a curios bird ?
    Best regards, Synnöve

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  40. Well spotted, he's difficult to see in the grass.

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  41. Awesome shots, Eileen! beautiful bird.

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  42. A brilliant find Eileeen, even better to get a picture of a bittern. Strangely perhaps I once saw an American Bittern not far from here - it caused quite a stir with the twitchers of course.

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  43. I always enjoy your posts Eileen. We saw some wonderful birdlife on our recent trip to South Australia. I will post some pics as time goes along.
    Thanks for stopping by. Have a great week.

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  44. We always look for those bills sticking up, though they have appeared only four or five times in our local wetlands-- when we weren't looking for them. Off to New Mexico ourselves, and limited Internet for the next week. Have put my blog on "autopilot."

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  45. the Bittern is such a cool bird. I rarely see it but am so happy when I do. Nice shots.

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  46. I love the way you shot the bittern in the tall grasses.

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  47. How wonderful and I understand they are quite hard to get near!!!

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  48. Greats shots.. Well-done.. Regards from Madrid..

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  49. You have sharp eyes to have spotted him considering how well he blends with the grasses. I have never seen one on these interesting looking birds.

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  50. I'm amazed that you saw him to shoot him!! How nicely that he blends in!! Great shots!!

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  51. Oh that bird really blends in well... Great for Nature Notes Eileen.. Thank you Michelle

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  52. Great images especially from the car!

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  53. Good eyes for spotting the bittern in all that grass!

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  54. great sighting, well done with the rather good images too

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  55. Oh my! Yes that is a very exciting find!!! I have the Least Bittern but it would be great to find the American:) Tricky birds:)

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  56. Great job photographing that hard to spot bird.

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  57. Great pics . . . great eye you have too!

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  58. wonderful shots of a beautiful bird!
    great natural background, too.
    well done!

    big hugs~

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  59. die perfekte Tarnung
    toll gesehen und festgehalten

    LG zum Sonntag vom katerchen

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