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:

Carole M. said...

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

Pallavi said...

Indeed a beautiful bird Eileen :)

Elaine said...

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

Anonymous said...

Beautiful capture of the bird...

Sue said...

Nice. He has some great camouflage.

Sonja said...

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.

Anonymous said...

I love these photos, Eileen.

Debbie said...

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

great captures!!

Joop Zand said...

Nice shots Eileen....special bird.

Greetings, Joop

Giga said...

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

Optimistic Existentialist said...

Beautiful bird. It blends in well!!

Stewart M said...

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

Cheers - Stewart M - Melbourne

Little Wandering Wren said...

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

Elizabeth Edwards said...

almost hidden. cool captures. ( ;

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

Wow- great spot- you have really good eyes!

vivi ka said...

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

Montanagirl said...

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.

TexWisGirl said...

oh, awesome!!! really great sighting!

HappyK said...

He blends in so well!!

magiceye said...

Amazing nature!

Karen said...

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

Our photos said...

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

Margaret Birding For Pleasure said...

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

Gail Dixon said...

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.

Our Neck of the Woods said...

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

DIMI said...

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

JoAnn ( Scene Through My Eyes) said...

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.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

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

Faye said...

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

Amanda said...

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

George said...

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.

HansHB said...

Lovely photos! Well done!

Laura said...

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

Hootin Anni said...

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

Kathie Brown said...

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!

Brian King said...

Nice shots! I love the surrounding grass!

Stephanie said...

Beautiful bird!

Al said...

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!

Maria said...

What a find; it merges with the leaves!

DeniseinVA said...

Very cool shots Eileen!

Saun said...

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.

Leora said...

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

MyMaracas said...

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

Carletta said...

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

Gemma Wiseman said...

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

Bob Bushell said...

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

Seraphinas Phantasie said...

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

Unknown said...

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

Ercotravels said...

Awesome shots, Eileen! beautiful bird.

Phil Slade said...

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.

Jill Harrison said...

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.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

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."

NatureFootstep said...

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

Carver said...

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

Mary Howell Cromer said...

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

Ana Mínguez Corella said...

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

SquirrelQueen said...

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.

Suzan said...

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

Rambling Woods said...

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

Reena said...

Great images especially from the car!

EG CameraGirl said...

Good eyes for spotting the bittern in all that grass!

Dave said...

great sighting, well done with the rather good images too

Rohrerbot said...

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:)

Pat said...

Great job photographing that hard to spot bird.

Lynne said...

Great pics . . . great eye you have too!

Betty Manousos said...

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

big hugs~

katerchen said...

die perfekte Tarnung
toll gesehen und festgehalten

LG zum Sonntag vom katerchen

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