Other American Bitterns

Bitterns in the Rain

The Wonderful Wet

I love photographing wildlife in the rain (and snow and frost and fog) and the beauty of the auto tour is I can do it from the relative warmth of a dry car seat. Not everyone shares my love for the rain of course and I didn't see another car on the refuge for the first couple of hours of the morning. It rained much of the day and traffic on the tour was fairly low despite being in the midst of spring migration. I kept an eye on the weather maps during the day to try to be at a favorite location when the best weather (in this case, the heaviest rain) hit. Even so, I got caught out by a sudden downpour. I had just finished driving past the lakes and started onto the large meadows at the end of the tour where there isn't much to see at this time of year. So I couldn't believe my luck when I saw the bittern in the tall grass of the meadow near Schwartz Lake, where I've not seen bitterns before, the green grass nicely showing off the pouring rain. Then a bit later, I saw another in the grass by Horse Lake.

An American bittern stands upright in the pouring rain at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Bitterns in the Snow

A bittern sits beside a marsh in the rain and snow at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Neither Rain Nor Snow …

The end of 2009 brought a surprise snowstorm followed by cold rains. If you're a hungry predator, you can't wait out the bad weather if you want to eat. Two bitterns were working the edge of South Quigley Lake, there was one a few feet below me that was actively stalking the shoreline, while this one further up the road stayed fairly still and seemed more interested in opportunistic meals.

Bitterns in the Frost

I came across this bittern on a cold winter morning with the sun not yet high enough to melt the frost in the shallow ditch. The bittern kept an eye on both me and the water below, waiting for movement. I don’t know if it found breakfast or not, but nothing was stirring in the few minutes that I watched it before I moved on to avoid blocking the narrow road over the culvert.

An American bittern stands in a frost covered ditch at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Bitterns in the Grass

An American bittern stands in tall grass at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Boolie the Incompetent

My wife woke me on a Friday morning to tell me she had to leave for work early and couldn't give me a ride to the train station, meaning I'd either have to walk to the train or drive to work. Since I had an early meeting I decided to drive to make sure I got there on time. At the end of the day I called my wife as I walked to catch the train home. Since she wasn't in, I tried a couple of times on the ride home, reaching her as the train was nearly at my stop. At which point she wondered why I was on the train since I had driven that morning.

Oh corks!

I was too tired to loop back to get the car, but we needed both cars on Sunday, so after spending Saturday at Ridgefield I left early to get the car. I hated to leave, it was raining and I love Ridgefield in the rain, plus the birds were getting active, so I was kicking myself as I turned around to make my early exit.

But then I noticed a couple of bitterns in the tall grass. They are normally solitary creatures so they were probably courting, and probably successfully as I've seen them in close proximity a couple of times since then. One of the bitterns blessed me with a pose in the tall wet grass, a final picture before I had to leave to fix my latest bout of incompetence.

My latest but not my last.

An American bittern calls out at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Ooomm-ka-chooom

It amuses me that a bird that tries so hard not to be seen has a call that can be heard from so far away. The bittern has a distinctive ooomm-ka-chooom call that is one of my favorite sounds of the marsh, it reminds me more of a gurgling swamp than a bird. It makes the sound by contorting its esophagus, in this picture you can see how it has thrown its throat out mid-call, sending out the call that can be clear across the marsh.

An American bittern stands still at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

You Can't See Me. Right? Right?

When they want to blend in, bitterns raise their head high and mimic the patterns of the tall marsh grasses where they hunt. In this case, however, with the bittern in an open area and surrounded by a sea of green, it was easier to spot.

American bittern peeks out from tall grasses at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Drive Slowly, Look Closely

Bitterns are frequently seen close to the auto tour around Rest Lake, but they are usually not out in the open. I always drive slowly in the area, it’s a favorite location of mine in general, but the bitterns are always a special treat. I found this one on a cold winter’s evening as I was getting ready to leave the refuge.

American bittern vocalizing along the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Trying To Be Heard

I took this picture in May of 2001. The grasses of the marsh at Ridgefield were still green, so bitterns were easier to spot than when the grasses turn brown and the bitterns can remain so still and perfectly camoflaged that you can stare right at them and not see them.

This bittern wasn’t trying to be invisible, though, it was trying to be heard. Their unique call resonates across the marsh and I hear a lot more bitterns than I see.