Good morning fellow Choristers. If you’ve been socially distancing, as I have seen for days now, you may be going a bit stir crazy. Let’s check in on a bird that excels at social distancing, shall we? I’m talking about the elusive American Bittern, a tall member of the heron family.
When I think of social distancing in the birding world, I generally think of the Sora and other rails that like to hide in well-concealed, dense vegetation. But the American Bittern is also a solitary bird and usually keeps itself well-hidden and is difficult to observe. It usually hunts by walking stealthily in shallow water and among the vegetation, stalking its prey.
I was shocked and surprised when I came around a curve at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area and saw the bittern pictured above standing at the water’s edge hunting. I’ve seen American Bitterns on a number of occasions, but never out in the open like this. I hit the brakes, stopped, and grabbed my camera, Mind you, I’m on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere, just me and this bird not six feet apart. A clear, sunny day. What luck! Just one problem: I had a 500mm lens on my camera and was way too close to the bird to get a decent shot with such a long lens. I actually backed up my car, pulled forward to as much of the shoulder as I could, clambered over to the passenger seat giving myself all the distance I could, and voila, the shot you see above! I couldn’t believe the bird didn't flush during all this activity.
Unperturbed, the bird stalked its prey. I sat in the car, motionless, motor off. I waited. And waited. The bird did not disappoint.
I was told that this particular prey item is a bullfrog tadpole. I don’t know if that’s correct or not. Do tadpoles have tails like that? Seems odd. At any rate, the bird grappled with the prey for a while and could never get it lined up to swallow. It eventually gave up and dropped the tadpole or fish or whatever it is. Win some, lose some.
Bitterns eat mostly fish and other aquatic life. They also eat frogs, tadpoles, aquatic insects, crayfish, crabs, salamanders, and garter snakes. They have been seen catching flying dragonflies. In drier habitats, they may eat rodents, especially voles.
American Bitterns are solitary and rather furtive. If it senses that it has been seen, it remains motionless, with its bill pointed upward, its cryptic coloration causing it to blend into the surrounding foliage. That cryptic coloration is what allows the American Bittern to be easily overlooked. It can blend into its surroundings, very much like the Green Heron does.
More often heard than seen, the male bittern has a loud, booming call that resembles a congested pump and which has been rendered as "oong, kach, oonk". While uttering this sound, the bird's head is thrown convulsively upward and then forward, and the sound is repeated up to seven times. It’s a really wild gulping sound. Once you hear it, you never forget it. Listen here: www.audubon.org/…
American Bitterns are also territorial. They have a territorial threat display which involves slowly erecting long, white, previously-concealed, plumes on their shoulders, to form wing-like extensions that nearly meet across its back, resembling a ruff. The bird then stands still in a threatening posture, or stalks the intruder in a crouching position, with its head retracted and a gliding gait.
I’m going to show you what that looks like by sharing a sequence of photos I took on a different day at the same Yolo Bypass Wildlife Refuge that I referenced earlier. I was driving down the dirt road heading for the exit when I thought I saw something in the tall grasses. Is it my imagination?
So, let me explain these next several pictures. I’d been sitting in my car, happily snapping away as this bittern, unperturbed by me, kept moving closer and closer. I was parked with the motor off so no worries, right? All of a sudden, the bird flashes its threat pose at me — head turned upward, white feather epaulets showing, and I’ve no clue why. I hadn’t done anything.
What the heck is going on? Why has this bird turned around now like it’s flashing a warrior pose? I just kept blithely clicking away, camera pressed to my face, not wanting to miss a thing. What’s going on is that a second American Bittern, unseen by me until now because my camera was pressed to my face, has entered the picture — or perhaps I should say the filed of battle.
Then just like that, the encounter is over and they start to go their separate ways. I could hardly believe what took place right before my eyes.
Such excitement among the socially distant American Bitterns! And speaking of social distancing, Audubon points out that birding is an excellent socially distant activity. Read all about it right here: www.audubon.org/…
So what’s going on in your birding world? I hope you and yours are safe and sound in this frightful time.