Like the Wilson's Snipe, it's nice to have some green grass as a background when shooting an American Bittern. When I first started seeing Bitterns at RNWR, they were always along the canal after marker 12. More recently, though, I've started seeing them elsewhere. This one was along the canal near marker 2. It started out on the berm above and slowly made its way down to the water.
There was supposed to be some sun Monday afternoon, but it came and went as I was on my way to RNWR. Activity was pretty slow for the refuge. Water fowl and raptors were few and far between, but there a few hundred Tree Swallows flying over South Big Lake. I've seen them there now for a few weeks and the numbers are increasing. I'm not sure why they seem to restrict themselves to that body of water.
An American Bittern along the canal on the auto tour at RNWR between markers 12 and 13 in a classic pose. American Bitterns are common along this stretch, but you have to look closely or you might miss them hiding in the tall grass.
I've only seen one American Bittern in the past and that was at RNWR along the canal after marker 12. So each time I take the auto tour, I'm on the watch for them in that area. Their coloring blends in well with the dried grasses and weeds so they can be easy to miss.
As I drove the auto tour at Ridgefield, there was a car stopped along the road in front of me. I didn't see anything around that they might be looking at so I crept around them, partly to be courteous and partly to to see if I could tell what they were looking at. After getting about a car length past them, I saw what was so interesting. An American Bittern was in the roadside canal slowly moving in among the grassy bank.