American bittern

Streaked brown plumage and a still, upright pose let the American bittern vanish into the reeds, even when it stands only a few feet away. Its camouflage is so effective that a bittern will often freeze with its bill pointed to the sky, swaying gently with the reeds, rather than fly. Patience and a slow approach along a marsh edge are usually the only way to photograph one.

This secretive heron hunts for fish, frogs, and insects in cattail marshes, and when alarmed it points its bill skyward and sways like the grasses around it. Its deep, pumping call carries across wetlands at dawn and dusk, and it is far more often heard than seen. Bitterns nest in dense marsh vegetation across Manitoba during the summer. Look for them from May through September around cattail sloughs, where the booming call is the best clue.

This is a favourite frame of an American bittern, caught in the tall marsh grass.

American bittern with streaked brown plumage standing upright and camouflaged in tall green marsh grass

Photos

  • American bittern with streaked brown plumage standing upright and camouflaged in tall green marsh grass
  • American bittern photographed in Manitoba, 1

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