Sadly, Least Bitterns are birds that I just don’t see very often. They are somewhat uncommon, quite small, shy, and maybe even a bit sneaky, preferring to hide among the dense reeds and grasses on the shoreline. They make Green Herons seem downright extroverted!
In the U.S. we see two “flavors” of bittern: the larger American Bittern and the smaller Least Bittern. They are both herons and have excellent camouflage that makes them incredibly hard to find, especially when they hold still. In “stealth mode,” they point their bills skyward, and their streaky necks look exactly like upright reeds, allowing them to all but disappear.
Despite being an avid photographer for over 35 years, I hadn’t captured a decent photo of a Least Bittern since I lived in New Jersey over two decades ago. When my brother and I came across a cooperative individual at Orlando Wetlands in central Florida this winter, we were really excited.
On the down side, it was during a cold snap, and we even had frost on the car that morning. Upon getting to the wetland, we encountered significant heat disturbance from the mix of warm water and cold air, causing wavy distortions in some of our images. Additionally, the sun was on the “wrong side” of the birds. Though the resulting photos were substandard, they still serve as great references with plenty of detail for paintings like this one.
