On Apr 14, 2012, at 07:00 PM, Mark Chao <markc...@imt.org> wrote:
The AMERICAN BITTERN was still in the swampy patch of trees and brush among the three parking lots at the Lab of Ornithology at 5:45 on Saturday afternoon.
I first saw this bird out in the open by the round pool right by the large sign marking the entrance to the visitor lot. A group of young women visiting from the University of Vermont came over and joined me in watching the bird. Then, as I borrowed one student’s phone and called Dave Nutter, the bird disappeared.
I slowly walked around the island of vegetation twice to no avail, but finally I saw it again very close to its original spot. Again it was out in the open, this time showing an exquisite gradient of contrast from the black malar stripe to yellow cheeks. When the bird turned, I also saw, for the first time on any bittern, a very blond head contrasting with the subtle and wonderfully complex brown feathers of the mantle and wings. It was amazing – for a few minutes, the head was against a background of dried yellow grasses, and the body against brown earth. The bird was quite invisible to the unaided human eye.
Eventually, about a dozen other birders, including Dave, Jay McGowan, Livia Santana, Tom Schulenberg, and Raghu Ramanujan, came and saw the bittern. Some got fine photos. A few times, the bittern ran like a rail through the narrow channels to different parts of the island, but collectively we didn’t ever lose sight the bird for too long. Seeing a bittern run was also a first for me today.
Many thanks to Dave for getting the word out! Best wishes to those who look for the bittern tomorrow.
Mark Chao
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