At around 10:20 this morning an American Bittern was foraging in cattails near the west end of the wetland boardwalk at Crosby Park. It was within 15 feet of my approach and quickly assumed its upright, neck-extended, "fake foliage" pose, remaining frozen while I backed carefully away, for a long look. I was able to summon a family of 3 other birders, who also watched it, as it slinked deeper into the cattails. At the back side of the cattails, it seemed to find what it had been hunting; it began to tug furiously at something in the mud, causing tell-tale motions of the foliage. I had to leave for an appointment, so didn't have the chance to discover what the food was, but the length and vigor of the effort suggested it might be a snake, entwined in cattail roots. Linda Whyte
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