American Bittern

Trust me, large is way better!

I was back at the La Chua Trail again in Gainesville, Fl today and it was chilly. There weren't many gators out and about, and not a whole lot of birds compared to yesterday.

I did manage a few gator shots, blue winged teal, assortment of herons and egrets, as well as some very nice close-up shots of a pie billed grebe.

The big hitter on the day though was an American Bittern. Never saw one before, and was able to get off a few good shots from very close.

It is a mile walk from the observation tower in the middle of the prairie to the boardwalks at the park proper. You walk through the prairie and there are critters along the whole route. It is very neat.

I rounded a curve in the trail and noticed a fellow just standing there, very still. This usually indicates something worthwhile! He whispered and asked if I had any good pics of a bittern today, to which I told him I had never even saw one before. He said to look about 15-20 foot inthe vegetation along the water. Ans WOW, there he/she was. Preening and posing. I got off several good shots before he took to flight and on his merry way.

I am very excited to have gotten this, as it is a very pretty bird. More bitterns, along with a few other shots from today are here on my Flickr account.