American Bittern Gallery

All of these pictures were taken on the auto tour in the River S Unit at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, a great place to watch bitterns both up close and for an extended period of time.

Bitterns Up Close

A close-up view of an American bittern's head and beak at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

My Reward

One day on the auto tour at Ridgefield, a car ahead of me had stopped in the middle of the road leaving no room to get by on either side. Since I wasn't in a hurry, I pulled over and stopped a long ways back from them so they'd know to take their time watching whatever it was they were watching. There wasn't anything to photograph from my vantage point but I was enjoying the symphony of the swans on Rest Lake when I heard a rustling from the grasses not far below the car.

I expected a nutria but was surprised to find this bittern instead. At first I had a good view but as it hunted the narrow channel, it soon disappeared from sight and the grasses rarely allowed a view below. So I drove a short way until I found a better spot and settled in to wait and hoped the bittern would walk that far. My patience was rewarded when the hunting bittern at last came back into view. After playing around with views of the bittern half-hidden by the grasses, it stepped to the right and gave me a clear view of its head and beak.

A close-up view of the feathers along the chest of an American bittern at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Who Am I?

Over the Christmas break, I photographed bitterns more than any other animal. Each opportunity offered something unique, such as photographing them hunting voles, fish, frogs, and salamanders. Or in the sun and snow and rain. Or shooting with a wide angle lens for an environmental portrait or zoomed in with a telephoto lens to highlight their faces, feet, and in this case, the beautiful pattern of the feathers on their chest.

A straight-on, close-up view of an American bittern's head and beak on a rainy day at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

I Don't Care How Hard It's Raining, You Can't Come in the Car!

Sorry little bittern, I don't make the rules!

As a younger man I might have spent New Year's Day watching football for eight hours, but in 2010 I kicked off the new year at Ridgefield with eight hours of watching bitterns. I did venture around to other parts of the auto tour but spent most of the day sitting still at South Quigley Lake with the bitterns. I love photographing in the rain and was fortunate enough to get this straight-on portrait of one bittern before a quick shake sent the drops on its head flying. It paid me little heed as it hunted for voles and salamanders a few feet below me as it wandered up and down the shoreline and in and out of the marsh.

I had the lens aperture set to f/16 to keep as much sharpness as I could from the beak back to the eyes and water drops. Thanks to the low light, small aperture, and extension tubes for close focus, even at ISO 3200 my shutter speed was a woeful 1/25th of a second, even with image stabilization and a beanbag for support I didn't have high hopes I'd get a good image with such a long telephoto lens.

This time I got lucky.

A close-up view of an American bittern's head and body as it hunts near Rest Lake at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Oh Little Bittern!

I could photograph you all day! And as you might have noticed by now, sometimes I do. Just can't get enough of all their wonderful poses.

What Do Bitterns Eat?

Ouch! Cut It Out, That Hurts!

One of the things I love about the auto tour at Ridgefield is a chance to watch animals in their natural environment at close range without disrupting them, you get to see things you'd never see on the trails. I had a chance to watch this bittern over the course of a couple days around Christmas of 2009. The first day it made several strikes into the grasses at the edge of South Quigley Lake but came up empty each time. The next morning, however, I was startled when it came up with a Townsend's vole. So startled that I barely managed a picture. I had no idea they would go after prey that large and figured that would be its last meal of the day.

So I was even more surprised when it struck a second time and caught another vole, as soon as I saw it strike I heard the vole shrieking and was better prepared for pictures. The bittern still wasn't satisfied, it caught a large salamander a while later and only then decided to slip back under the cover of the marsh. The cattails grow so thickly here that with a few steps it was gone from sight.

An American bittern eating a Townsend's vole at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

	Dunk Contest From what I've seen, bitterns are one of a small number of birds that could play in the NBA based on their propensity to dunk. I've seen them catch voles and salamanders and snakes and frogs and, if possible, all of them get quick dunks into the pond while the bittern applies constant pressure with its large beak. It's much too fast to be an attempt to drown the creature, it really is just a quick splash in the water, but I'm not sure what purpose it serves. This Townsend's vole is coming up from a dunking and as I recall, got at least one more before it finally stopped wiggling and the bittern swallowed it whole. I have seen bitterns hold snakes under the water for an extended period of time, gripping them with their bare feet, and that may have been an attempt to drown the snake, get it so cold that it would move slowly, or just keep the bitey-bits away from sensitive areas until pressure killed it.
	Turnabout is Fair Play This bittern was mostly snagging small fish as it worked the channel beside Rest Lake, but at one point it stopped and started wiggling its neck side to side and then struck into the middle of the channel, bringing up this bullfrog. Bullfrogs themselves are voracious predators and, since they aren't native to the Northwest, have combined with habitat loss to cause some problems for some of our natives. This little bittern was doing its part to turn the tables and win one for the home team.
	Red-spotted Breakfast Red-spotted garter snakes are almost too beautiful for words but not too beautiful for breakfast, at least not if you’re a hungry bittern. I came across this bittern after it had captured a red-spotted garter snake early one morning. It mostly stayed in a sheltered area in the reeds where I couldn’t get a good look at it. I came across the same bittern a little while later, and noticed it had just caught a second garter snake, this one even larger than the first. It killed the snakes by applying pressure with its beak, often to the snake’s head. Even so, it took the snakes a while to die, and the bittern made sure the snake was dead before swallowing it. Probably a good idea when your breakfast can bite you back.
	Oh No! I've loved salamanders ever since I was a kid, whenever we hiked near a stream I'd search under the rocks for these beautiful little creatures. While I've seen newts here in the Northwest, salamanders have always eluded me. Nearly always, that is. I have seen them a few times, for brief seconds between when a wading bird plucks them from their hiding spot and swallows them whole. Here's hoping one day we meet under happier circumstances.
	Two Can Play That Game Bullfrogs aren’t native to the Northwest but they have quickly spread everywhere. They have voracious appetites and aren’t picky eaters, so on top of habitat loss they’ve been making life difficult for some of our native frogs and turtles. But even for bullfrogs, sometimes you’re the predator, sometimes the prey. This bittern was hunting with another bittern in a quiet channel when it snared a bullfrog back in the grass. It quickly walked over to the water, dunked the frog briefly underwater, then swallowed it in an instant. The other bittern stabbed at something on the ground and then started to freak out a bit, getting agitated and wiping its bill along the plant leaves. When I got home and saw the pictures, I understood why: the young bittern had tried to eat a banana slug, which causes your mouth to go numb.

Other Bitterns

A bittern sits beside a marsh in the rain and snow at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Neither Rain Nor Snow …

The end of 2009 brought a surprise snowstorm followed by cold rains. If you're a hungry predator, you can't wait out the bad weather if you want to eat. Two bitterns were working the edge of South Quigley Lake, there was one a few feet below me that was actively stalking the shoreline, while this one further up the road stayed fairly still and seemed more interested in opportunistic meals.

An American bittern calls out at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Ooomm-ka-chooom

It amuses me that a bird that tries so hard not to be seen has a call that can be heard from so far away. The bittern has a distinctive ooomm-ka-chooom call that is one of my favorite sounds of the marsh, it reminds me more of a gurgling swamp than a bird. It makes the sound by contorting its esophagus, in this picture you can see how it has thrown its throat out mid-call, sending out the call that can be clear across the marsh.

An American bittern stands still at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

You Can't See Me. Right? Right?

When they want to blend in, bitterns raise their head high and mimic the patterns of the tall marsh grasses where they hunt. In this case, however, with the bittern in an open area and surrounded by a sea of green, it was easier to spot.

Frosty Bittern

I came across this bittern on a cold winter morning with the sun not yet high enough to melt the frost in the shallow ditch. The bittern kept an eye on both me and the water below, waiting for movement. I don’t know if it found breakfast or not, but nothing was stirring in the few minutes that I watched it before I moved on to avoid blocking the narrow road over the culvert.

An American bittern stands in a frost covered ditch at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

American bittern peeks out from tall grasses at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Drive Slowly, Look Closely

Bitterns are frequently seen close to the auto tour around Rest Lake, but they are usually not out in the open. I always drive slowly in the area, it’s a favorite location of mine in general, but the bitterns are always a special treat. I found this one on a cold winter’s evening as I was getting ready to leave the refuge.

American bittern vocalizing along the auto tour at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

Trying To Be Heard

I took this picture in May of 2001. The grasses of the marsh at Ridgefield were still green, so bitterns were easier to spot than when the grasses turn brown and the bitterns can remain so still and perfectly camoflaged that you can stare right at them and not see them.

This bittern wasn’t trying to be invisible, though, it was trying to be heard. Their unique call resonates across the marsh and I hear a lot more bitterns than I see.

[ Home > Wildlife > Birds ]