By Sally Siko

One of the more challenging species of birds to spot here in NC is the American Bittern.

As seen in the 3rd photo in this post, they are masters of camouflage with brown striped and buffed plumage well suited for a life spent hunting for a meal in the tall grass along a ponds edge. Can you see it?

*Check out the 4th pic to see the cropped version for a closer look!

I was lucky enough to see two Bitterns while birding in eastern NC. One of which was stalking prey in the water which offered me the rare opportunity to photograph it out in the open.The Bittern moved slowly, each foot deftly placed carefully into the water barely making a ripple in the surface.After a few minutes he struck his bill into the water grabbing some sort of unseen snack which it quickly gulped down in an instant.It was an amazing experience to be able to share this bird with a group of photographers who’d never seen one before!

American Bitterns are known to breed in small numbers throughout coastal areas of North Carolina but are more commonly found from September through early May, particularly during migrational periods.They are primarily found in our freshwater marshes and wet fields containing cattail reeds and tall sedge grasses.Though they are indeed difficult to see when hiding in the tall grass, the good thing is that individual birds tend to return to the exact same spots of shoreline year after year.So, if you happen to locate one but it’s hiding in dense cover, it’s quite possible to come back the next day or even the next year to have another try at seeing the Bittern out in the open.

Photo by @sally_siko of @bestlife_birding on my mighty megapixel monster, the @canonusa #5Ds