American Bittern

About the American Bittern

The American Bittern is a master of hiding in plain sight. When it senses danger it freezes with its bill pointed straight at the sky, and the brown and buff streaks on its neck line up with the reeds around it. On a windy day it will even sway gently with the cattails.

It is far more often heard than seen in the breeding season, when males give a deep, pumping call often written as oong-ka-choonk. In winter it is silent, and finding one usually means scanning the edge of a marsh slowly and hoping one steps into the open to hunt.

These photographs come from four Central Texas winters and springs: a retention pond in Cedar Park in January 2024, Walter E. Long Lake in March 2021 and March 2024, and Lake Bastrop in October 2023.