American Bittern - CHECK!

Spring weather did not follow me to Cape Breton,

but I had a lovely ride up

through central Maine to Caribou and beyond!!

We happened across a very large flock of the ubiquitous 

Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata),

feasting along the banks of a river,

which afforded a great photo op!

Generally, I'll take several pictures,

hoping for one or two keepers,

but this day, they were all good.

Further along on our trip north, we pulled into a nice, bug infested spot,

hoping to see a Rail or perhaps a Sora.  Much to our surprise, we

found an American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus!),

who graced us with his appearance for quite a long while.

Funny how the black flies didn't seem to be a bother at all

while  I was consumed with the excitementitis at 

the arrival of this bird.

I was amazed at the size of this wading bird

as it flew in to check us out. 

It's wingspan was between 37" - 45" wide.

But then I learned the American Bittern 

is a member of the heron family

and it's size made a little more sense.

If the Bittern thinks it has been seen, it will point it's bill upward,

and blend right in with the reeds and cattails.

If you've never heard a Bittern, you need to

take an extra moment to give a listen!!

You won't be disappointed, but you might be a little surprised.

American Bittern - CHECK!

Number 299 on my life list!!  Yay!

I owe a lot of thanks to my brother-in-law,

who made a special effort to stop here,

knowing I'd never seen any of these three elusive birds

(a Sora, a Rail, or a Bittern).