Aug. 24, 2014 - Least Bittern Catching a Fish

At 13 inches, the Least Bittern is our smallest heron. It’s also a very elusive bird, preferring to stay hidden among the cattails. Birders hear this bird more often than they see it. Several people reported seeing Least Bitterns at Wood Lake Nature Center in Richfield, MN, so I went there last week hoping I could get some photos.

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Several times I walked across the boardwalk that bisects one of the ponds at Wood Lake. Finally, I spotted this Least Bittern standing on a dirt clump on the opposite side of the pond. Something in the water caught its attention. The Bittern slowly turned its head to keep its prey in sight.

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Bitterns are adept at moving very cautiously so they don’t spook their prey.

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In slow motion, it started moving to its left. Look at the size of that foot!

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Balancing on the edge of the dirt clump, it slowly started to extend its neck. If you compare this photo to the last one, you might be wondering, “Where did that neck come from?”

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But the Bittern wasn’t finished with its stretching. The head and neck are now much longer than the body. It moved so slowly that the object of its attention probably wasn’t even aware that the Bittern was getting closer.

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It was a cloudy day, so my camera speed was only 1/400th of a second. Even so, when the attack came, it was so fast that the head and neck of the bird were blurred while the body stayed in focus. The Bittern must have kept a very tight hold on the dirt pile to keep from falling in the water from this position.

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Success! The Bittern had been watching a small fish and now it was meal time.

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Down the hatch it went in one gulp.

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