Bird

I shot this July 16 at Eagle Bluffs CA. I don't know what kind of bird this is - but it was one of the few that sat still long enough for me to get a shot.

20D 100-400 @ 400, ISO 200, 1/400 @ f 6.3, hand held from my p/u.

Merle, you have a least bittern. They thrive in freshwater marshes where cattails and reeds predominate. This bird is usually very secretive so you may have cast a spell on him.

A bird book would be handy in the field for i.d. and I would recommend a fairly recent publication. I have lots of bird books and feel that this is one of the better ones.

National Wildlife Federation Field Guide to Birds of North America by Edward S. Brinkley

A source: http://www.amazon.com/National-Wildlife-Federation-Field-America/dp/1402738749/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1216851974&sr=1-3

Best,
Don

Merle, I'm going to offer a second opinion on the ID. It looks more like a Green Heron to me than a Least Bittern. I use http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/ alot, especially for bird songs, but sometimes the photos are useful too. I've seen lots of Green Herons, but have never spotted a Least Bittern; the species is sort of a nemesis bird for me.

Rob, as Sibley suggests in his Sibley Guide to Birds,the green heron has darker colors and I see that now in the photo and in the author's illustrations. Good call.

Don

I didn't see or read all of the replies, but as soon as I saw it, I said "Green Heron". I was quite fortunate to photograph one obliging Green Heron that filled the entire shot with my 500/4.5...

Cheers,
Marc

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input. I had no clue what it was other than "very hard to get a shot of".

Well, what do you know, when I first looked at this I thought "Green Heron" ... only because it looked like a green heron I spent some time shooting when I first started making film images. As I recall, the species is not very tolerant of a human's close proximity. Thanks for sharing Merle.