Rail Country

For an ornithology class field trip, I traveled to Phinizy Swamp in Augusta, GA. Among the ducks milling around the marshy area surrounding one of the boardwalks, someone spotted an American Bittern.

Can you find it in the reeds? (click photo for a larger version- that will make it much easier!)

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wait for it....

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Ta da!! (click on image for a larger version)

Here's a closeup:

The bittern crouched in the reeds while we watched for 10 minutes or so. Only once, it snaked its head back and forth while keeping its body completely still, but whatever it was must have been too far from the reach of its daggerlike beak, because it didn't move again after that brief moment.

As if that weren't enough, as we got into the swamp area where duckweed grew everywhere, we spied 2 Soras foraging among the coots and moorhens! They must have been a pair because they were only about 20 feet apart and called to each other as they scuttled back and forth along the edge of the reeds.

We also saw Anhingas, American Pipit, Northern Harrier, Palm Warbler, Swamp Sparrow, and more... but when I see a swamp, I'm always hoping for a rail, so for me, the day was a success from the moment the bittern materialized from the reeds.