American Bittern

[Bonnie Block]

Had the good fortune of finding this guy in fairly open space in his full breeding plumage.
Wished for a little better angle and not quite so backlit, but you are not allowed out of your vehicle and this was the only view available. Oof reeds-I have tried to minimize as best I could—Well, I’ll take it anyway.

Canon 7D
300 2.8 II + 2X III TC
ISO 320, 1/640 sec, f/6.3

[Travis Reid]

Excellent, may a little more frame to the right..

[Bonnie Block]

Excellent, may a little more frame to the right..

Thank you for commenting, Travis. I wish there was more to the right. This is a full frame image—very slight cropping to the left and none on the right. I do have another image that I can give more room, but the head angle is a bit different. I will post it later.

[Jack Breakfast]

The light on AB's face is lovely, as is the background. One does not sneeze, ever, at an AB out in the open!

[Marina Scarr]

You did a good job with this bittern considering the difficult lighting and environment. He stands out quite well. I like the bird's angle and details look good.

[adrian dancy]

Nice work but a shame about the dried reeds/grasses on the left.

[Tim King]

I love that side lighting, and BG. I like the dead grasses in the foreground. Top to bottom a fine image.