{"id":14452,"date":"2020-07-27T06:30:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-27T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/?p=14452"},"modified":"2020-07-17T14:29:03","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T18:29:03","slug":"take-5-once-bittern-twice-shy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-once-bittern-twice-shy\/","title":{"rendered":"Take 5: Once Bittern, Twice Shy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Shy and secretive by nature, bitterns have frustrated and eluded many a birder for generations. At the slightest alarm, they can appear to vanish into the marshy reeds by freezing with their bills pointing upward, sometimes swaying in order to better resemble the windblown marsh vegetation they inhabit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both American and Least bitterns are members of the heron family and breed almost exclusively in freshwater marshland and moist meadows. The two species differ most notably in size and sound: American Bitterns<\/a> range from 24″\u201334″ in length, somewhere between a Green and a Great Blue Heron in size, while the smaller Least Bittern<\/a> measures only 11″\u201314″. The spring mating call of the male Least Bittern is a soft, subtle coo. <\/em>American Bitterns, on the other hand, have one of the strangest songs of all our native birds\u2014The male will inflate his esophagus and contort his body wildly to produce a hollow, almost “liquid”, pumping oonk-ka-choonk<\/em> that can be described, depending on the listener\u2019s age and life experience, like the priming of an old pump or the sound of a distant pile driver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bitterns have always been considered rare and local summer residents in Massachusetts and, in earlier years, this status may have had more to do with their secretive and retiring habits than actual numbers. However, today there is no question that bitterns have become scarce (both native species are listed as endangered), the consequence of the widespread draining and filling of wetlands for human development<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protection of our remaining wetlands and restoration of degraded wetlands is crucial for the future of not just bitterns, but for the future of people in Massachusetts, too. Learn more about our efforts to combat climate change through land protection<\/a> as well as how you can get involved on our website, and enjoy these five photos of bitterns from our annual Picture This: Your Great Outdoors<\/a> photo contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"American
American Bittern \u00a9 Fred Harwood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Least
Least Bittern \u00a9 Henry Zimberlin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Bittern \u00a9 Mark Grimason<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Least
Least Bittern \u00a9 Liam Waters<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"American
American Bittern \u00a9 Jesse Costa<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shy and secretive by nature, bitterns have frustrated and eluded many a birder for generations. At the slightest alarm, they can appear to vanish into the marshy reeds by freezing with their bills pointing upward, sometimes swaying in order to better resemble the windblown marsh vegetation they inhabit. Both American and Least bitterns are members […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":14455,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14452","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-take-5"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2020\/07\/2122MarkGrimason7387.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3t87A-3L6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":7557,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/5-fun-facts-about-wachusett-meadow\/","url_meta":{"origin":14452,"position":0},"title":"5 Fun Facts About Wachusett Meadow","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 9, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Located in the bucolic Central Massachusetts town of Princeton, Wachusett Meadow is a remarkably peaceful yet diverse wildlife sanctuary. Here, you can explore 12 miles of trails that traverse more than 1,000 acres of woodlands, wetlands, and meadows. But there\u2019s more to Wachusett Meadow than meets the eye. Teacher Naturalist\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sanctuaries 100"","block_context":{"text":"Sanctuaries 100","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/sanctuaries-100\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/west-trail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/west-trail.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/05\/west-trail.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7584,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/100-great-wildlife-sanctuary-birding-spots\/","url_meta":{"origin":14452,"position":1},"title":"100 Great Wildlife Sanctuary Birding Spots","author":"Hillary T.","date":"May 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon\u2019s annual birding competition takes place on May 13-14. Teams of birders will attempt to see (or hear) the most species in a 24-hour time span. At the same time, birders and \u201cBird-a-thon\u00a0Boosters\u201d are raising money to support wildlife sanctuaries and programs. 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Capturing these hidden creatures is a special challenge, but it can also lead to some beautiful compositions, as shown by these images from our past Photo Contests. Have a great shot\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Take 5"","block_context":{"text":"Take 5","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/take-5\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/04\/Laurene_Cogswell-2014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/04\/Laurene_Cogswell-2014.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2015\/04\/Laurene_Cogswell-2014.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9387,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/bird-a-thon-2017-in-review\/","url_meta":{"origin":14452,"position":3},"title":"Bird-a-thon 2017 in Review","author":"Mass Audubon","date":"June 26, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Bird-a-thon, Mass Audubon's annual birding competition and fundraiser, took place on May 12-13. Here, Mass Audubon's Director of Important Bird Areas Wayne Petersen, gives a run-down of the birding portion of the event. Now that the dust following Bird-a-thon 2017 has settled and spring migration has finally come to a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Get Involved"","block_context":{"text":"Get Involved","link":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/category\/get-involved\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/06\/We-won-edited.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/06\/We-won-edited.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2017\/06\/We-won-edited.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13299,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.massaudubon.org\/yourgreatoutdoors\/take-5-thats-a-mouthful\/","url_meta":{"origin":14452,"position":4},"title":"Take 5: That’s a Mouthful!","author":"Ryan D.","date":"November 11, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Didn't your mother ever tell you not to talk with your mouth full? Apparently, these birds never got the memo. 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