American Bittern
My all-time favorite encounter took place when I was so preoccupied with
another bird that I was 'ambushed' by a bittern. I was sitting on the ground,
underneath my tripod, photo'ing a Marsh Wren at the nest when I noticed a rustling
in the cattails at 3 o'clock. I turned my head slowly to see what it might be
and there came a bittern--straight at me! I sat as still as I could and the
bittern walked right up to me and changed its course just enough to walk behind
me--not 6 feet away--and continued on its way. This experience proved the
benefits of my grandfather's old exercise of sitting still and seeing what finds
YOU!
American Coot
Who couldn't love these goofy birds? Best coot viewing is when they have a
raft of young ones in tow. You don't see many coot sightings reported on
Tweeters....too bad they're so rare.

Cheers,
Joe Meche
Bellingham