Once bittern, twice shy

Nankeen Night-Heron

Actually, the bird shown here is neither a bittern nor particularly shy. There were unconfirmed reports of a bittern seen in the  Strath Creek area earlier this year – perhaps an unlikely sighting given the shaky conservation status of the two bittern species that may be found in Victoria. We suspect the bird in question may have been a Nankeen Night-Heron.

The one in these photos was spotted by Brian and Jim  one morning recently on a wooden fence at ‘Callandoon’, not far from King Parrot Creek. It then spent much of the day perched in a nearby tree in full view of interested observers and photographers.

This chunky bird is in breeding plumage, with a couple of slender white plumes coming from the back of its head. Although not often seen around here, it is widespread and nomadic, and can congregate in large breeding colonies in the Murray Valley.