Another American Bittern Successfully Rehabilitated

Today we released an American Bittern to continue its migration southward. This was the first of five American Bitterns admitted to Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation thus far during fall migration. He suffered from a fracture to the left radius (bone in the wing). The wing healed and he was ready to continue his journey.

American Bitterns, an endangered species in Illinois, spend their summers in much of Canada and the northern United States. Their wintering grounds include the southern reaches of the United States and Central America. According to Cornell Department of Ornithology, they generally migrate alone or in pairs.

American Bitterns have a reputation for being very secretive. They stand among reeds and blades of tall grass and hold their heads up with their bills pointed skyward camouflaging themselves as grass. In this position, they can be very difficult to see. You can see this nicely illustrated in one of the photos we took of the subject American Bittern following his release.


Anyway, I digress....

So this American Bittern flew to the nearby reeds and tall grass and camouflaged himself. He hung out for awhile and then continued his migration. One more injured bird that gets another chance. We wish him a long and safe life.

In case you're interested, while we've released three of the American Bitterns arriving this fall, it looks like the other two will miss migration. Once healed, our options will be to overwinter them or to ship them south to their wintering territory. One of these birds suffered from a fractured femur (leg bone) while the second has a fractured wrist (wing bone).

Two Endangered Birds Return to Wild

Yesterday was the first time in Flint Creek Wildlife's history that we've released two endangered species in one day....both birds were American Bitterns, a medium-sized heron that is known for being secretive.

American Bitterns are deceiving. When not extending their necks, they seem fairly small. But watch out and wear safety glasses! An experienced Bittern rehabilitator will always control a Bittern's head else risk losing an eye. Bitterns spring on their legs like pogo sticks and they extend their necks like being ejected from a cannon. (Our photo gallery contains release photos from October 24, 2006 that illustrate this very well.)

Anyway, we've admitted three American Bitterns thus far during fall migration. One has a broken wing (ulna) and will be with us for some time. The other two suffered from head trauma - one severe and one mild. These are the two that were released today.

We videotaped the second release, so we only have one still photo of the second bird. See our photo gallery for all of today's release pictures and stay tuned for video....

And, yes, we released this bird in wetlands, but he flew off to the woods instead of the wetlands. We're confident he went back to the wetlands after we left. The second Bittern flew along the water until we finally lost sight of him....what a breathtaking sight.

Dawn