It Doesn’t Come Easily

They bend with the wind! That’s the main way this 34″ tall marsh inhabitant hides. It stands vertically amongst the reeds, and when it feels like it might be threatened, it stands as tall as it can and slowly sways with the reeds. It’s so effective that this relatively common bird is not regularly seen. We were on an airboat at Kissimmee Lake when we spotted it. We were able to float in close, engine shut off, and the closer we got, the better the background got. When we finally finished drifting in, not only was the background vastly improved, but we were at point-blank range! I’d never been so close to one before, it was grand! It normally doesn’t work this way, it doesn’t come easily.