{"id":174859,"date":"2026-04-15T06:01:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=174859"},"modified":"2026-04-15T06:04:45","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T11:04:45","slug":"resting-american-bittern-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/04\/15\/resting-american-bittern-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","title":{"rendered":"Resting American Bittern at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RestingResting American Bittern at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge \u2013 Canon R7, handheld, f8, 1\/200, ISO 2500, -0.3 EV, Canon RF 100-500mm at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

Nine days after finding a surprise American Bittern at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge<\/span><\/a>, I found a bittern again in the same area of the refuge. Maybe it was a different bittern, or perhaps it was the same one I had found nine days earlier; I can’t be sure.<\/p>\n

If it was the same American Bittern, I would have expected it to move on to its breeding grounds north of here within that nine day period of time.<\/p>\n

Then I wondered, if this American Bittern hatched last year, it might not be ready to breed and maybe, just maybe, it will stick around the refuge for a while instead of heading to its breeding grounds. Some younger birds do that, provided there is enough food in the area to sustain them.<\/p>\n

I know I’ve photographed Long-billed Curlews on the Gulf Coast of Florida when they should have been on their breeding grounds.<\/p>\n

I photographed this resting American Bittern while using my Jeep as a mobile blind. Later in the morning, I took more photos of the bittern while walking along the edge of the road.<\/p>\n

The weather has kept me out of the field for almost a week; I am anxious to get back to the refuge to see if this bittern has stuck around. It would be wonderful to have more opportunities with this bird. I love photographing these wading birds.<\/p>\n

I also want to see what other migrant birds have arrived. Spring is definitely an exciting time for bird photography. It is hard to wait for better weather; I can barely contain myself!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Bittern photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nine days after finding a surprise American Bittern at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, I found a bittern again in the same area of the refuge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":174856,"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":""},"categories":[5320,27,13973,13974],"tags":[4004,5321,6328,632,5322,13984,4142,4046,4156,13976,165,313],"class_list":["post-174859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-bitterns","category-avian","category-oklahoma","category-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge","tag-adult","tag-american-bittern","tag-bittern","tag-bitterns","tag-botaurus-lentiginosus","tag-bottomlands","tag-close-up","tag-portrait","tag-resting","tag-slough","tag-spring","tag-wading-birds"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/american-bittern-migrating-mia-mcpherson-4203.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Juj","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":173655,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/03\/31\/surprise-american-bittern-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":174859,"position":0},"title":"Surprise American Bittern At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 31, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was driving near Miner's Cove at Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge yesterday, I saw and photographed a surprise American Bittern right after the bird crossed the dirt road.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bitterns"","block_context":{"text":"American Bitterns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/american-bitterns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Staring American Bittern portrait, Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge, Oklahoma","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/american-bittern-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2247.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/american-bittern-sequoyah-nwr-mia-mcpherson-2247.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Bitterns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/american-bitterns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"January American Bittern on the bank of the Bear River, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-winter-mia-mcpherson-5489.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 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Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-bear-river-utah-mia-mcpherson-6466.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-bear-river-utah-mia-mcpherson-6466.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-bear-river-utah-mia-mcpherson-6466.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-bear-river-utah-mia-mcpherson-6466.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42748,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/21\/american-bittern-juvenile-black-crowned-night-heron-comparison\/","url_meta":{"origin":174859,"position":3},"title":"American Bittern – Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron Comparison","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"To the untrained eye American Bitterns and Black-crowned Night Herons can be confused so I thought I'd visually compare the two species with other keys to aid in their identification.","rel":"","context":"In "American Bitterns"","block_context":{"text":"American Bitterns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/american-bitterns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Bittern standing on one leg, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/american-bittern-adult-mia-mcpherson-6498.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, 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Bitterns","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/wading-birds\/american-bitterns\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Where is the American Bittern? Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/american-bittern-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8283.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/american-bittern-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8283.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/american-bittern-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8283.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/american-bittern-marsh-mia-mcpherson-8283.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":167261,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2026\/01\/21\/beaver-lodge-canada-geese-and-a-great-blue-heron-at-sequoyah-national-wildlife-refuge\/","url_meta":{"origin":174859,"position":5},"title":"Beaver Lodge, Canada Geese, And A Great Blue Heron At Sequoyah National Wildlife Refuge","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"January 21, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Earlier this month, I stopped at Lower Scarborough Slough to photograph the beaver lodge and surrounding forest, and also got Canada Geese and a Great Blue Heron in my photos.","rel":"","context":"In "American Beavers"","block_context":{"text":"American Beavers","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/american-beavers\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Beaver lodge, Canada Geese, and a Great Blue Heron at Sequoyah NWR","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sequoyah-nwr-great-blue-heron-canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-4471.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sequoyah-nwr-great-blue-heron-canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-4471.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sequoyah-nwr-great-blue-heron-canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-4471.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/sequoyah-nwr-great-blue-heron-canada-geese-mia-mcpherson-4471.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=174859"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174862,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174859\/revisions\/174862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/174856"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=174859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=174859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=174859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}