Comments on: West Park Pond

By: Susie

Susie — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 15:37:46 +0000

Anna Ercoli Schnitzer, I saw the great blue heron at West Park last night. I see it so often that I don’t usually post about it, and it is not the bird described in this post as a bittern. (The bird in this post might conceivably have been a juvenile black-crowned night heron.) There’s a big difference.

In any case, I’m glad others are enjoying the pond and its bird life!

By: anna ercoli schnitzer

anna ercoli schnitzer — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 12:51:52 +0000

We were just at West Park and observed the bird in question. We raced home and checked Google Images. The matching photo was that of a Great Blue Heron (not a bittern). At any rate, we were very pleased to see the pond looking so good recently – with half a dozen ducks swimming, several dragon flies zooming around and that lovely heron standing regally at the shoreline.

By: John Floyd

John Floyd — Fri, 16 Aug 2013 03:16:17 +0000

Get a picture next time!

I saw a bittern years ago, on the Huron, while canoeing through town. I ID’d it by going to the U’s Natural History Museum, and looking at their water bird collection.

By: Dave Fanslow

Dave Fanslow — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 11:36:44 +0000

Well thats super cool to see Bitterns then! Like Dan, I’ve only seen them a few times and always in super remote reed marshes. Sometimes you get lucky!

By: Susie

Susie — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 20:25:19 +0000

Juvenile green heron was actually my first guess on Saturday, but most of the pictures I could find of juvenile green herons didn't look like the bird I saw. This one is closer, though, so now I'm wondering. The bird I saw on Sunday seemed like a larger and more mature version of the one I saw Saturday and Wednesday, and its behavior fit the descriptions of American bittern behavior, hence my conclusion. I hope someone else will see them and be able to identify them for sure. (For what it's worth, I'm familiar with adult green herons and have never seen one in West Park.)

By: Dave Fanslow

Dave Fanslow — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 16:25:15 +0000

REALLY? Check out an immature Little Green Heron with the streaked neck and see what you think. Very common and would be likely to be seen in a micro-urban wetland space like West Park. Bitterns are the best hidden birds you’ll never see.

By: Dan Ezekiel

Dan Ezekiel — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 12:47:43 +0000

That’s amazing. A shy, reclusive bird that is rarely seen. In a lifetime of paying attention to birds, I have only seen a bittern three times. As Vivienne said, this is really a feather in the cap (lol) for the greening of West Park!

By: Vivienne Armentrout

Vivienne Armentrout — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 10:05:41 +0000

Thanks for these West Park wildlife notes. So good to know we are providing a little wetland habitat right here in the middle of Ann Arbor.