Marshes are some of the most wonderful places on earth to visit. They are a filtering system for the waters of rivers and lakes and are essential for healthy watersheds. Some people may have the misconception that marshes are nothing more than breeding grounds for mosquitoes and frogs. This is definitely as far from the truth as you can get. Life abounds here, hundreds of species of flowers, birds and animals can be found living in marshes. And if you just stand near a marsh and listen, you can hear a whole myriad of sounds. One of the strangest and most interesting sounds heard there are the slow, deep bump-pa-bump calls of the American Bittern. Usually hidden well back into the rushes, pioneers used to refer to this bird as the thunder pumper or the bog trotter. And later, people started calling it the slough pumper because it sounded to them like an old pump, back in the marshes.

Bitterns are a truly handsome member of the heron family. Brown above, brown with white streaking underneath, black stripes on each side of the neck and white on the throat. At about thirty inches tall with a long pointed bill, they have a chunky appearance, but are a master of stealth while hunting. They catch frogs, minnows, snakes, mice, bugs and crayfish. If spotted, they are most likely to freeze, standing motionless with their bill straight up, trying to imitate dead grasses. When they move, they would rather slowly slink away into the thick reeds than to fly.

Read the rest of the Warren's column in our July issue...