Little Bittern

I recently read a post by the Bear River Blogger who talked about getting a photo of a bittern. He noted that he is out in the field multiple times a week, but only sees about one bittern a year because they are so well camouflaged. It was with this reading in mind that I was in awe of our birding guide in Portugal who spotted a little bittern standing in a tree at a great distance. I looked and looked before I could kind of see it and then had to take a photo and enlarge it before I was sure I was even looking at what he was. 

Note how it stands in the tree with its bill angling up at the same angle as the nearby branch. 

The little bittern has a broad range through much of sub-Saharan Africa, much of Europe and much of west, central and southern Asia.  

The best views were when it took to flight.