Mystery bird

[PinkDiamond]

I looked outside to check on Lucy and the ducks this morning and saw a rather long-necked bird on the ground in front of the coop runs. The ducks saw us and started meandering its way, and it flew up above the big wind chimes.

On telephoto and without a tripod handy, it's blurry, but maybe one of you can tell me what kind of bird it is because I've never seen one before. It's got a long pointy beak, yellow eyes, and bird-type feet. Steve thought it was a duck at first, but no. Any guesses?

[kjsspot]

It kinda looks like a kingfisher but it's not bright enough.

[PinkDiamond]

That's what we thought, but Steve searched for images of young kingfishers and they were very colorful, so unless there's a drab species it's still a mystery. Do you know if there's a dark species, or if juveniles of a certain age are dark like this?

[kjsspot]

Maybe a bittern?

https://www.google.com/search?q=photos% ... DQodEywOSA

[kjsspot]

My mom suggested the Bittern. She's got a way with birds too.

[crazy8s]

That was my first thought, bittern.

[PinkDiamond]

Thanks ladies! It sure does look like what we saw, but I'm surprised I've never heard of them or seen one before if they're in this area. Way cool, thanks again.

[PinkDiamond]

I did a search and the least bittern is in AR, so that's the variety, and I learned they're a type of heron that was disappearing so they're studying their habitat. It makes sense that it's a type of heron since we see GBH's around the neighbor's pond and down at the creek. I just amazed that it took 16 years here for me to see one.

http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/70148647
http://www.birdingbirds.com/encyclopedi ... ittern.htm

[Speckee]

The pic of it in the tree, it looks like a cormorant of some sort...