American Bittern

Description:

Medium sized heron with brown and buff colored stripes from throat to belly. Rest of the bird is brown. A little larger than a Black-crowned Night Heron with a longer bill. Neck can extend to almost the same length of his main body. The color and pattern of the stripes help camouflage it in its habitat.

Habitat:

Solitary bird that blends well in reeds in marshes and pond edges.

Notes:

The last image is how I spotted it. The Snowy Egret was being territorial and flew in, feathers raised and making squawking noise. I looked to what the Egret was looking at, a brown lump of feathers and the stripes