Least Bittern, The Cloisters Pond, Morro Bay, CA, July 11-12, 2005
(Also shown are Pied-billed Grebe, Great Egret, Ruddy Duck, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Great-tailed Grackles)
Photos by Mike Baird (click thumbnails to enlarge)

This tiny Least Bittern had a broken left leg... it hobbled along with great difficulty,
but it was observed catching small fish and was able to fly...
present during this sighting 7-11-05 at ~4 p.m. were Connie and Marlin Harms...
Tom Edell joined us but was just a few moments too late...
The sighting location at the Cloisters Pond was from the extended wood overlook deck on the south side...
12 feet from the railing and amongst the trimmed vegetation.

<= Note left broken leg hanging limp -- evident in flight
Least Bittern (all photos above are of the same subject)
(see the related photos taken by Bill Bouton on 7-10-05)
(See http://groups.yahoo.com/group/slocobirding/ for related posts)

The following photos were taken 7-12-05. Two Least Bitterns were observed this day by many birders.

Note all the above are of the injured Bittern.

<= Note this is the uninjured Bittern observed a bit further out.

Photos taken 7-12-05 were obtained form a Canon 20D with a Canon 100-400 mm IS lens with a telephoto extender EF 1.4x II