The Least Bittern (Botaurus exilis) is a skulking, small, difficult-to-see bird with an extensive range through the Americas. This range includes the river and marsh where I roamed as a child.

Here it is shown briefly frozen in the open having just emerged from a reedbed on a cathedral-like scale to the bird. A posture you might think would also be assumed by young boys evading detection when trespassing on federal wildlife refuges.


42cm x 60cm
Unframed
Gouache on HP Watercolor Paper